By Larry Fine
NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Russians Nadia Petrova and
Maria Kirilenko avenged a pair of stinging London defeats by
beating Venus and Serena Williams in the women’s doubles at the
U.S. Open on Monday.
Petrova and Kirilenko claimed a 6-1 6-4 victory on Louis
Armstrong Stadium court for their first victory over the
American sisters, to reach the quarter-finals.
The Williamses beat the Russians 3-6 6-3 9-7 in the second
round at the Wimbledon championships after Kirilenko and Petrova
had led 4-1 in the third set in their first meeting. The
Americans went on to claim their 13th grand slam doubles title.
Serena and Venus then returned to the All England Club and
beat the Russian pair 7-5 6-4 in the Olympic semi-finals before
going on to claim their third gold medal together.
“It feels great,” said Kirilenko.
“It was a good victory for us,” added Petrova.
The Russians said playing on the Flushing Meadows hard court
rather than London grass had made a difference, giving them a
better chance at returning serve and getting into the points.
Petrova and Kirilenko were virtually immaculate with their
groundstrokes, committing only three unforced errors in the
match.
“We played clean tennis, very consistent,” said Petrova, who
was coming off a three-set loss to Maria Sharapova in the fourth
round of singles.
Petrova said it was good to come back the next day and win.
“Especially against the Williams sisters,” Kirilenko quickly
added.
