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Article sent by Gerhard Grundhammer
Pilot Pen Tennis:Welcome to New Haven - Jelena travels to New Haven this week in what is becoming a rather desperate (and somewhat futile thus far) search for some long lost and muchly missed form. It has been a long time since there was much to be celebrated, but Jelena keeps plugging away and will hope to find something, or anything positive prior to the US Open which is just two short weeks away. The tournament is a Tier II and is once again held on the hard outdoor courts. It boasts $625,000 of prize money, and is held at the Connecticut Tennis Centre. Tournament sponsorship is provided by anything ranging from Pilot, to Fila, and Yale University to Silk Soy Milk. For information on travel and tickets, you can visit the official website at www.pilotpentennis.com or alternatively, you could contact Stacey Wax at swax@pilotpentennis.com. Oh Dear - The current situation in Jelena land is miserable enough to make Morrissey's views on life make one jump for joy. We all knew that dreaded drop in the rankings was just around the corner, but when Jelena falls from the top 5 to the No.22 of the world, the shock and realisation seems a tough pill to swallow (not that I'm suggesting that the situation is so grave that all of you beloved readers should shovel down as many pills as possible). The mere reputation and disappointment of such a fall is the easiest issue to deal with. The fact that Jelena will be getting extremely tough draws and thus her climb back up will be tougher than Mike Tyson on tough pills, after being newly graduated from toughston University in Toughsville. Anyway, I think you get the picture. The fall of the season is unlikely to bring much relief. Granted, Jelena is playing better than she was at the start of the season but is still not producing performances adequate enough to overcome the likes of the more consistent players, such as Vera Zvonareva and Chanda Rubin. The only silver lining is that Jelena will have very little points to defend next season, but what good is that if your current points total, and confidence is at an extremely low level? The Draw -
Conclusion - As you can see, Jelena's recent fall in the rankings has significantly reduced her chances of progressing further in tournaments. A first round match up against Meghann Shaughnessy should still be succesfully completed, however Lindsay Davenport lurks around the corner waiting to dump Jelena out of the tournament. Once again though, another silver lining appears. Jelena would be very much the underdog in this match up, and with less pressure placed upon herself, it's possible, if not a little far fetched, that Jelena will play more freely and trouble the powerhouse American. If she toppled Davenport, then it could completely change the complexion of the remainder of the season, however, you'd have to believe the strife printed in the Bible to believe that David could really defeat Goliath. ----------------------------------------- PREDICTION - 1st - Dokic def Shaughnessy in two. 2ns - Davenport def. Dokic in two. ----------------------------------------- |
