NEW YORK -- They held the women's semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament Friday, and a medical controversy broke out.
Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams won their way into today's final with solid tennis -- Williams with spectacular shotmaking in a one-hour, 6-1, 6-3 rout of Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.
But at the end of the day the chatter was more about rules, heat and cramping than it was about forehands, backhands and serves. That's because in Wozniacki's victory, officially recorded as 7-6 (1), 4-3, her opponent, Peng Shaui of China, was struck with what looked like cramping and was called a severe case of heat illness by tournament officials.
That precipitated a bizarre and uncomfortable scene and questionable official handling of it.
The first set had been a hard fight with lots of running. When the players took the court, it was 86 degrees and 87 percent humidity, and the WTA's extreme heat rule was in effect. The sliding scale is used to determine when a combination of heat and humidity is judged high enough to dictate timeouts for medical treatment and an off-court break before a third set.
With Wozniacki serving at 4-3 of the second set, Peng exhibited signs of physical distress. Soon, she was bent over near the back wall. On the other side, Wozniacki waited to serve. And waited.
Eventually, but not immediately, medical personnel and officials surrounded Peng as she continued to double over. It went on and on.
Next, it was announced she would be taken off. Later, they said it was for "off-court medical evaluation." Wozniacki kept standing out there, keeping her serve warm and as confused as anybody else about what exactly was going on.
She particularly had to be conflicted because, once during a tournament in Doha, she had started to cramp and was told nobody could come to her aid or even help her get up. Somehow, she did and won the match.
Now, trying to stave off a break point, her opponent was ushered off by doctors and trainers and time kept ticking and no penalties -- points, warnings, anything -- were being issued.
The delay was about 11 minutes by the time Peng returned, not looking much better but giving it another try. In the interim, TV commentators John McEnroe and Mary Carillo, both former players, were shredding officials on the air for letting it go on so long, for making Wozniacki stand out there, and for generally looking confused and indecisive.
Peng played three points upon her return, which included hitting one winner. Then she collapsed again at the baseline, and another delay and circle of medical and official people ensued. In that time, Wozniacki -- who could have easily complained but did not -- walked to the fallen Peng and bent over to try to help.
When the chair umpire finally announced Peng could not go on -- she was taken off in a wheelchair -- Wozniacki again handled herself with class. She had just made only her second Grand Slam final since the 2009 U.S. Open, but there was no waving to the crowd, no celebration. She repeated, in several interviews, that her main concern had been Peng's health.
Tournament director David Brewer met the media and attempted to explain. The basis for personnel to be able to come to the aid of Peng was that she had a "heat illness." That, apparently, is distinguished from cramping. With a heat illness, it was explained, the player's safety takes precedence over all else, including the apparent unfairness to her opponent.
Still, lots of this remained, and remains, clear as mud.
Brewer said it was Peng who said she had to default. Hours after she had recovered and met the media, Peng said she had no memory of that, that she might have, but they also might have told her they were defaulting her.
Asked to define "heat illness" -- did they mean heat stroke, an especially serious and possibly life-threatening thing -- tournament officials said that by tour rules they are not allowed to be specific about injuries. For example, a torn rotator cuff is called a shoulder injury.
Then there was the issue of Peng having had heart surgery at age 12 -- she is 28 now -- and whether officials or medical personnel remembered that and reacted differently because of it.
Peng said when she came back out to play, she knew she couldn't go for long "but I just wanted to try." That, of course, raises the question of why, if this was so serious a situation that the heat illness rule was applied and every other consideration -- including fairness to Wozniacki -- was thrown to the wind, was she allowed to even go back out?
Brewer said the medical people had determined she would do no further harm. Two minutes later, she was twisted and bent over in pain again.
Sadly, this all detracted somewhat from the great run Wozniacki has made and the great play of Williams.
Since the French Open, Wozniacki has a 25-5 record. She was once No. 1, and now will return to the top 10.
Williams, ranked No. 1, made short work of Makarova, No. 17, who was in her first Grand Slam semifinal. She had been 0-4 in previous major quarterfinals.
Williams had 24 winners to six for Makarova and served five aces, one at 121 miles an hour.
"At the beginning of the week, I definitely wasn't sure I'd make it this long," Williams said. "So I'm just elated."
If she wins today, it will be her third consecutive U.S. Open title and her 18th Grand Slam tournament victory.
Sports on 09/07/2014