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Lina Preview
Tournament Preview JPMorgan Chase Open Taking a glance at the draw for the week ahead, u could confidently predict that Lina should at least make her way, as in San Diego, to the third round. Realisticly, with 14 of the worlds top 25 players entered in LA, we cant expect a tournament winning display. So what can we expect from the talented Russian? Well, just last week we witnessed a steady, if not spectacular performance. Straight forward first and second round victories, followed by defeat at the hands of Lindsay Davenport, will have given her something on which to build on as the tour moves through the hard courts of America. At the moment, it is just a case of Lina taking more and more confidence from each tournament that passes by, until she has the game to really take on and trouble the elite. Lina's first hurdle will be to overcome Viktoriya Kutuzova & it is a sobering thought that the Ukrainian will turn just fifteen years of age later this month. This match could be perceived as 'easy' for Krasnoroutskaya, but having said that, Tennis can be as unpredictable as any sport. It is therefore vitally important that Lina dosent become too complacent and focuses throroughly -something she maintained for two matches last week, until it seemed to lapse throughout her third round tie. Naturally, there will be an element of bias as Lina will be favourite for victory in her first round match and, is fortunate to have not been drawn against a bigger name so early on. Again, we will hopefully see a win which will obviously then set her up nicely to face original first round competitor at the Acura Classic - Alexandra Stevenson. Remember, Stevenson was all set to take on Lina in the first round in San Diego until injury forced her withdrawal. The Quarter Finals could be a possiblity for Lina this week and would be a great achievement, especially in the presence of many top players, but it is very dependent on how the results go elsewhere. At the present time, anything beyond the QF is out of her grasp and would need a stroke of luck in order to advance further. Looking at an excerpt of the draw , it shows Lina may well meet Ai Sugiyama in round three. This would be the first real challenge and be a somewhat tricky tie but by no means impossible. If both players make this stage , it offers Lina a very good opportunity and on paper at least, there is definitely a chance for her to go one step further and build on her performance of last week- exactly her aim. If things fall differently, she could again face Saori Obata whom she beat fairly easily in San Diego.An interesting prospect for the week ahead.
Alexandra
Stevenson (USA) In the doubles tournament, Lina and partner Elena Dementieva will again be out for victory. A fairly dissapointing performance last time out will have made the pair even more determined to repeat, if not better their excellent run at Wimbledon. If we see the sort of game they displayed there, then we can certainly expect more of the same. The draw has worked out fairly well and should give us some interesting matches. In conclusion, i think a good run is on the cards for Lina in both the Singles and doubles Tournament. The draw is looking good but of course, we dont want to expect too much as this is only her second tournament in the matter of four weeks. An advance on San Diego would be great, thus making the Quarter Finals and would really get things moving. If this materialises then who knows? As mentioned earlier, Tennis can be unpredictable and throw up some surprising results and it would be refreshing to see a couple in the latter stages this week....especially if the name Krasnoroutskaya is involved:) Good Luck Lina!!!:) Andrew Clark Visit the Lina Krasnoroutskaya page here
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