Article written by Nikola Radovic

Doubles. How well that goes for Jelena and her doubles partner Nadia Petrova. They are almost in top ten, and it seems that no one can stop them, especially when they are on the run. It seems that Jelena found herself in doubles, that it's something where she can find herself at the moment, where she can play her best tennis, and something where her fans can relax and enjoy in her game, patiently waiting for more good results in singles.
If Rika and Jennifer couldn't stop them yesterday, can Nana Miyagi and Shinobu Asagoe do it today? Yes, of course they can, but only if you imagine that we are living in 1997, the year when Nana Miyagi was on top of her game, when she was one of the best doubles partner. But let's meet Nana and Shinobu a bit better, shall we?
Nana Miyagai ( JAP) had a very good doubles career. At Career-High Doubles (as of Dec. 29, 2002): No. 12 (May 26-July 6, 1997), she has 10 doubles titles under her belt. Winner (10): 2002 - Japan Open (w/Asagoe); 1998 - Auckland (w/Tanasugarn), Japan Open (w/Kijimuta); 1997 - Gold Coast (w/Kijimuta), Hobart (w/Kijimuta), Oklahoma City (w/Hiraki); 1993 - Sapporo (w/Basuki), Taipei (w/Basuki); 1991 - Pattaya (w/Wibowo); 1990 - Schenectady (w/May).
Her doubles partner in Sarasota, Japanese Shinobu Asagoe with Career-High Doubles (as of Nov. 17, 2002): No. 28 (Nov. 4-10, 2002) won only two doubles titles, Winner (2): 2002 - Birmingham (w/Callens), Japan Open (w/Miyagi). Semifinalist (2): 2001 - Scottsdale (w/Yoshida); 1997 - Japan Open (w/Sugiyama).
So, if you see the statistics, you can bet that Jelena and Naida shouldn't get more problems today, that if they are going to lose, then for sure we will have to have an upset, or something too bad should happen.
Jelena and Nadia have to keep their forehand and backhands deep into Nana and Shinobu's end of the court. As we all know, Jelena and Nadia like to step into balls, putting their opponents on the defensive. Maybe if Nana and Shinobu could apply the same pressure that Jelena and Nadia do, maybe, just maybe they can make the match more interesting that it will be, but I don't think they can, unless Jelena and Nadia come out a bit rusty. Keep an eye on the unforced errors. We all know that Jelena has struggled at times with overhitting the ball. Let's hope it will not be the case today.
Jelena and Nadia have to give themselves every opportunity to win, which means that they have to keep unforced errors to a minimum and pressure the opponents into making mistakes with their one-handed forehands.
Dokic and Petrova are on a roll, hitting the ball very well. As they go deeper into the tournament, they must maintain positive body language and believe that they can win this tournament. Nana and Shinobu had lived up to their seeding and would like nothing more than to go one step further.

My Pick: Dokic and Petrova have too much firepower plus frequent visits to the net, making them a victory in 2 sets ( 6-3, 6-2).

Here is the schedule:

Grandstand 1
Starting at 11:00 am
Main Draw Singles
Suarez vs. Matevzic

Followed by
Main Draw Singles
Majoli vs. Tulyaganova

Followed by
Main Draw Doubles
Dokic/Petrova vs. Asagoe/Miyagi

Please enter the fun, enter our chat room.