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Doha Preview
February 9th 2003 by J.M. What can be said of Conchita’s performance as of late? Nothing really… She ended 2002 on a high note by reaching the semi-finals of the tier 1 Switzerland tournament and by reaching the Bali final before falling in three tough sets. This playing ability has deserted Conchita completely as she has failed to win any match this year by losing to two players ranked well below her! Hopefully, her return to tennis in Doha will provide her with some much needed confidence that will allow her to win some matches and ensure she makes a solid performance here. As she has not received a bye in the 1st round, her opponent has already been decided and that person is Jelena Kostanic, of Croatia. This 21 year old is relatively experienced on the women’s tennis circuit and has a best grand slam record of reaching the 3rd round at the Australian Open in 2000. She also has four WTA tour doubles titles to her credit that suggests she will be a comfortable serve and volleyer, and will be more than willing to attack and come to the net. This could be quite problematic for Martinez simply because, as of late, her shots are not penetrating deep into the court but rather bounce around the service line with a lot of topspin. Now an experienced doubles player such as Kostanic will be able to use these shots to her advantage by striking the ball at its maximum height and hit a winner or cause an error. On the other hand, if Conchita has the confidence to go for her shots and generate enough spin and pace that allows her shots to penetrate deep in the court, then she would have the advantage of also striking a short ball or use her slice drop shot to her own advantage. HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD: Martinez and Kostanic have played each other twice in their careers since 2000. Their results are as follows:
Both the time these people have played each other, Martinez has been on a winning high. For example, in Bali, she eventually reached the final and similarly was a Semi-finalist in Melbourne 2000. But seeing as though Conchita is struggling to find her form, the score line between these two could be comparatively different than from their previous meetings. PREDICTION: Martinez d. Kostanic 6-2 4-6 6-4 VAMOS CONCHITA, VAMOS! |
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