Toray Pan Pacific Open - Tokyo

The WTA Tour arrives this week in Tokyo Japan for the Toray Pan Pacific Open. Following a rather disappointing performance in the Australian Open 1 week ago Lina will be looking to progress into the later stages of the tournament.

The draw though has been quite tough on her and if she wants to reach the later rounds she will have to play to her best every round. If she manages to avoid defeat in the first round Lina will face some of the toughest players on the tour. 2^nd round V Ai Sugiyama, quarter final against Nadia Petrova and then a semi against Venus.

In all honesty she will have to play her best tennis just to reach the semi’s, she has the ability to do so but her inconsistency of late means that in all honesty 3^rd round is perhaps the best she can hope for.

Lina’s last match saw her defeated at the hands of 15 year old Tatiana Golovin, it would have been quite a shock to the Russian who was expected to win the match with relative ease. With this draw however, she has gone from one end of the spectrum to the other, the inexperienced Golovin to the vastly experience Els Callens. Once again, this is a match Lina is expected to win.

Els Callens

Age – 33

Highest Ranking Position – 43 (1997)

WTA Tour Titles – 0

ITF Circuit Titles – 11

Turned Pro – January 1990

1^st Round Preview

On paper this match up against the Belgian player provides Lina with a fairly easy passage into the next round. Callens who is more suited to doubles play is not known for her massive shots on court. She does however posses a great knowledge of the game and of course very impressive volleying skills. On her day she can compete with most players on todays tour but now she is reaching the later stages of her career she has lost some of the mobility that she once had and thus she is not the player she once was. This gives Lina a great chance to progress into the 2^nd round but having just lost to a 15 year old player in her previous match she will go into this match with her confidence slightly down. Another defeat at the hands of a player she is expected to beat though would be a blow to Lina, both for her ranking and her confidence levels.

That said I predict a fairly comfortable 2 set victory for her, giving her the chance to play against Ai Sugiyama in the 2^nd Round.

Good Luck Lina

Richard Paveley

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