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Tournament Preview
Bausch & Lomb Championships, Amelia
Island
Another swine of a draw!!
The beautiful surroundings of the Amelia Island Plantation are the next stop on the WTA tour, and an impressive field head into this tournament as early preparation for Roland Garros gets underway. I dont know what they grow on this plantation (maybe those who do know can tel me at the e mail at the bottom, no prizes, just respect available), so it gives me th opportunity to slip in as many plant puns as i can, so hopefully this week Daja can lay the 'roots' for the rest of her season, and hopefully from her the rest of her year will 'blossom' until shes pushing the top ten! The weather, as you would expect in Florida is going to be pretty warm, or rather warm for me here in England, although there is going to be some danger of rain midweek, and a slight wind blowing through the week. Either way, the tennis on show should be of the highest quality, with 7 of the top 13 playing. The obvious reason for their appearance is the ranking points, but the $585,000 purse should be an additional motive to a good performance. The tournament has been operating under many different names in its relatively short time as a top tournament, but 'rose' to be one of the favourite with many. It is the last before the tour heads back across the Atlantic, and the venue draws a lot of support from the public, aided by the 5,000 seated main stadium. Its growing reputation and its increasing appeal to many of the tours top players has also brought in many big name sponsors. Adding their name to proceedings, along with the obvious Bausch and Lomb, Porsche, Heineken, BellSouth, Aquafina and Penn all contribute to the tournament, as do the USA National Peanut Board, and the child in me has to make reference to the bronze patrons W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor Inc. Sorry. The tournament should produce some great tennis, but unfortunately i cant tell you if it will bo on tv, because i cant see any link on the site. If you have access to the net, you can watch live scores at the website at http://www.blchamps.com/livestat.htm, and you can contact the assistant tournament organiser, Derek Fisher, at derek.fisher@octagon.com
The Draw
With such
a talented field, Daja was always
likely to face a seed in the second
round, but she also has a tricky
opener. However, this week, and the
next three or four tournaments offer
Daja a chance to start her season
afresh. Last year she didnt play in
any tournaments between now and Berlin
starting on May 12th with the injury
she picked up at Sarasota. This being
the case, she has not points to
defend, and so can look to move up the
rankings. From therer, who knows; if
she could sneak into one of the seeded
positions for a tournament, and get a
nice draw, Daja could well be back to
her best by the end of the clay
season. Fingers crossed anyway
Then she faces the prospect of playing one Jennifer Capriati. The American has been playing some great tennis of late, although that hasnt been converted into titles, losing in the semis to Davenport at Indian Wells, and then in the final to Serena Williams in Miami. Whether or not there is any hope for Daja is hard to say. Capriati has disposed of her weaker opponents in the opening rounds recently with ease, and will be keen to claim another title to cross the Atlantic with. That said, it was hard to see Daja forcing a third set of Davenport at Indian Wells the way Davenport was playing, but she did. So maybe some hope can be taken. However, i think this week, Daja will have to settle with the second round points, and look to the next tournament. 1st Round: Daja def Mikaelian in straights 2nd Round: Capriati def Daja in three 3rd Round: Capriati def Suarez in straights
Quarters:
Dokic def Capriati in three
Semis:
Dokic def Davcenport in three
Final:
Henin def Dokic in three
Any queries or problems, then let us know at mattydonaldson@maria-sharapova.net Visit the Maria Sharapova page here
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