Article by Glyn James

SWISSCOM CHALLENGE -

The Battle Begins:

This week, Jelena travels to Zurich to participate in the final Tier I tournament of the year, the Swisscom Challenge, where she faces a mighty task of defending 193 ranking points from last year's final appearance. It is played once again on the indoor courts and holds prize money of $1,224. The tournament will be played at the Schluefweg Arena, Kloten, in front of some 6,000 spectators (including 190 box seats). The tournament is sponsored by Swisscom (as you may have guessed), Eurocard, Mövenpick and Peugeot. The official partners are Credit Suisse, Grundig, Interlock, Franz AG, Puma and Rivella. You can catch the action on SFDRS, or if you're in Europe, extensive coverage of the tournament can be viewed on Eurosport. The tournament website (http://www.swisscom-challenge.com) also provides great coverage and information about the tournament, and offers an SMS service providing the latest results.

The tournament organisers claim that the tournament is the "...premier tournament in the run-up to the Sanex Championships in Los Angeles."  The tournament has been a part of the super nine tournaments on the WTA tour since 1993.  Swiss newspaper "Le Temps" had the following to say about the tournament:
"In the new world of tennis, the Swisscom Challenge is to women's tennis what the Paris Open in Bercy is to the men - no more and no less than the most important indoor tournament after the year-ending championships."
Some may argue that the Kremlin Cup (Moscow) holds greater prestige and one would be forgiven for believing that a Swiss newspaper is a somewhat unreliable source given that the Swisscom Challenge is a Swiss tournament, but the Swisscom Challenge is certainly up there with the great tournaments on the tour and has proved in the past a fantastic venue for women's tennis.

The latest off court news surrounding the tournament has been dominated by the disappointing withdrawal of Martina Hingis due to the recurrence of the ankle ligament injuries she suffered over a year ago.  Martina has also announced that she will not be playing any more tournaments in 2002 and says it's still too early to say whether she will be ready for the Australian Open in Januray.  Early indications suggest that she will return in March or April.  This is Martina's home tournament, which makes her withdrawal that much more disappointing for herself and her Swiss fans.  Hingis was victorious here in 2000, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final, but was forced to pull out last year after undergoing surgery on the injured ankle.

On the Jelena front, things appear to be going..."wrong."  Last week's 2rd loss makes a run of four straight losses, and there are severe frowns all around.  Whilst we are somewhat comforted by the fact that Jelena always seems to do the most unpredictable thing, we can't ignore the fact that things are looking a lot grimmer than they have done for a while.  What's causing this run of poor performances?  We simply cannot know.  Whether it's a simple case of looking forward too much to the end of a very long season (as far as Jelena is concerned), or whether some personal problems are affecting her tennis.  No matter what these problems are, a few things are clear; Jelena needs to raise her game, Jelena needs to find some motivation, and Jelena needs her fans to stick by her, and show her the support she deserves.

Jelena is faced with yet another tricky draw this week.  I'll not go into too much detail since Conchita Slice has alrwady provided great analysis of Jelena's potential opponents, but Jelena hasn't been given the easy first round opponent she so desperately needs.  Iva Majoli is the 1rd opponent, and on Jelena's way to the final, she could come up against the likes of Ai Sugiyama, Jennifer Capriati and Amelie Mauresmo.  With the tricky draw and the increasing pressure on Jelena to win, I believe a QF appearance is really the best we can hope for, and that is only if Jelena can find herself.  The big question is "Which Jelena will show up on court this week?"

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PREDICTION -
1rd - J. Dokic def. I. Majoli 6-3 6-2
2rd - A. Sugiyama def. J. Dokic 2-6 6-3 6-2

NON JELENA PREDICTION -
Davenport reigns supreme for the second year running and beats Mauresmo in the final, whilst Capriati continues to struggle to find her form indoors.