Timothy A. Clary/Getty ImagesThis is Flavia Pennetta's third U.S. Open quarterfinal appearance. Angelique Kerber (left) had never been beyond the third round of a major before.NEW YORK -- This year, for only the sixth time since the rankings started in 1975, the U.S. Open women's draw will feature a semifinalist ranked outside the top 20. That's because Angelique Kerber, ranked No. 92, will face 25th-ranked Flavia Pennetta in a quarterfinal that will take place whenever the rain ends. The match was originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Louis Armstrong Stadium but has been rescheduled for Wednesday on Grandstand Court.
Here's a glance at two of the relatively anonymous quarterfinalists in this year's tournament:
Angelique Kerber, Germany
The next Steffi? The rise of the young Americans has been one of the more significant storylines of the 2011 U.S. Open. But the rise of the young Germans is even more noteworthy. While Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, Irina Falconi, CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys all lost in the third round or earlier, Kerber, 23, is one of three Germans to reach the round of 16. (The other two are No. 22 seed Sabine Lisicki, who lost in the fourth round, and No. 10 seed Andrea Petkovic, who will face Serena Williams in the quarters.) Could one of these young frauleins, or No. 19 seed Julia Goerges, who lost in the third round, finally be a championship contender for a new generation? The last time two German women made the quarterfinals at the Open was 1987, when Steffi Graf and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch accomplished the feat. (Graf lost to Martina Navratilova in the final that year but went on to win the title five times.)
Quotable: "Steffi is Steffi," Kerber, a southpaw, said after her fourth-round victory against unseeded Monica Niculescu of Romania. "And we are the next generation. I think we have now a lot of players which [are] playing very well. And yeah, for the German tennis, it's great."
Good company: If Kerber wins, she would become only the 10th unseeded player to reach the semifinals in the Open era. The only unseeded player to win the U.S. Open was Kim Clijsters in 2009.
If she were to make the final, Kerber could meet world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, with whom she has been close friends since childhood. Both Wozniacki and Kerber are the daughters of Polish parents.
Best Grand Slam finish: This is the first time Kerber has reached a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam event, and it comes after she was eliminated in the first round of four consecutive Slams. Kerber's previous best Slam results were third-round appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2010.
Flavia Pennetta, Italy
The next Schiavone? Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian to win a Grand Slam event when she captured the French Open in 2010. Now Pennetta, 29, is trying to follow that feat with a deep run at the U.S. Open. Pennetta has reached the quarterfinals of this event for the third time, having lost to then-No. 1 Dinara Safina in the 2008 quarterfinals and Serena Williams in the 2009 quarterfinals. Kerber should be eminently more beatable for Pennetta, who is seeking her first career major semifinal.
Quotable: "I think this is one of the best victories in my career, and it's gonna be like this forever. … So it's a good moment. I'm really happy right now," Pennetta said after beating No. 3 seed and three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova in the third round. "But it's just a match. It's over, and I have to be focused on the next one."
Good company: No, we're not talking about her former boyfriend, Carlos Moya, the 1998 French Open champ. If Pennetta beats Kerber, she would become just the second Italian woman in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and the first to do it at the U.S. Open.
Tough to stomach: Pennetta carried on the fine tradition of Pete Sampras when she became ill on court during a fourth-round victory over Peng Shuai of China. Pennetta gutted it out for a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory. "I was feeling really bad," said Pennetta, who blamed humidity and stress. "This one is one of the worst I [ever] feel on the court."
