Game Point is Busted Racquet's roundup of fact, figures and links from around the web.
Love -- Andrea Petkovic pulled a three-set, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 upset over world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Monday in Miami. The German, ranked No. 23, ran Wozniacki all around the court, getting her out of her baseline comfort zone and forcing the top-seed to alter her gameplan early in the match.
15 -- Speaking to reporters after the match, Petkovic gave the recipe to beat Wozniacki:
Yeah, well, as I� said already on the on court interview, most of the players think they can overpower Caroline. I think that's the wrong approach, because that's where she's most comfortable, when she can run and bring the most balls back. Then once you lose your concentration for once on your shot, she goes for it. It's not like she's and, you know, some like to say that she's pushing, but it's not like the balls are slow and not short, you know. They are quite deep, so you cannot really attack them.
What I try to do is mix it up and to make her play, and then when I had the short ball to go for it. Because if you try to hit every single shot with full power, full power, full power, she just gets more comfortable, more comfortable, and eventually you're gonna miss. She's not gonna miss the last one. So this is what I tried to do, just be patient and wait for the short ball, and until then try to mix it up and also give her the initiative to try to play.
If any other tennis player went out and beat the world No. 1 using a new strategy, they'd keep that under wraps like nuclear missile launch codes. Petkovic goes on and boasts about it (at length) during her post-match press conference. In other news, I ? Andrea.
30 -- But let's not get too crazy here. A letdown was to be expected from Wozniacki. She was playing her 25th match of the year and was coming off a win at another Premier event in Indian Wells. Petkovic makes some great points about how to beat Caro but there may not be the larger meaning that she believes. Sometimes a loss is just a loss.
40 -- As intrepid tennis blogger "Forty" chronicled Monday on her blog, Petkovic and doubles partner Ana Ivanovic have an elaborate on-court bounty system for aces, return winners and other various important shots. As the photographs of Petkovic pulling out her wallet during a changeover demonstrate, payment must come immediately.
Game -- No Petkovic victory would be complete without her patented Petkovic dance:
Enjoy it while you can. Petkovic insists this tournament will be the dance's swansong. "Then I'm moving on to something else," she said.
Sarah Gellman Eliza Dushku Bonnie Jill Laflin Joanna Krupa Ashley Olsen
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