NEW YORK—Andrea Petkovic busted out a new variation of the robot dance to celebrate her 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over China's Jie Zheng, but there was nothing mechanical about her performance. The No. 10 seed won the wildly fluctuating second-round match by doing what she needs to in order to take that next, critical step to status as a legitimate Grand Slam contender.
That's really been the big question hovering over Petkovic ever since the fun-loving Serb who grew up in Germany established herself as a budding star earlier this year. She earned that position just as much with her personal charm, hipster preoccupations and showmanship (mainly, the "Petko dance" she performs for the fans after each win) as with her game—and that's where the problem lay. A somewhat erratic if steadily improving resume begged the question, "Is Petkovic for real?"
Today, when the chips were down, Petkovic demonstrated that she probably is.
Jie is a crafty player who, when she's on her game, can cause most of today's big-swing advocates a load of trouble. She hits relatively flat, laser-like groundstrokes; she's also nimble enough to take the ball on the rise and re-direct it profitably. That's a very tough combination to beat when you're accustomed to opponents who may crack the ball hard, but play far enough behind the baseline and with enough spin to give you a reasonable amount of time to plan and execute your response.
Playing with a hot hand, Jie jumped out to a 6-3 lead (on strength of a 96 percent first-serve percentage) and broke Petkovic in the second game of the second set. Jie was scampering all over the court and out-guessing Petko at every turn, perfectly illustrating the theory that tennis can be a form of moving chess. In the third game of the second set, Jie led 30-love, lost the next two points, but then saved the game—or was gifted the game—by two terrible service return errors.
In what amounted to a match-game, Petkovic survived a deuce point and won the game with a forehand winner, one of her staples, and a surprise net attack that produced a volley winner. The escape seemed to snap Petko to life, or at any rate to an increased determination to resist. She broke Jie in the next game with a combination of well-timed winners and Jie errors.
After a quick hold, Petkovic broke again to turn the tide of the match for good. She might have reached the finish line a little sooner had she been able to return more consistently, but Jie, who seemed to feel the match slipping away, increased her number of errors. Petko ran out the set without losing another game, to which Jie's only response was a request for a bathroom break.
Still, Jie broke Petkovic in the third game of the final set thanks to some sloppy play by Petkovic. But she tightened things up and broke back. After a hold by Petko, Jie fell behind in her next service game, 15-40. Another Petko service return error gave her a reprieve, but it was fleeting. She made a forehand error off a strong service return to yield the game and Petko served out the match. It may not have been an artistic success, but Petko's recovery and composure through the second and third sets were impressive. The contender mentality is there; now the game must follow.
—Pete Bodo