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By: Matt DeCorso
Hello again all! The rain wreaked havoc with the schedule in
Tokyo so yesterday was catch up! Some very interesting results were scored
as several upsets ravished the courts. Among the upset victims were: Nicole
Pratt, Shinobu Asagoe, Meghann Shaughnessy, and Arantxa Parra. The upset
queens were: Evgenia Linetskaya, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Youlia Fedossova, and
Sesil Karatantcheva. That's right! The Bulgarian Big-Mouth has graced the
courts for the first time since her US Open thrashing, administered by
eventual champ Svetlana Kuznetsova. It was quite an easy knockout for Sesil.
Another easy win was scored by Nicole Vaidisova 4 and 3 over Cho. Yes ladies
and gentlemen. Next up for Nicole is......TATIANA GOLOVIN!!! I wish I could
take a plane and get off school just to see that one match (actually
tomorrow's whole day will be fun to see as the best men are also playing!).
I must also mention something solemn. Sam Stosur won her match today. This
means that she will have to play Maria Sharapova for the second straight
week and third time this year! Also yesterday, qualifiers went 3-1 with wins
from Stosur, Fedossova, and Karatantcheva, and a tough three sets loss from
Shahar Peer. Although, Aniko Kapros got through to the next round by beating
Peer! Better luck next time Shahar! Enjoy!
Nicole Vaidisova versus Tatiana Golovin
This match up was destined to happen and luckily for Nicole
it did. Vaidisova is an extremely gifted prodige and she also has the
comfort of having Karatantcheva by her side...in doubles. In addition to the
teenagers playing singles, they have formed what should be a great doubles
tandem. Their opponents will be Americans Jennifer Hopkins and Mashona
Washington. I predict a win for the Americans but in three sets. Nicole
started off her Tokyo campaign beautifully yesterday. She knew going into
her match with Cho that she was a grinder. So, Nicole played smart and
mature tennis to get a win in the books. Her match against Tatiana Golovin
will be a doozy! There really isn't anything vulnerable with the Golovin
game other than her second serve. Even that is harder to come by, as she has
improved her service game wonderfully. That was what confused Serena in the
first set of their third round match at the Open! For Vaidisova to produce
an unthinkable upset, she has to serve extremely well. Her forehand has to
click and she has to keep the French girl moving.
Weakness: Backhand
As I said for Nicole yesterday, what a great debut year for
Tatiana! All Tatiana must be saying is, "Thank God for the French /
Australian reciprocation!" Due to the tennis alliance between France and
Australia, they each send wildcards to each others Grand Slams, therefore
guaranteeing their junior stars a shot at 2 Slams! She was a 354 ranked
qualifier and shocked the tennis world by reaching the 4th round on her 16th
birthday! It was an unprecedented run which included upsets over
Smashnova-Pistolesi and Krasnoroutskaya before being sent packing by a
rejuvenated Lisa Raymond. It was a great start for Golovin. After her great
week and a half in Melbourne, Tatiana set her sights on her home tournament,
Paris Indoors. She was ranked 135 and again stunned the galleries by hitting
her way past Smashnova-Pistolesi (again), Hantuchova, and Dementieva (her
first and only Top 10 win of the year). She lost to Mary Pierce in the semis
but really showed improvement from 3 weeks prior. After Paris, Tatiana took
a month off before entering Indian Wells ranked 93. She was again a wildcard
but still slid past Asagoe before being denied a win by Paola Suarez. She
then ventured to Miami for the prestigous tournament. She was, you guessed,
a wildcard but this time, made organizers very happy. With wins over Medina
Garrigues and Safina, Golovin found herself in deep in the 3rd round against
Jankovic. She pulled out a win in that match but had nothing left in the
tank for her straight set loss to Daniilidou in the 4th round. It was a
great performance but she fell to Eleni again in Berlin a month later in the
third round. After Berlin Tatiana qualified into Rome before being dismissed
again by Paola Suarez in the third round. Tatiana entered her home Slam at a
career high 65 in the world. She unfortunately was upset by Koukalova in the
first round in two tiebreakers but came away with the mixed doubles title
with Richard Gasquet. After Roland Garros, Tatiana had the best week of her
tennis career. Tatiana tamed the grass and her opponents: Likhovtseva,
Hantuchova, Asagoe, Kremer, and Loit. This put her in the final against
Maria Sharapova. The two faught out a great final but Maria prevailed in 3
sets. After her great week it was off to Wimbledon where she graced the
lawns with a 4th round appearance before losing to Serena Williams. Her best
results after Wimbledon included a quarterfinal showing in Montreal and a
3rd round showing in New York. Her record stands at 24-12. Tatiana is aiming
for her 25th win this year and she will have to keep her serve consistent
and the errors cut down if she wants a smooth ride over Nicole.
Weakness: Second Serve
Who has the Edge?
Serve- Golovin
Groundies- Golovin
Intangibles- Vaidisova
Movement- Vaidisova
Volley- ??????
This may be the match of the tourney if both girls play
their best. Nicole is looking for revenge against Tatiana. Nicole was beaten
by Tatiana at last year's junior Wimbledon. For Nicole, you have to be as
controlled aggressive as possible. Keep Golovin moving. For Tatiana, make
sure you keep Nicole off balance with your serve and play her backhand.
Matt's Pick: The Battle of the Teen Royals will end after a 7-5 6-2 in
favor of Princess Frussian Pastry!
Thanks!
I LOVE THEM BOTH SO GO FRUSSIAN VAIDISOVA!!!!
Visit the Andy Roddick's page here
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