Les Internationaux de Strasbourg:

Welcome to Strasbourg -

This week Jelena finds herself back in France, desperate to gain some much needed confidence and match practice prior to what many believe is Jelena's best chance of attaining a Grand Slam title, Roland Garros.  The tournament is only a Tier III event, with the winner taking home $27,000 of the $170,000 of prize money available.  Obviously as a preparation to the the French Open, the tournament will be played outdoors on the red clay.  Once again however, the Frenchies have decided to not put up an English version of their official website, and that makes life difficult for everyone who doesn't speak French.  If you have any queries about tickets or directions, you can test your French on the official site at www.internationaux-tennis-strasbourg.com or feel free to contact the tournament itself at either kosnic@noos.fr or you can contact Gerard Dalon at wta.strasbourg@fft.fr and be sure to let them know what you think of their French website.  Tournament partners include the BNP (not the British Nationalist Party), DNA (not a nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix) and the Sporting Cock (careful!!).  Now let's get on to that other subject .... Jelena.

"I never want to see her again" -

Could these be the words responsible for Jelena's demise?  Ok, so Jelena wasn't playing particularly well before this press release, but these family problems are extremely deep seated ones, and questions have been asked about Jeleopl;,. na's tennis since that incident in Berlin last year.  So where does this leave Jelena this week?  Jelena isn't playing in the strongest field this week.  She is the number one seed for the second year running, and Myskina, Dementieva and Maleeva make up the rest of the top four seeds (last year's champion, Silvia Farina Elia is the fifth seed).  Looking on the bright side of Damir's bizarre actions, Jelena has always had to play with Damir lying as a burden in the back of her head, so playing under stressful situations isn't a new thing for Jelena.  If anything, it could be argued that tennis is a form of escapism for Jelena.  With the exception of recent months, when Jelena is on the court she is usually very intense and tries to maintain high concentration levels.  Whether Mr Dokic's latest outburst is too much for Jelena to handle though, remains unanswered, and Jelena could be forgiven for another early loss by the more sympathetic fans.

The Draw -

Here's the draw for this week's tournament in Strasbourg where Jelena is the number one seed:

 

1st  round	2nd round	QF	SF	Final	Winner
Dokic(1)	Dokic(1)
Bye
Golovin
Qualifier
Qualifier
Granville
Matevzic
Bovina(5)
Daniilidou(4)
Krasnoroutskaya
Bartoli
Beigbeder
Pisnik
Qualifier
Razzano
Zvonareva(6)
Likhovtseva(8)
Kruger
Callens
Harkleroad
Mikaelian
Qualifier
Loit
Dementieva(3)
Farina-Elia(7)
Cho
Barna
Cohen Aloro
Benesova
Morariu
Bye	Myskina(2)
Myskina(2)

Jelena could have hoped for a better draw this week, but I think everyone is in agreement that when Jelena is the number one seed, she can only beat herself. 

Conclusion -

With the exception of possibly Myskina and Bovina, Jelena has the ability trounce every one of these with great comfort and ease when she's playing anywhere near her best, but once again, Jelena is battling against herself, her own game, and her own concentration before playing against the opponent.  Once again we will have to sit tight, cross fingers and pray that the right Jelena steps out on court.  However, if you're planning to bet, you'd be way better off betting against Jelena this week.  The likeliness is, Jelena won't reach the standards of a top five player for a good three or four months, so don't expect fireworks.

Prediction -

1rd - Bye.

2rd - Jelena def. Golovin in two.

QF - Bovina def. Dokic in three.