Rome Final

TENNISRULZ.com - May 2003/Week 20

   Week 20 was a week of potential redemption, and maybe a sign of an Achilles heel that could make the upcoming Roland Garros the most wide open slam in quite some time (more on that later).
   First, the redemption.
   After adding The German Choke to her list of 2003 demerits last week, Kim Clijsters saw the Rome title slipping through her fingers, too.  Down a set and two points from defeat against Amelie Mauresmo in the final, she ripped off her restraints and refused to let another title get away.  After forcing and winning a 2nd set tie-break, she breezed through a 6-0 3rd and left the gasping-for-air Frenchwoman wondering if she's run out of fuel with the gas station within sight once again (more on that later, too).  Clijsters, though, could have just refilled her tank for the trip to Paris.
   Assured of the #2 seed at RG, and in position to have a say in whether she'll be able to finally eclipse her 2001 near-miss in Paris (and forget that nasty Serena Choke in Australia), Clijsters had to be encouraged by the surfacing of a crack in the Serena Williams armor that occurred in Rome, as well.
   Could Serena's falter in the SF on Saturday have reawakend the Achilles Willies that once claimed her game on clay?  Williams has built an aura on invincibility around herself over the past year, so much so that her former difficulties on the dirt has been largely forgotten.  Might that change now with two clay losses (the other to Henin-Hardenne in Charleston) this season?  How about that she served for the match against Mauresmo in the 2nd set, but still lost?  It can't be called a "choke," but in Serena's World it's as close as she's come in ages.
   But does it matter?  Italy isn't France.  Rome isn't Paris.  A Tier I isn't a grand slam.  What will be happening to Clijsters and Williams three weekends from now might still be closer to their Melbourne reality than the one that played out a few days ago.
   So, yes, with the surging of Mauresmo and the Belgians in the spring, this could be the most wide open slam in some time... the most wide open since, well, last Roland Garros when Serena's claims on clay had still yet to be proven out over the course of a two-week slam event.  We stand at a point not that different from the one where we found ourselves last May... and remember how things turned out then?
   Rome could have been nothing but a mirage, with no "real" redemption and a symptom that will prove to not be a case of the Willies after all.  The truth will be revealed starting next week.


 

ROME, ITALY (TIER I - Red Clay)
S: Kim Clijsters d. Amelie Mauresmo
D: Kuznetsova/Navratilova d. Dokic/Petrova
 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kim Clijsters
....Clijsters now has a third singles title for the season, the #2 ranking, and 8 finals (5 titles) in her last 10 WTA events.  But there are still more questions about her chances heading into RG than one would expect from someone who's had such a great run over the last eight months.

RISER: Nadia Petrova
....when she's healthy, Petrova tends to stick around.  This week, she outlasted a hurting Monica Seles in singles and advanced to the 3r.  In doubles, she made the final with Jelena Dokic despite members of her partner's family insisting that she doesn't really exist.

SURPRISE: Tina Pisnik
....the 22-year old from Slovenia got wins over Maggie Maleeva and Emilie Loit en route to a Tier I QF in Rome.

VETERANS: Conchita Martinez & Ai Sugiyama
....a certain 46-year old broke another record for "oldest titleist," but I'll go with the two vets who made noise in singles.  31-year old Martinez managed wins over two Top 10ers (Dokic and Hantuchova); while the almost 28-year old Sugiyama got a Tier I SF as a follow-up to her Scottsdale title from a few months back.

FRESH FACE: Laura Granville
....the American celebrated her 22nd birthday last week with a 1r upset of Meghannn Shaughnessy.

DOWN: Serena Williams
....in a rare appearance, Serena earns the honor.  And she really DID earn it, too.  She won the 1st set against Amelie Mauresmo and served for the match in the 2nd before losing in three sets.  It was just the second loss (both on clay) in 2003, but the first time she let a win slip away that was rightly in her grasp.  If memory serves, Serena tends to get a "there'll be hell to pay" attitude after something like this happens.


 

1.AMELIE vs. THE WALL?
....Mauresmo put together great back-to-back wins in the QF (Jennifer Capriati) and SF (Serena Williams).  Against Capriati, she took a 12-10 tie-break.  Against Williams, she dropped the 1st set and survived Serena serving for the match in the 2nd, going on to win 1-6,7-5,6-3.  Even with her loss in the final, it was a great week.  But did it take too much out of her?  She seemed to tire in the 3rd set of the final (0-6 to Clijsters), and might have just hit the wall again after a surperb EuroClay/pre-Roland Garros run.  Might this portend doom for her in Paris?  Deja vu all over again.
------------------------------------------
2.Rome Final - Clijsters d. Mauresmo
....Clijsters came from a set and two points from defeat down to force and win a 2nd set tie-break, then won a love set in the 3rd for her third singles title of the season and a neat follow-up to her German Choke last week.  It assures her of a #2-seed at Roland Garros.
------------------------------------------
3.ONE FINAL RUN?
....Conchita Martinez continued to push toward Paris with two Top 10 wins over Dokic (1r) and Hantuchova (3r) in the early going in Rome.
------------------------------------------
4.Rome 1r - Granville d. Shaughnessy
....since her win over Venus on hardcourts, clay has proven to be Meghannn Shaughnessy's undoing.
------------------------------------------
5.Charlottesville USTA 1r - Bruna Colosio d. Anna Kournikova
....after her injury in Georgia, Kournikova travelled to Virginia.  Still ranked #72, she faced off against #384 Colosio in a USTA-sponsored event.  She lost a 3-setter, after having her serve broken five times in the final set.
------------------------------------------
HM-Rome 2r - Petrova d. Monica Seles
....Seles retired with foot troubles, again.
------------------------------------------
HM-Rome 2r - Hantuchova d. Magui Serna
....Wonder Girl wins in 3 sets over one of the season's best clay courters.  Now, at least she has SOMETHING to hang some hopes on heading into Paris.

 

=========================================

**CLIJSTERS - FROM LINZ to ROME**
Last 60 Matches..............53-7
Last 10 Tournaments....5 W & 3 RU
2003.........................38-6
2003 WTA Matches.............36-6
2003 Fed Cup Matches..........2-0
2003 vs. non-Williams........38-2
2003 vs. Williamses...........0-4


**NAVRATILOVA**
167 career singles titles
170 career doubles titles
8   career mixed doubles titles
-------------------------------------
2002...1 doubles title...1-1 singles
2003...4 doubles titles/1 mixed title
-------------------------------------
2003 DOUBLES TITLES
3...with Kuznetsova (G.Coast,Dubai,Rome)
1...with L.Huber (Sarasota)
1...with Leander Paes (Australian mixed)


**2003 SINGLES TITLES**
3...Serena Williams
3...Kim Clijsters
3...Justine Henin-Hardenne


**2003 FINALS in BACK-to-BACK WEEKS**
January - Serena Williams (Hopman,Australia)
Feb/Mar - Amanda Coetzer (Memphis,Acapulco)
Feb/Mar - Kim Clijsters (Scottsdale,I.Wells)
April   - Magui Serna (Estoril,Budapest)
May     - Kim Clijsters (Berlin,Rome)


**TOTAL WEEKS IN TOP 10 in 2003 (20 wks.)**
20...Serena Williams
20...Kim Clijsters
20...Venus Williams
20...Justine Henin-Hardenne
20...Amelie Mauresmo
20...Jennifer Capriati
20...Daniela Hantuchova
19...Lindsay Davenport
17...Jelena Dokic
10...Chanda Rubin
9....Monica Seles
4....Anastasia Myskina
1....Martina Hingis


**2003 DOUBLES TITLES - TEAMS**
3...Clijsters/Sugiyama
3...Kuznetsova/Navratilova


**2003 TIER I TITLES**
Tokyo TPP (HC) - Lindsay Davenport
Indian Wells (HC)- Kim Clijsters
Miami (HC) - Serena Williams
Charleston (GC) - Justine Henin-Hardenne
Berlin (RC) - Justine Henin-Hardenne
Rome (RC) - Kim Clijsters


 

STRASBOURG, FRANCE (TIER III-Red Clay)
--2002: Farina Elia d. Dokic--
=====================================
SF: Zvonareva d. Dokic; Myskina d. Dementieva
FINAL: Myskina d. Zvonareva
....the Russians are congregating within France's borders.  The likelihood of an all-Russian final is good, and even an all-Russian SF is possible if Elena Bovina finally wakes up from her 2002 hangover.


MADRID, SPAIN (TIER III-Red Clay)
--2002: Seles d. Rubin--
=================================
SF: Martinez d. Zuluaga; Serna d. Marrero
FINAL: Serna d. Martinez
....the Russians are in France, but the Spaniards are staying home this week.  They, too, might have a little party as Serna tries to put another layer on icing on her 2003 claycourt cake.  Yum.



REMAINING 2nd QUARTER SCHEDULE
------------------------------
()-defending champions

WEEK 22/23 - Roland Garros (S.Williams)
WEEK 24 - Birmingham (Dokic), Vienna (Pistolesi)
WEEK 25 - Eastbourne (Rubin), 's-Hertogenbosch (Daniilidou)
WEEK 26/27 - Wimbledon (S.Williams)

Visit the Kim Clijsters page here

Betting box Only one click and you're in the sports zone soccer tennis formula 1 boxing basketball a. football golf ice hockey horses specials FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCT