*JELENA CORNER*

**MOSCOW (#3 seed) BREAKDOWN*
1...1r bye
0...2r: Coetzer (#26) - 6-7,6-3,3-6
1...TOTAL
-339 = Moscow 2001 points off
+65  = new 17th-best total (Stanford 02)
-274 = TOTAL +/- for week

#8...Singles Rank (2800)
#7...Points Race  (2453)
#14..Doubles Rank (1477)


   Is there a problem in Jelena Land, or is it just a matter of circumstances?
Certainly her recent results make it very easy to question her current Top 10 status, with three 2r exits mixed in with the five SF-or-better results in the last eight tournaments.
   On the heels of three straight losses, a tie for her career-long streak, Jelena dropped from #5 to #8 and could fall farther in the coming weeks if she doesn't turn around her current form.  With two more RU results to defend in Zurich and Linz, points can still fall away like weight in a 24-hour sauna.
   Last week's Moscow 2r loss to then-#26 Amanda Coetzer, immediately after falling to #38 Meghannn Shaughnessy in Leipzig, made Jelena 0-2 on carpet this fall.  Her 79 unforced errors in the match effectively fashioned her defense of the 2001 Kremlin Cup title (and the 339 points she gained there) as a nightmare defense scenario.
   But is the current slump a sign of a problem with Jelena at the end of a very long season, or a matter of circumstances being stacked against her?
   Remember, Jelena has often experienced early losses when making the hard-to-carpet surface switch, and the change now has a chance to produce even more havoc since her high seed gives her a 1r bye and then matches her up against an opponent with a carpet match already under her belt.  It should be noted that the likes of Venus Williams, Anastasia Myskina and Martina Hingis all lost their opening carpet matches in Moscow, as well.
   In her career, Jelena is just 17-16 on the surface (3-5 this year), easily her worst surface winning percentage.  Without the Moscow title run of 2001, she'd be 12-16.
   The lack of confidence on the surface coupled with tricky opening opponents might share a large portion of the responsibility, too.  Shaughnessy proceeded to defeat Myskina in Moscow, showing that she might on the road back from a disappointing season; while Coetzer has always given Jelena troubles, likely because of her ability to get back most balls and make Jelena hit an extra shot, raising the odds of a slew of unforced errors.  Jelena is 3-5 against the veteran in all competition, with six of the eight matches going to three sets.  Worse yet, Jelena is 0-3 against her on carpet.
   Of course, there's ample evidence of a slip in Jelena's game.  She was 1-for-3 in terms of having successful grand slams, and 1-for-8 in Tier I's in 2002.  The big stage has not been kind to a player who's always thrived there in the past.  Her records in 3-set matches and tie-breaks, sterling a few weeks ago, have started to look a little worse for wear, too.  She's starting to lose matches she's won in the past... and hasn't really been quite the same since winning that L.A. duel with Anna Kournikova a few weeks before the US Open.  But whether it's a pattern that shows her losing a little of her fighting spirit, or just an aberration of results, is still up for question.
   Over the next month, she'll have to prove her worthiness of being a Top 10 player in 2002.  If she can't do it, there's a good chance she won't be one... or at least won't be able to match her #8 ranking of 2001.  She's been ranked in the Top 10 since last October, but that status could be in jeopardy if she continues to flag and the likes of Hantuchova, Hingis and Myskina finish strong.
   Filderstadt ushers in the return to the hardcourts, so it shouldn't take long to figure out where the fault lies.  Is she good enough right now to be a Top 10er?  We'll soon learn... then the WTA computer will sort it out.


 

--THE TOP 10 TANGO--

 

   Jelena fell four spots in the rankings on Monday, but she could very well shoot right back to #5 next week.  She even has a long shot chance to get back to #4.
   She enters the week with 2800 points, and her total will stay exactly that unless she gains 66-or-more points in Filderstadt.  Essentially, it would take a SF result to add any significant points.
   Jelena will move past the idle Seles, who will lose 164 points to drop to 2796.  Henin drops 221 to fall to 2775, but she plays in Filderstadt and Jelena will need to at least keep pace with her this week to have a chance to rise above the Waffle in the rankings.  Davenport, meanwhile, will have 401 points shaved off to plunge to 2510 as she enters play in Germany.  Unless Davenport reclaims the singles title there, Jelena's chances of passing her look good, too.  There's even a wild chance that Jelena could move ahead of #4 Mauresmo.  But it would take a Jelena title (to rise to around 3050) and Mauresmo to lose in the 2r (probably to Maggie Maleeva, who did conincidentally beat her last week in Russia) and finish the week with a total around 3000.  Needless to say, a return to #5 is the only realistic goal here it would seem.

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

*JELENA'S LONGEST LOSING STREAKS*
3...Aug/Sept 99..Toronto,US,Tokyo PC
3...Jul/Aug 00...Wimbledon,Mtl.,N.Haven
3...Jul/Aug 01...Wimb.,Vienna,Knokke-H.
3...Sep/Oct 02...Tokyo PC,Leipzig,Moscow

*SURFACE RECORDS*
Hard......86-48  (19-9 in 2002)
Clay......53-25  (20-7)
Grass.....36-10  (8-2)
Carpet....17-16  (3-5)

*2002 - Month-by-Month*
January-March........5-5
April-May............8-6
June-August.........23-8
September-October....4-4

*JELENA'S SINGLES TITLE DEFENSES*
2001 Rome........2002 3r (Myskina)
2001 Tokyo PC....2002 SF (Clijsters)
2001 Moscow......2002 2r (Coetzer)

*JELENA - CARPET/SUPREME 2002*
Tokyo TPP...2r (Kremer)
Paris.......RU (V.Williams-w/o)
Antwerp.....2r (Schnyder-ret.)
Leipzig.....2r (Shaughnessy)
Moscow......2r (Coetzer)
W/L: 3-5


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

THIS WEEK:

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Filderstadt, Germany
TennisSporthalle; Oct.7-13
Indoor Hardcourt; Tier II
#3 Seed; 2r: vs. Tatiana Panova
2001: idle

POINTS TABLE
W=195
RU=137
SF=88
QF=49
2r=25
1r=1