Wimbledon Preview

TENNISRULZ.com - Week 25/June 2003

WTA BACKSPIN by Todd Spiker

   Onward to SW19, where the juicy possibility of a Serena/Justine rematch in the semifinals (minus the French crowd) awaits, along with the questions of whether Venus even cares anymore and whether or not Kim has learned how to Heimlich herself.
   Oh, and by the end of the fortnight some lucky lady will be "Queen for a Day."
   If Serena fails to defend her title it will likely mean a true race for #1 for the rest of the season, and depending on who might win it would be either a two, three or even four-woman sprint to the final wire in L.A. this November.

Now, the lists:


 

1.Serena Williams: we'll find out how much her Paris slip is going to effect her.  This time, she doesn't have the French or the clay working against her.
-----------------------------------
2.Justine Henin-Hardenne: riding a wave of confidence, the memory of a Wimbledon RU two years ago and two wins over Serena this spring.  If she wins the title, she'll be playing for #1 in Flushing Meadow.
----------------------------------
3.Venus Williams: she could make so much right again by reclaiming her title as the best grasscourter, not least of which her seemingly wilting desire to be a true champion.  The key early hurdle will be Petrova in the 3r.
----------------------------------
4.Lindsay Davenport: injuries have once again hampered her preparation, but if she gets her serve going she could last a long time.
----------------------------------
5.Kim Clijsters: she's blocked by a wall of her own making that she began to construct in Melbourne, and only she can tear it down -- but is she too nice (or at least not as competitively nasty as fellow waffle JHH) to shove her way to the front of the line?
----------------------------------
HM-Nadia Petrova: she's finally healthy and is playing like a Top 10er, whether it be on clay or grass.  Wait, did I say Top 10er?  I meant Top 5er, considering she's plastered the #2 and #3 players' backs to the wall in her last two events and only inexperience in huge matches (and a net cord) kept her from back-to-back trips to finals. If she can stay off the trainer's table, that little loophole in her game will be closed right swiftly.


 

1.Nadia Petrova: her game might be even better on the grass (she's coming off a Netherlands SF).  If she can beat Venus in the 3r, look out for another stunning run.  At least she'll likely last longer than her doubles partner Dokic, a semifinalist at SW19 in 2000.
----------------------------------
2.Chanda Rubin: she's won Eastbourne two years running, is coming off her best Wimbledon showing (4r in 2002) and wouldn't have to face a Williams until the SF (but could face Clijsters in QF).
----------------------------------
3.Maggie Maleeva: she's made the 4r two years running and won Birmingham earlier this month.  But Rubin and Clijsters (and maybe a lingering injury from Eastbourne) stand in the way of a huge run).
----------------------------------
4.Eleni Daniilidou: her game seems a good fit for grass, but her tuneup events have been slightly disappointing.
----------------------------------
5.Lisa Raymond: grass has always been her best surface, but she hasn't looked good the last two weeks.  Might face Daniilidou in the 3r.
----------------------------------
HM-Nicole Pratt/Maureen Drake: Aussie vet Pratt can still pull an upset or two. 31-year old Canadian qualifer Drake made the 3r last year.  They face off in the 1r, and the winner could get Rubin in the 3r.

 

1.Jelena Dokic: grass has always been kind to her, but nothing seems to matter at the moment for a confidence-deprived player on her third coach in eight months, with a 13-16 record for the year and a hard-hitting Brit as her 1r opponent.
----------------------------------
2.Elena Bovina: seemingly the one Russian falling back rather than rising through the rankings in 2003.  She might not get past Obata in the 1r, and if she does will play either Sharapova or Harkleroad in the 2r.
----------------------------------
3.Elena Dementieva: she has the talent to surprise, but the mental makeup to lose her first match -- and it doesn't help that she's facing Angelika Roesch, the relative no-name who was 3-0 against her in 2002 (the occurence that first earned Dementieva her Punch-Drunk moniker, by the way).
----------------------------------
4.Alicia Molik: she's having a good 2003, but a dreadful slam year (0-2).  Worse still, the female version of Roger Federer has a 1-6 slam record in her last seven matches.  She faces Safina in the 1r.
----------------------------------
5.Alexandra Stevenson: she's never been able to live up to her 1999 SF, never advancing past the 2r since (and has gone out in the 1r in six of her last seven slams).
----------------------------------
HM: Daniela Hantuchova: at least she's trying to get her head straight (or maybe she's overreacting?) by skipping out on Slovak Republic's Fed Cup defense.  She has the best chance of this group to shake off her game's creakiness, but she has to get past Bartoli in the opening round first.
----------------------------------
HM: Vera Zvonareva: brilliant on clay, but what about on the grass?  She skipped a week of grass prep to play another red clay event in Vienna, too.  All the young ones trip on the way up, and this might be where it happens for the would-be Queen Z.

 

1.Maria Sharapova/Ashley Harkleroad: with a 1r match like this, who needs Anna?  There won't be more ogling teenage boys and snap-happy photographers the entire fortnight than there will be present for this one.
----------------------------------
2.Marion Bartoli: might be able to boast of kicking Wonder Girl's skinny behind in the 1r.
----------------------------------
3.Angelika Roesch: she's kryptonite to Dementieva's tipsy Superwoman.
----------------------------------
4.Elena Baltacha: the latest beneficiery of Dokic's swoon?
----------------------------------
5.Els Callens: she lost 6-7,6-7 to Serena in the 3r last year.  This time, they could meet in the 2r.
----------------------------------
HM-Carly Gullickson: the 16-year old qualifier is the youngest player in the main draw besides Sharapova (who's six months younger), and will face off against Tulyaganova in her grand slam debut.  At the very least, she has a shot to last longer than more heralded American teen Harkleroad.
----------------------------------
HM-Barbora Strycova: the 17-year old Czech, 2002's #1 Junior, qualified and will face Perebiynis in the 1r.

Check back next week for a progress report.

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

 

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (II-Grass)
S: Chanda Rubin def. Conchita Martinez
D: Davenport/Raymond d. Capriati/Serna
==================================
's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETH. (III-Grass)
S: Kim Clijsters d. Justine Henin-H. (ret.)
D: Dementieva/Krasnoroutskaya d. Petrova/Pierce

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chanda Rubin
....she repeated as Eastbourne champ, and now hopes to eventually catch Clijsters on a day when she has trouble swallowing her food.

RISER: Nadia Petrova
....so, now she's doing it on the grass, too.  A net cord stopped her momentum against Clijsters in the Roland Garros SF, and she led 7-5,4-2 against JHH in the Netherlands SF this week.  Venus might be her next challenge.  Maybe the third time will be the charm.

SURPRISES: Barbara Rittner & Ludmila Cervanova
....the German vet Rittner reached the Netherlands SF after downing Tulyaganova and Mauresmo (who promptly withdrew from Wimbledon with yet another injury).  Cervanova was a revelation on clay, and was pretty spry on the green stuff, too, as she spoiled Michaela Krajicek's WTA debut and pushed JHH to 3 sets.

VETERANS: Conchita Martinez & Silvia Farina Elia
....the 31-year olds had quite a time in Eastbourne.  SFE had the more stunning results with wins over Maleeva and Davenport; but Martinez ended up easily downing the faltering Wonder Girl Hantuchova AND Farina Elia herself en route her her first grasscourt final since she won Wimbledon in 1994.

FRESH FACES: Carly Gullickson & Barbora Strycova
....the two youngest teens to make it through Wimbledon qualifying this week, both will look for their first ever grand slam victories at Wimbledon.  Gullickson, 16, is second only to Sharapova in terms of youth in the womens' draw; while 17-year old Strycova, the 2002-03 Australian Open Junior champ, will take her first stab at trying to uphold the grand Czech tradition (Navratilova-Mandlikova-Novotna-Sukova) at Wimbledon.

DOWN: Jelena Dokic
....around and around she goes, where she stops no one knows.  Heinz Gunthardt has been tossed off the Dokic merry-go-round and replaced by new coach Barna Bikic.  Hold on tight, Barna.  Things tend to get bumpy in your new environs.  That 13-16 record is not pretty.

 

1.Neth.SF - Henin-H. def. Petrova
....Petrova was two games from a straight sets win before JHH turned things around and forced a 2nd set TB, then won 6-3 in the 3rd.  Still, Petrova has proven herself over the last month and looks like she might be the surprising best of the Russian Horde.
------------------------------------
2.Neth Final - Clijsters d. JHH (ret.)
....it's hard to pat Clijsters on the back here, considering this match really only proved that she is STILL blowing leads.  She squandered 3 set points before losing the 1st set 6-7, and it was JHH's claim that she couldn't concentrate after injuring her left hand down 0-2 in the 2nd that led to her retirement a game later.  A title's a title, but KC might have found a way to lose for winning this time.
------------------------------------
3.Eastbourne F - Rubin d. Martinez
....Rubin's a legit Wimbledon sleeper, while Martinez was at least able to wake up the echoes of her career best moment of winning Wimbledon nine years ago.
------------------------------------
4.Eastbourne QF - Martinez d. Hantuchova
....Wonder Girl, oh Wonder Girl.  Where for art thou?
-------------------------------------
5.Neth 2r - Rittner d. Mauresmo
....and down and out goes Mauresmo, of Wimbledon, that is.
-------------------------------------
HM-East 2r/QF - SFE d. Davenport/Maleeva
....Farina Elia's win over Davenport might signal that the ex-Wimbledon champ's health will hamper her at SW19; while Maleeva will probably be helped by an earlier exit since a good Wimbledon run might have been endangered if she'd peaked too early on the grass a week after winning Birmingham.

 

1.3Q--Carly Gullickson d. Bethanie Mattek
....at 16 years & 7 months, the American (#282 on the computer) qualifies for her first grand slam.
------------------------------------
2.1Q--Roberta Vinci d. Vera Douchevina
....the 2002 Wimbledon Jr. champ fails in her bid to play with the big girls.
------------------------------------
3.1Q--Milagros Sequera d. Maria Kirilenko
....MariaK she joins VeraD and AnnaK in the Russian contingent "just watching."
------------------------------------
4.3Q--Barbora Strycova d. Eva Birnerova
....the 2002 Junior #1 steps up.
------------------------------------
5.3Q--Maureen Drake d. Seda Noorlander
....Drake, 31, now gets a chance to improve on her surprise 3r result at last year's Wimbledon.  When Mauresmo withdrew, Noorlander became a "lucky loser" and made the main draw, too.
------------------------------------
HM-3Q--Lilia Osterloh d. Mirjana Lucic
....like Stevenson, Lucc has never been able to follow up her 1999 Wimbledon SF breakthrough, making more headlines off the court than on it.


 

**CLIJSTERS & HENIN-HARDENNE in 2003**
..................Clijsters.....JHH
Ranking.............#2..........#3
Won/Lost...........48-7.......39-6
Singles Titles.......4...........4
Slam Singles.........0...........1
Doubles Titles.......4...........0
Slam Doubles.........1...........0
vs. Serena.........0-3.........2-0
Head-to-Head.......3-2.........2-3
WTA Finals W/L.....4-4.........4-1
WTA SF W/L.........8-2.........5-4
App.in Finals.....4 con......3 con
Events in Finals...7/8.........4/5



**SINGLES TITLES - 2002/03**
11...Serena Williams (8/3)
8....Kim Clijsters (4/4)
8....Venus Williams (7/1)


**SINGLES TITLES - 2003**
4...Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne
3...S.Williams
2...Rubin, Myskina, Serna


**2002-03 REPEAT CHAMPIONS**
Antwerp - Venus Williams
Memphis - Lisa Raymond
Bogota - Fabiola Zuluaga
Miami- Serena Williams
Estoril - Magui Serna
Berlin - Justine Henin-Hardenne
Strabourg - Silvia Farina Elia
Eastbourne - Chanda Rubin


**TDS COMBINED RANKINGS - June 23**
1.Kim Clijsters............205.5
2.Justine Henin-Hardenne...175.0
3.Serena Williams..........160.5
4.Lindsay Davenport.........99.5
5.Chanda Rubin..............88.5
6.Amelie Mauresmo...........79.0
7.Venus Williams............70.5
8.Anastasia Myskina.........62.5
9.Jennifer Capriati.........61.0
10.Magui Serna..............60.5



 

WEEK 26/27 - WIMBLEDON

   Well, the red clay pretty much chewed up my weekly champion predictions and spit them out on my brand new tennis shoes (even though I did pick a lot of finalists correctly).
   The grass was almost kind to my picks last week, but I had to take a 50% when ol' Spoil Sport Justine upped and stopped playing when she was up set in 's-Hertogenbosch.  Ah, but Wimbledon offers the chance at full redemption.
   Thus, the unabridged SW19 guestimates:

 

--1st Round--
#1 S.Williams def. Craybas
Callens def. Rittner
Perebiynis def. Strycova
#28 Granville def. Jidkova
#19 Shaughnessy def. Kapros
Sucha def. Leon Garcia
Ondraskova def. Parra
Roesch def. #15 Dementieva
#10 Myskina def. Nagyova
Krasnoroutskaya d. Pullin
Schett def. Marrero
#18 Martinez def. Sequera
#32 Tanasugarn def. Morigami
Sprem def. Benesova
Irvin def. Mikaelian
#8 Capriati def. Casanova

--2nd Round--
#1 S.Williams def. Callens
#28 Granville def. Perebiynis
#19 Shaughnessy def. Sucha
Ondraskova def. Roesch
#10 Myskina def. Krasnoroutskaya
#18 Martinez def. Schett
#32 Tanasugarn def. Sprem
#8 Capriati def. Irvin

--3rd Round--
#1 S.Williams def. #28 Granville
#19 Shaughnessy def. Ondraskova
#18 Martinez def. #10 Myskina
#8 Capriati def. #32 Tanasugarn

 

#3 Henin-Hardenne def. Vakulenko
Morariu def. Pennetta
Molik def. Safina
#31 Likhovtseva def. Lee-Waters
#23 Raymond def. Foretz
O'Donoghue def. Weingartner
Pierce def. Cargill
#14 Daniilidou def. Kostanic
Baltacha def. #11 Dokic
Gagliardi def. Cohen Aloro
Sharapova def. Harkleroad
Obata def. #21 Bovina
#26 Stevenson def. Loit
Osterloh def. Camerin
Cho def. Torrens-Valero
#33 Kuznetsova def. Bielik

--2nd Round--
#3 Henin-Hardenne def. Morariu
#31 Likhovtseva def. Molik
#23 Raymond def. O'Donoghue
#14 Daniilidou def. Pierce
Gagliardi def. Baltacha
Sharapova def. Obata
#23 Stevenson def. Osterloh
Cho def. #33 Kuznetsova

--3rd Round--
#3 Henin-Hardenne def. #31 Likhovtseva
#14 Daniilidou def. #23 Raymond
Sharapova def. Gagliardi
Cho def. # Stevenson

 

#5 Davenport def. Stosur
Wartusch def. Grande
Black def. Kleinova
#30 Chladkova def. Koukalova
#17 Coetzer def. Randriantefy
Noorlander (LL) def. Schiavone
Asagoe d. Lee
#9 Hantuchova def. Bartoli
#16 Zvonareva def. Dominikovic
Ant.Serra-Zanetti def. Martinez-G.
Gullickson def. Tulyaganova
#20 Schnyder def. Mandula
#29 Petrova def. Garbin
Widjaja def. Koulikovskaya
Srebotnik def. Keothavong
#4 V.Williams def. Hrozenska

--2nd Round--
#5 Davenport def. Wartusch
#30 Chladkova def. Black
Noorlander (LL) def. #17 Coetzer
#9 Hantuchova def. Asagoe
#16 Zvonareva def. Ant.Serra-Zanetti
#20 Schnyder def. Gullickson
#29 Petrova def. Widjaja
#4 V.Williams def. Srebotnik

--3rd Round--
#5 Davenport def. #30 Chladkova
#9 Hantuchova def. Noorlander (LL)
#16 Zvonareva def. #20 Schnyder
#29 Petrova def. #4 V.Williams

 

#7 Rubin def. Majoli
Frazier def. Talaja
Drake def. Pratt
#27 Farina Elia def. Sanchez-Lorenzo
#24 Serna def. Ruano-Pascual
Pisnik def. Matevzic
Suarez def. Sfar
#12 Maleeva def. Barna
#13 Sugiyama def. Ahl
Cervanova def. Fislova
#22 Dechy def. Husarova
Bedanova def. Poutchek
Reeves def. #25 Pistolesi
Fernandez def. Zuluaga
Rodionova def. Razzano
#2 Clijsters def. De Los Rios

--2nd Round--
#7 Rubin def. Frazier
Drake def. #27 Farina Elia
#24 Serna def. Pisnik
#12 Maleeva def. Suarez
#13 Sugiyama def. Cervanova
#22 Dechy def. Bedanova
Reeves def. Fernandez
#2 Clijsters def. Rodionova

--3rd Round--
#7 Rubin def. Drake
#12 Maleeva def. #24 Serna
#22 Dechy def. #13 Sugiyama
#2 Clijsters def. Reeves

 

#1 S.Williams def. #19 Shaughnessy
#18 Martinez def. #8 Capriati
#3 Henin-Hardenne def. #14 Daniilidou
Sharapova def. Cho
#5 Davenport def. #9 Hantuchova
#29 Petrova def. #16 Zvonareva
#7 Rubin def. #12 Maleeva
#2 Clijsters def. #22 Dechy

 

#1 S.Williams def. #18 Martinez
#3 Henin-Hardenne def. Sharapova
#29 Petrova def. #5 Davenport (ret.)
#2 Clijsters def. #7 Rubin

 

#1 S.Williams def. #3 Henin-Hardenne
#29 Petrova def. #2 Clijsters

 

#1 S.Williams def. #29 Petrova


   Be forewarned, though, I picked Serena to lose in Melbourne... and she won.  Then I picked her to win in Paris... and, of course, she lost (to JHH... hmm, I'm sensing a pattern with the Belgian and my picks).  Fool me once, shame on her.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I'll roll the dice on a third time.

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

NEXT BACKSPIN: Wimbledon Mid-Slam Report

ALSO THIS WEEK: Test yourself in Pierre's guest Tennisrulz Quiz for June (the July edition will focus solely on the WTA 2nd Quarter).  By the way, I missed two of Head Honcho Cantin's brainteasers.  Not great, but not embarrassing, either.  So, at least I wasn't as stupid as I feared I might be.  Whew.

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