Daniela in Quebec ~Bell Challenge

by: Jessie Lin

            In Quebec this week, Daniela will be looking to have a good result and a good finish to the year.   Quebec is a Tier III tournament, and none of the top players are playing here.  It is a smart move for Daniela to enter this event after having so many second sound losses recently.  It was hard for Daniela to pass the second round because since she wasn’t seeded, she had to run into a seeded player in the first or second round.  Last week in Linz, Daniela needed 3 sets to win against Lindsay Lee-Waters, and in the second round, lost to Ai Sugiyama 1-6, 2-6.  

            The top seed in Quebec will be Mary Pierce, and Daniela is the second seed.  It has been quite a while since we have seen a seed by Daniela’s name.  Although the Bell Challenge isn’t packed with big names, many of the players entered are capable of getting a big upset over top players, so this will not be an easy tournament at all for Daniela.  Many will be tempted to look at the draw and say, oh this title is Daniela’s for sure!  Because Daniela has had major trouble winning against players in this draw, like Camille Pin, Lindsay Lee-Waters, Marissa Irvin, Tamarine Tanasugarn. 

            With that being said, there is nothing that’s keeping Daniela from winning her first title in over 2 years here in Quebec if she puts her mind to it and plays well.  It definitely helps her for having a bye in the first round.  She cannot afford to play these long 3 set matches in the early few rounds.  She needs to close out the matches as soon as possible, the more easy 2 set wins she gets, the more confident she will get, and confidence seems to be lacking for Daniela these days.  I look for Daniela to make the semifinals here.  I would love to say that she’ll win, but let’s not expect too much at the moment.

             The 2004 is almost at its end, this year is the second straight year where Daniela has been really struggling.  In the off season, Daniela really needs to make some changes if she wants 2005 to be her comeback season and also to prove to people that she can get to the top.