Article written by J.M.

Scottsdale Preview

After falling in the 1^st round in Antwerp two weeks ago, Jelena decided to take a week off to recuperate and think about what is happening in her game at the moment. Although it is only the beginning of the year and there are still many tournaments to be played throughout the season, Jelena desperately need to put in a solid performance in this week’s tournament in Scottsdale for a few reasons. Firstly, she has failed to progress past the quarter-finals in any of the tournaments she has played so far and has lost to players ranked well below her or to players whom she would normally defeat easily, such as Lisa Raymond, Eleni Daniilidou and Ai Sugiyama. Secondly, her confidence would be at an all time low and in order to win tier 1 or 2 tournaments, she needs her confidence levels to be booming, such as in the final stages of the 2001 season where she made numerous finals. Additionally, she is in serious danger of falling out of the top 10, thus ruining her chances of qualifying for the season-end championships where the competition has become so tight that only a top eight player can qualify!

The 2003 Scottsdale tournament boasts a tremendous amount of talent that can be seen through the top eight seeds: Serena Williams (1), Kim Clijsters (2), Lindsay Davenport (3), Jelena Dokic (4), Chanda Rubin (5), Eleni Daniilidou (6), Elena Bovina (7) and Nathalie Dechy (8). Five of these players have already won a title this year and will be hungry for some more success this week! Jelena once again has a strong chance to improve her ranking because last year’s finalist, Jennifer Capriati, has chosen not to enter into the tournament, possible because a Williams sister is playing?? Nonetheless, Jelena didn’t even play here last year due to an injury and subsequently has no points to defend!

Unlike last year, the number 1 seed and number 3 seed have been situated on the top half of the draw where the number 2 and 4 seeds are placed on the bottom. This may indeed favour Jelena if she makes it to the semi-finals as instead she could play Kim Clijsters, who she has beaten in the past, instead of Serena Williams. However, Jelena’s quarter consists of many players who she has lost to over the past year, including the following people:

Meghannn Shaughnessy: Jelena leads a 3-1 head-to-head record against this American and at one stage they were in heavy competition to break into the top ten before Shaughnessy suddenly slipped and Jelena improved. Yet, Shaughnessy has already titled this season in Canberra and was a Quarter-finalist in Melbourne earlier this year. In their last meeting in Leipzig last year, Shaughnessy won in straight sets, upsetting Dokic who was the number 2 seed at the time! But if Jelena can hit the ball hard and deep, like she usually does, on a consistent basis, then she has a fantastic chance to win in straight sets.

Daja Bedanova: has only won two matches this year. The only time Jelena and Daja have played was in Eastbourne last year where, as the number 1 seed, Dokic was defeated in three sets. This loss, however, could be contributed to a lapse in mental concentration after being put on court 1 instead of center court due to Martina Navratilova’s return to competitive single’s tennis. Dokic should win in two sets if they were to meet in Scottsdale.

Elena Bovina: seeded 7^th here, has had a strong start to the year after making it to the 4^th round at the Australian Open. Most people would remember her as the player who ruined Jelena’s chances at the 2002 US Open after convincingly defeating her 6-3 6-2 in the second round. Since then, she has stretched players such as Davenport and beaten many higher ranked opponents including Anastasia Myskina, a fellow Russian. Despite their head-to-head record being at 1-1, if these players were to meet, Jelena will be out for revenge, and, if she’s on fire, could beat the powerful Russian!

Silvia Farina Elia: defeated Dokic in the Strasbourg final last year, though seems to be on the downhill after being upset in many tournaments since then as a high seed and her ranking unfortunately reflects this. Dokic should win in 2.

Assuming Jelena wins some early round matches, there are a couple of players who have a great chance of making it to the semi-finals on Dokic’s side of the draw as well, most notably, Kim Clijsters of Belgium. This star has already won a title this season, made the semi-finals of the Australian Open where she held match points before she fell to eventual champion, Serena Williams, and was a recent finalist in Antwerp two weeks ago. As is evident, she is on fire and is quite possibly the future world number 1 at the end of the year! Clijsters leads their career meetings at 4-1, but matches have been considerably close. They last met in September 2002 with Clijsters prevailing in three tough sets. Hence, Dokic could very well win this match if they met and be the only player in 2003 to defeat Clijsters apart from the Williams’ sisters.

Barbara Schett: was a former top 10 player. If successful in her 1^st round match, she has a good opportunity to defeat the number 5^th seed, Chanda Rubin, in the second round as she has won their last two meetings, which were both in 2002! In addition, she also defeated Kim Clijsters in their last meeting in straight sets, which was also last year in August. She therefore could be the unseeded player of the tournament that upsets the seeds and makes the semis or final or even win the tournament!

FINAL???

Is it possible Dokic could make the final here and win the tournament? Well…. Anything is a possibility these days! Who thought the Williams’ sisters would ever win on clay?! To win the final, Jelena would most likely play Serena Williams, who certainly needs no introduction, or Lindsay Davenport, who has played Jelena in many hard-fought victories. Davenport and Williams will probably make the semi’s as their power will be too much for those weaker players, such as Lisa Raymond, and too consistent for others such as Alexandra Stevenson, who is known for going for the low-percentage shots. Either way, Jelena would have a better chance of beating Serena than Lindsay, which was evident when she led her 4-1 in the season-ending championships before bowing out 7-6 6-0, possibly caused by a leg injury!

PREDICTIONS:

2^nd round: Dokic d. Shaughnessy 7-6 6-4

QF: Dokic d. Bovina 7-5 1-6 6-4

SF: Clijsters d. Dokic 7-5 7-5