Sports
Irina Falconi's US Open Run Comes to an End
The Alpharetta native lost in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event.
Irina Falconi’s breakthrough US Open has finally come to an end, but the Alpharetta native didn’t leave without almost creating another big upset.
Competing in the mixed doubles event with fellow American Steve Johnson, who won the NCAA Championship this summer, the duo shocked No. 2 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Daniel Nestor in the second round on Saturday. Yesterday morning, they had a 5-1 lead in the second set of their quarterfinal, but some loose play from Falconi sent them packing with a 7-5, 7-5 loss against Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic.
“We just wanted to go out and have fun out there,” said Falconi. “I don’t think either of us expected to reach the quarters when this started so even though we missed some chances today, it’s all good.”
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Some fine returns of serve from Falconi allowed the American duo to break Cermak’s serve twice and give them a 5-1 lead in the second set. Falconi then served for the set, but missed her chance to close things out with three unforced errors. Two games later, Falconi wasted a set point when she missed a forehand volley with the entire court open.
“Unfortunately, that happens out there sometimes,” said Falconi. “Steve did a good job of making sure I didn’t get too upset about that and we were ready to go in the next game.”
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A forehand winner from Cermak set up a break point chance at 5-5 and then a missed volley from Johnson gave the Czech pair a 6-5 lead. With Hradecka serving for the match, she easily held to love with several strong first serves.
Falconi will now head to a WTA tournament in Quebec City next week and said she is most looking forward to representing the US in the Pan American Games, which will be held from October 17-22 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The winner of the event will receive a wild card into the 2012 London Olympics.
Falconi said it’s also possible that she could be representing the US in Fed Cup as early as next year.
“I’ve e-mailed a little bit with (team coach) Mary Joe Fernandez this week since she hadn’t seen much of me before,” said Falconi. “She knows I’m interested. To me, there’s nothing like wearing the US jacket and having the chance to represent your country.”
