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The Start of something big ?
February 3rd
2003
by Matt
Donaldson
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THE START OF SOMETHING BIG?
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"Hello, my name is Lindsay Davenport," she said. "It's time I re-introduced
myself."
"You used to know me, but I've been a shadow of my former self for over a
year now. That's all over."
"I used to be ranked #1, and I want to be again."
She put out her hand and offered a firm handshake. From the look in her eyes
-- for the first time in ages, you could sense she really meant it.
Maybe introductions didn't go quite like that for Davenport in Tokyo this
week, but they COULD have. After winning her first singles titles since October
2001, she has every right to think her fortunes are about to change.
Ever since returning from a six-month layoff last summer following knee
surgery, Davenport hasn't had trouble making her presence felt. She'd made four
finals... but she'd gone 0-4 and had troubles closing out matches in big
events. Against Monica Seles in the final in Tokyo, that changed.
After losing the opening set in a tie-break, the "old" Davenport -- the one
with the killer instinct, booming serve and powerful groundstrokes -- returned.
Two quick sets later (and a 16th ace on match point) and she was a champion once
again.
Pardon her for smiling. She's already back up to #8 in the rankings, and has
thrown down the gauntlet by pretty much predicting she'll be back in the top 5
come Wimbledon.
If her long-eroded match toughness is back, who's to argue the trip back up
the rankings won't continue long after she hits #5? After watching Kim
Clijsters choke away a possible Aussie Open title last month, maybe we should
consider Davenport the "player most likely" to challenge the sisters.
Big Babe Tennis rules the top of the women's game, and it's Davenport's stock
and trade. Maybe she can't catch the Williamses, but at least she could make
things interesting come US Open time.
We won't know how important this confidence-building title will be to
Davenport for a few months. But if she continues her long climb back to the
upper echelon of women's tennis, it'll be safe to say that it all started in
Tokyo.
TOKYO TPP (TIER I)
S: Lindsay Davenport d. Monica Seles
D: Bovina/Stubbs d. Davenport/Raymond
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lindsay Davenport
...Tokyo is her first title since October 2001. Now, the question is whether or
not this will end the big-match collapses that have hampered her since her
return from knee surgery.
RISER: Lina Krasnoroutskaya
...hoping for a full, healthy season, Lina K. made it through qualifying and
knocked off fellow Russians Petrova and Bovina in the main draw. If she can
stay on her feet all year, Krasnoroutskaya might be the best of the young
Russians. But that's a very big "if."
SURPRISE: Elena Dementieva
...Punch-Drunk Elena hadn't given much reason for hope in 2003, dropping out of
the Top 20 after her miserable outing in Oz. Until this week, that is. The
Russian offered a good rebound performance, knocking off Meghannn Shaughnessy in
the 1r and edging back into the top 20 at #16, before falling in typical fashion
(wins the 1st set, loses anyway) in the QF.
VETERAN: Monica Seles
...to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Seles' demise were greatly exaggerated.
Apparently, she wasn't too kooky for Koukalova after injuring her ankle and
losing to her in Melbourne. In Tokyo, Seles beat Sugiyama, Lina K and Rubin en
route to the final. Not a Murderer's Row of opponents, but they at least
qualify as a Felonious Assaulter's Row, right?
FRESH FACE: Stephanie Cohen Aloro
...following up on some good results late in 2002, Cohen Aloro qualified for
Tokyo then knocked off Tatiana Panova in the 1r.
DOWNER: Meghannn Shaughnessy
...a carpet surface (and, yes, Elena Dementieva) curtailed all that momentum the
Stick generated in January.
1.Tokyo F - Davenport def. Seles
...Davenport's 0-4 post-injury record in finals finally is history, thanks to 16
aces and a reawakening of her killer instinct after dropping the 1st set in a
tie-break.
2.Tokyo 2r - Dokic def. Widjaja
...2003's Invisible Girl finally made an appearance, and had to fight tooth and
nail to avoid immediately disappearing. Down 0-5 in the 1st set -- and 4-5,
0-40 on her own serve -- Dokic battled back for a 7-6,6-4 victory in her
inaugural match of the season.
3.The Two Faces of Elena
...the Good Elena side of Dementieva showed that there's life in that thar
Russian yet with a 1r win over Shaughnessy; then Evil Elena reared her head
again in the QF against Rubin. Dementieva won the 1st set (again), but lost the
match anyway (again), losing (again) to Rubin in 2003 (the count is 0-3 after
five weeks of play).
4.Lina's O-K?
...cross your fingers for Lina Krasnoroutskaya. So much promise, so many
problems with injuries. She's healthy right now, though, and showed what she's
capable of with wins over fellow Russians Nadia Petrova (1r) and Elena Bovina
(2r) in Tokyo.
5.Tokyo 2r/QF - Raymond d. Maleeva/Dokic
...the 29-year old proved the tread hasn't worn off the tires just yet with wins
over two Top 15 players in Tokyo to raise her own singles ranking to #21.
--Wither Yugoslavia... after so much fanfare
over her change of citizenship from Australia to Yugoslavia a while back (and
being named Yugoslavian Female Athlete of the year in 2001), Jelena Dokic will
become eligible for Fed Cup play in 2004. Last week, when asked if she intends
to play, she said that she didn't and that she'll "have better things to do."
=====================================
**SINGLES TOP 20 - Feb.3**
1.Serena Williams.....6989
2.Venus Williams......5370
3.Kim Clijsters.......3763
4.Justine Henin-H.....3407
5.Daniela Hantuchova..2838
6.Jennifer Capriati...2790
7.Amelie Mauresmo.....2729
8.Lindsay Davenport...2534
9.Monica Seles........2528
10.Jelena Dokic.......2526
11.Anastasia Myskina..2150
12.Chanda Rubin.......2127
13.Patty Schnyder.....1787
14.Maggie Maleeva.....1658
15.Anna Pistolesi....1503+
16.Elena Dementieva...1428
17.Silvia Farina Elia.1403
18.Elena Bovina......1401+
19.Nathalie Dechy.....1374
20.Tatiana Panova.....1286
**2003 OLDEST CHAMPIONS**
SINGLES
26y,7mo,3wk - Lindsay Davenport - Tokyo
======================================
WEEK 6 - Feb.3-9
Hyderabad, India (IV - Hard Outdoor)
-SF-
Tulyaganova def. Prakusya
Tanasugarn def. Pierce
-Final-
Tanasugarn def. Tulyaganova
...again, Tulyaganova comes up just a tad short.
Paris, France (II - Hard Indoor)
-SF-
S.Williams def. Dokic
Hantuchova def. Dechy
-Final-
S.Williams def. Hantuchova
...Ho-hum. Serena wins a title. Wake me up in time for Antwerp.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
======================================
**TDS COMBINED RANKINGS**
1.Serena Williams......68
2.Lindsay Davenport....48
3.Kim Clijsters......39.5
4.M.Shaughnessy......33.5
5.Venus Williams.......30
6.Alicia Molik.........28
7.Eleni Daniilidou.....27
8.Monica Seles.........25
9.Nathalie Dechy.......24
10.Chanda Rubin......22.5 .
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