Pe’er heads to US Open hoping to break out of funk
08/21/2012 23:08
Tennis: Two Israelis who will be hoping to be part of the main draw for the first time in their careers.
Shahar Pe’er Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters
Shahar Pe’er will enter next week’s US Open on the back of four straight first
round defeats after losing 6-2, 6-2 to Maria Kirilenko in the opening round of
the New Haven Open on Monday.
The 25-year-old Israeli, who dropped
earlier in the day five places to No. 62 in the world, was no match for the
world No. 14, reaching just one break point and committing seven double faults
in the 72-minute encounter.
Pe’er hasn’t won a match in over a month and
has failed to progress past the second round in her past 16
tournaments.
The early exit from New Haven means Pe’er will have plenty
of time to prepare for the US Open, but it is hard to see the Israeli breaking
out of her current slump in the year’s final Grand Slam event in New
York.
At least Pe’er will be playing in the US Open, something which
cannot be said about Dudi Sela.
After dropping out of the top 100 earlier
this summer, Sela, currently ranked at No. 110 in the world, failed to receive
direct acceptance to the main draw in Flushing Meadows and has chosen to forgo
the qualifiers.
Sela reached the second round of the US Open in the past
couple of years and will miss the tournament for the first time since
2005.
Two Israelis who will be hoping to be part of the main draw for the
first time in their careers are Amir Weintraub (202) and Julia Glushko (163), who played in the first round of the qualifiers on Tuesday.