Article by Todd Spiker

*JELENA CORNER*

*FILDERSTADT (seed #3) BREAKDOWN*
1...1r: bye
0...2r: Panova (#21) - 6-1,4-6,1-6
1...TOTAL
#6 - SINGLES RANK (2800)


   Freeeee..... free-fallin'!
   My apologies to Mister Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers, but it's sad to say his well-known song perfectly describes what's happening to Jelena right now.  I tried to lay her then-three match losing streak on a matter of circumstance, a lethal combination of surface and opponent.  The return to the hardcourts would tell the tale, I said.  Well, that being the case, I guess it's clear now... the problem IS Jelena.
   She's picked the worst possible moment to hit the skids, too.  Right in the middle of the biggest extended period of points defenses of her career while trying to follow up her 5-in-6 string of trips to finals last fall.  Rather than match such production, she's fallen into what is now a FOUR-match losing streak.  What a difference a year makes.

Here's the full "walk of dishonor":

#1...Clijsters/Tokyo...7-5,2-6,3-6
#2...Shaughnessy/Leipzig...2-6,4-6
#3...Coetzer/Moscow...6-7,6-3,3-6
#4...Panova/Filderstadt...6-1,4-6,1-6

   Last week's loss to Panova, against whom she had a 2-0 record and 24-8 advantage in games before Filderstadt,  had all the lowlights that have  accompanied Jelena's play since knocking off Anna Kournikova in the San Diego SF:  taking her normally streaky play to far-too-great extremes, not winning big points, losing tie-breaks, losing despite claiming the 1st set against lower-ranked players before faltering badly in the 3rd set.  All of a sudden, Jelena is playing like Elena Dementieva has been for the past year.  Odd, considering the Russian finally rediscovered her game in Germany last week just as Jelena continued to lose her's.  I'd bring up the possibility of a bodysnatching or some other nefarious deed... but we all know that'd just be another excuse to have fun with, right?
   Jelena is the problem, remember?  And it could get uglier before it gets any better... and it might not for quite some time.  This pattern, after all, has been several months in the making.  Just look at a few numbers:

1)She WAS 17-4 in 3-setters this season, but has lost three straight
2)She WAS a sterling 7-0 in tie-breaks, but gone 3-3 since
3)She WAS 38-2 after winning the 1st set, but has now lost two consecutive under those circumstances
4)She WAS on a 14-3 run when she overcame two MPs to defeat Kournikova in July, but the loss to Venus Williams in the San Diego final the next day began what has been an 11-9 slump of mediocrity.  Only a win over Martina Hingis stands out as a high point during the span, and Hingis' performance since then (and last week's decision to pull out of the rest of the 2002 season) has taken a little of the luster off that victory, too.

Needless to say, things have not been pretty.


--WHEN NUMBERS LIE--

   Even with the Filderstadt flameout, Jelena's singles ranking rose from #8 to #6 this week.  Aren't computers great?
   Enjoy it while it lasts, since it won't last long.  She could fall to as low as #10 after this week, and might not even get a whiff of a ranking this high again until at least February or March.

 

   Kim Clijsters' win in Germany moved her past Jelena on Monday, and it could signal the start of a virtual stampede.
Monica Seles will move past her this week (Jelena would need a trip to the final to prevent it), as should Justine Henin (unless she loses early, AND Jelena makes the final) and maybe even Daniela Hantuchova (if Jelena loses early again, and the Slovakian lasts until the weekend in Switzerland) and Lindsay Davenport (if Jelena loses early and LD reclaims her Swisscom Challenge title).  In the end, I'd say she'll fall to #9 on Monday.  It would be her lowest ranking since breaking into the Top 10 at #8 53 weeks ago.
   Jelena's low points total after Zurich would be 2599 once the computer sorts things out.  She'll need to accumulate 62 or more points this week for it begin to move upward at all... and that'll take at least two wins.
   If Jelena were to not win another match the rest of the season, she'd finish with 2373 points.  That total would drop her below the current #11 Martina Hingis, and a strong finish from #12 Anastasia Myskina would bring her perilously close to that total, as well.  Obviously, the battle to just remain in the Top 10 begins now.  Unless Jelena begins to chart some wins -- and soon -- she might not be able to call herself a Top 10er when she opens play in 2003.
   She needs to show some signs of life in Switzerland.  Right now, though, she seems worn out and is faltering badly down the stretch.

 

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*JELENA - TIER-BY-TIER IN 2002*
Grands Slams....8-3
Tier I..........7-8
Tier II.........22-12
Tier III........8-1
Tier IV.........5-0

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