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French Open
TENNISRULZ.com - May 2003/Week 21
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WTA BACKSPIN!
by Todd Spiker
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OPEN SEASON, OR FAIT ACCOMPLI?
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The EuroClay season has given us many reasons to think that it will end with
a multi-player, elbow-throwing sprint to the finish line at Roland Garros.
The women of the WTA have been blooming for months now. Justine
Henin-Hardenne has sported a stronger physique and a just-as-tough sense of
will, Amelie Mauresmo has risen to the pre-Paris heights that have come to be a
rite of spring for her, Kim Clijsters has choked AND learned to swallow her food
(err, I mean convert her match points) like a pro in back-to-back weeks, Ashley
Harkleroad has answered those "why all the fuss?" questions that had been
lingering about her, and Magui Serna and Alicia Molik have finally come through
on the promise they showed earlier in their careers.
Meanwhile, Venus has been hurt and -- glory be -- Serena has actually lost
(for second time on clay in 2003). So, for the first time in a year, there's
actually little "hope flowers" sprouting up all over the WTA backyard.
So, Roland Garros MUST be wide open, right? The most wide open slam since,
well, LAST Roland Garros. Sure, it LOOKS that way... but is it?
Let's face it, this slam is still Serena's to lose, just as every slam will
be until she finally DOES lose one. The biggest question going into Paris isn't
so much whether or not Serena's playing well enough to win it, it's whether
anyone else is quite ready to take it away from her.
A lot of players have a big "maybe I can" stamped on their foreheads... but
turning those "hope bulbs" into full, blooming flowers on the final Sunday will
be a great deal more difficult a task than simply BELIEVING it to be possible.
There might not be enough sunlight, water and good soil in all of France for
that.
**THE FAVORITES**
1.Serena Williams: 57-4 since last Roland Garros, she's riding the Serena Slam
into Paris. Someone's going to have to take it away, and she won't give it up
without a fight. Losing to Henin-Hardenne in Rome may just have re-instilled
that "there's-gonna-be-hell-to-pay" attitude that's carried her through the past
year.
----------------------------------------
2.Justine Henin-Hardenne: RG is JHH's best chance to win a slam, and she has a
win over Serena this spring. They could meet in a SF... but getting a second
win over Williams will likely be twice as hard as getting the first.
---------------------------------------
3.Kim Clijsters: The bottom half of the draw is her's to lose, but no matter
how big of a save she had in the Rome final she still hasn't quite gotten over
the Serena Choke in Melbourne. She'll have to beat Williams to do that. She
may get the chance.
---------------------------------------
4.Venus Williams: Sure, clay isn't her best surface, she's hurting with a
stomach pull and hasn't played in weeks. But she's met her sister in four
straight slam finals, and the draw gives her a chance to make it five.
Vera Zvonareva could be a mighty big 4r hurdle if Venus isn't 100%.
---------------------------------------
5.Jennifer Capriati: She's quietly sticking around, and seems to be a virtual
lock to at least make the QF. She won RG just two years ago.
---------------------------------------
HM-Amelie Mauresmo: Could she win? Of course. As usual, she played extremely
well on the EuroClay circuit, defeating both Capriati and Serena. But did she
hit a physical wall against Clijsters in the Rome final? She did in it the Rome
final against Dokic in 2001, then promptly lost in the 1r in Paris.
**DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THEY GO HOME EARLY**
1.Jelena Dokic: 11-13 on the year, including a three-match losing streak
heading into Paris. Generally off her game all season, but still dangerous if
wins over Serna, Molik and Dementieva mean anything.
----------------------------------------
2.Daniela Hantuchova: Wonder Girl is usually good on big stages (she made the
QF in Oz), but she's been up and (mostly) down all year. She could face
Harkleroad in the 2r, the same person she was crushed by in Charleston not long
ago.
----------------------------------------
3.Monica Seles: She's having foot problems again. Nadia Petrova already has
one win over Seles this year due to Seles' retiring with an injury... and guess
who Seles faces in the 1r in Paris.
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4.Meghannn Shaughnessy: She hasn't been the same since she defeated Venus on
hardcourts. She could go down to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 1r.
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5.Amelie Mauresmo: Could she lose early? Of course. Faced with the pressure
of living up to her spring results in front of the French crowds has never
brought out the best in her. We'll find out if she ran out of gas in Rome,
because she might have the toughest early round matches of any of the
contenders, with the likes of Lina Krasnoroutskaya, Fabiola Zuluaga, Ashley
Harkleroad, Daniela Hantuchova and Magui Serna in her quarter.
----------------------------------------
HM-Elena Bovina & Elena Dementieva: Bovina has been cool for most of the
season, and Dementieva has been hurt and knocked out early in the two
tournaments since her great title run in Amelia Island a few weeks ago.
**DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THEY MAKE NOISE**
1.Vera Zvonareva...could face Venus in 4r.
2.Magui Serna...but is she too tired?
3.Alica Molik...Maleeva in 1r, Clijsters 4r?
4.Amanda Coetzer...Capriati in 4r?
5.Conchita Martinez...Dokic in 3r.
**CAN'T WIN, BUT MIGHT GET A BIG WIN**
1.Ashley Harkleroad...she couldn't take out Hantuchova, Serna & Mauresmo in
order, could she?
2.Lina Krasnoroutskaya...Mauresmo in 2r?
3.Svetlana Kuznetsova...faces floundering Shaughnessy in 1r.
4.Dinara Safina...only Safin family member who'll be on court in Paris.
5.Nadia Petrova...1r opponent Seles is hurting.
(see full predictions at the end of Backspin)
STRASBOURG, FRANCE (III-Red Clay)
S: Silvia Farina Elia d. Karolina Sprem
D: Jeyaseelan/Matevzic d. Granville/Kostanic
==========================================
MADRID, SPAIN (III-Red Clay)
S: Chanda Rubin d. Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo
D: Craybas/Huber d. Grande/Widjaja
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chanda Rubin
....she finally got up off the claycourt mat and repeated as Madrid champ.
Guess she's ready for Paris now.
RISER: Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo
....she continued her 2003 comeback, making her Madrid RU her first WTA finals
appearance since winning Knokke-Heist in 1999.
SURPRISES: Karolina Sprem & Barbara Schett
....Sprem, the 18-year old Croat with the name so easy to misspell, came into
Strasbourg as the #163-ranked player. Three qualifying wins plus clubbings of
Dokic and Zvonareva later, and she was in her first-ever WTA final. Schett was
about as low as low can go a few weeks ago, but the ending of her 1r loss streak
seems to have revived her game as she made the QF in Madrid.
VETERAN: Silvia Farina Elia
....the 31-year old Italian completed her three-peat of the Strasbourg title
with a victory over the surprising Sprem.
FRESH FACE: Ashley Harkleroad
....the 18-year old didn't quite create the fireworks she did in Charleston, but
her SF run in Strasboug makes her a legitimately dangerous and tough out for
anyone in Paris.
DOWN: Elena Bovina and Jelena Dokic
....Bovina went down in the 1r again, this time to Maja Matevzic. Dokic
kick-started Sprem's run, losing to the world #163 to drop to 11-13 on the
season.
1.SPREM DONORS
....Golovin(1r), Dokic(2r), Matevzic (QF) and Zvonareva (SF) left a little of
themselves behind after running into the Croatian teenager on consecutive
afternoons in Strasbourg.
-----------------------------------------
2.REPEATS X 2
....for the second time this season, two 2002 champs successfully defended their
titles in the same week. Rubin d. Sanchez-Lorenzo in Madrid, while Farina Elia
d. Sprem in Strasbourg. Raymond (Memphis) & Zuluaga (Bogota) did the same
earlier this year.
-----------------------------------------
3.TAILING OFF?
Madrid 1r--Gagliardi d. Molik; Madrid 2r--Sanchez Lorenzo d. Serna
....Molik and Serna have been stars this clay season, but neither are coming
into Paris on competitive highs.
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4.BAD OMEN?
Strasbourg 1r--Loit d. Dementieva
....Dementieva has now lost two in a row after winning her first title and
playing well in Fed Cup. She'll face Madrid RU Sanchez-Lorenzo in the 1r at
Roland Garros.
-----------------------------------------
5.WELCOME BACK
Strasbourg 1r--Corina Morariu d. Iveta Benesova
....Morariu lost to Myskina in the 2r, but after fighting back from leukemia and
now shoulder surgery, she's always a welcome sight. She already has as many
2003 WTA tour wins as Anna Kournikova.
**OLDEST 2003 SINGLES CHAMPIONS**
31y,4m,1wk..Amanda Coetzer (Acapulco)
31y,1m......Silvia Farina Elia (Strasbourg)
**2002-03 REPEAT CHAMPIONS**
Antwerp - Venus Williams
Memphis - Lisa Raymond
Bogota - Fabiola Zuluaga
Miami - Serena Williams
Estoril - Magui Serna
Berlin - Justine Henin-Hardenne
Strasbourg - Silvia Farina Elia*
Madrid - Chanda Rubin*
**MOST DOUBLES TITLES**
5...Martina Navratilova (4 doub/1 mix)
4...Liezel Huber (4 doub)
**MOST 2002/03 SINGLES TITLES**
11....Serena Williams
8.....Venus Williams
7.....Kim Clijsters
5.....Justine Henin-Hardenne
4.....Anna Pistolesi
3.....Amelie Mauresmo
3.....Chanda Rubin
3.....Anastasia Myskina
3.....Magui Serna
ROLAND GARROS
--2002: S.Williams d. V.Williams--
==================================
-4th Rd.-
#1 S.Williams d. Kuznetsova
Serna d. #5 Mauresmo
#4 Henin-Hardenne d. #19 Schnyder
#8 Rubin d. #11 Myskina
#7 Capriati d. #17 Coetzer
#3 V.Williams d. #22 Zvonareva
#24 Martinez d. #6 Davenport
#2 Clijsters d. Molik
-QF-
#1 S.Williams d. Serna
#4 Henin-Hardenne d. #8 Rubin
#3 V.Williams d. #7 Capriati
#2 Clijsters d. #24 Martinez
-SF-
#1 S.Williams d. #4 Henin-Hardenne
#2 Clijsters d. #3 V.Williams
-FINAL-
#1 S.Williams d. #2 Clijsters
....Kim gets her chance, but still can't clear the Serena Hurdle.
=======================================
NEXT WEEK in BACKSPIN:
Roland Garros Mid-Slam Report
Visit the Kim Clijsters page
here
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