Article by Todd Spiker

**JELENA CORNER**

by Todd Spiker
 

Maybe what we're witnessing is an upgrade.  Jelena Version 2.0, if you will.  Everyone knew Jelena COULD defeat Jennifer Capriati, but did we -- in our heart of hearts -- REALLY expect to see it happen this past week?

Call me a cynic, but I certainly didn't... and certainly would never have imagined it becoming a reality after Jelena dropped the opening set against the American and world #3.
 

Maybe it was the #5 ranking that did it.  All Jelena's ever seemed to need to make significant leaps in results was a little boost in confidence.  Wimbledon surely didn't provide it this year, so maybe it was that computer the WTA uses to compute those oft-debated rankings every week that put her over the top.  Seeing her be able to carry out one of her confident rolls over and through a true, in-form top player is more than encouraging, it's a true breakthrough.  It really hasn't happened during the span of three years since Jelena introduced herself to many of us in June 1999 at Wimbledon.  Some might argue the Rome 2001 win over the then-surging Amelie Mauresmo would qualify... but Mauresmo hit the wall of exhaustion in the middle of their Final match and didn't really significantly resurface until earlier this season.

There's no disputing the value of this Capriati win.  It IS Jelena's best yet... she said so herself.  As great as it was, though, it will be even more interesting to see what comes next.
 

The first clue of what might be to come appeared the very next day, when Jelena battled a very game Anna Kournikova in the SF, overcoming 2 MPs to finally win the mental, physical and experience-related battles in a dominating 6-0 final set.  Of course, two such remarkable come-from-behind victories in less than 20 hours pretty much sucked all the energy from Jelena's body.  Last time she was set to meet Venus Williams in a Final, she was forced to withdraw with a leg injury.  This time, exhaustion and an overnight stomach virus sapped her reserve and prevented the San Diego crowd from seeing a third episode of The Best of Dokic.  Too bad.

Jelena probably would't have won the match even if she had been fresh.  Not yet.  But something can today be said that wasn't objectively possible just one month ago:  the day when Venus, or Serena or Davenport, is taken down by Jelena's hand (and racket) is a little bit closer to becoming a reality than it might have seemed on the grasscourts of SW19.

**SAN DIEGO POINTS BREAKDOWN**
154...RUNNER UP
2...2r: Leon Garcia (#138) - 6-2,7-5
35...3r: Myskina (#15) - 6-4,6-3
66...QF: Capriati (#3) - 2-6,6-2,6-4
10...SF: Kournikova (#47) - 6-7,7-6,6-0
0...F: V.Williams (#2) - 2-6,2-6
267...TOTAL
-69...Points Off
198...TOTAL FOR WEEK

#5...SINGLES RANK (3246 pts)
#7...SANEX POINTS RACE (1879 pts)
#28...DOUBLES RANK (1108 points)
 

Okay, I was wrong.  A few weeks ago, I thought #5 was as high as Jelena could set her sights in 2002.  Lo and behold, that changed in a big hurry last week.  An injury to Monica Seles and Jelena's Capriati win did the deed.  Seles is about to drop points like they were pounds melting away in a 24-hour sauna.  Out of L.A. with foot problems, she'll fail to defend her 310 points there, and might suffer the same fate with her 199 total for Montreal a week later.  Suffice to say, Jelena's stunningly swift rise to #4 looks a near certainty before Flushing Meadows.  If she can reach the SF of Los Angeles, the spot should be her's one week from now. (For my L.A. preview, go here...).

The rankings cutoff for the US Open seeds will be the Montreal Tier I.  Not that a #4 rank will make much difference in NY beyond being cosmetically pleasing, considering Davenport will likely be seeded ahead of Jelena there... and a #5 seed is as subject to the luck of the singles draw process as seeds #6-8 will be.

Jelena's 267 points in San Diego effectively drew her even with the total she accumulated in her pre-Open hardcourt season last year.  In the five weeks preceding Flushing Meadows in 2001, she managed to get 334 points.  In two weeks in 2002, she's already totalled 332.  Whatever she can rack up over the next three weeks will provide her with that much-needed cushion that I've been talking about all season, to better protect her during the demanding 4th quarter defenses she'll soon undertake.

 

So, with the Drive for #5 now relegated to the history books, what's next?  The Fight for #4?   Or maybe this weekly update should think even bigger.  I see here that #3 Jennifer Capriati, whom Jelena just added to her list of victims, is leading by just 700 points at the moment.  While Jelena defends just 351 over the next month (including the US Open), Capriati has to back up 802.  Could #3 be possible in September?  With the bar needing to be raised significantly higher with each proceeding feat, I say it's time to reconfigure things.  The Fight for #4 will be discarded and instead substituted with something a little more grand.  Step aside Lennox Lewis, make way for...
 

Here are the inaugural rankings for the SSS (or the Triple-S)Belt:

#3 Capriati...leads by 700
#4 Seles...leads by 358
#5 JELENA...3246 points
#6 Clijsters...trails by 203
#7 Henin...trails by 241

====================================

**JELENA'S 2002 SINGLES FINALS**
Paris (II)...walkover loss (Venus)
Sarasota (IV)...def. Panova
Strasbourg (III)...lost to Farina Elia
Birmingham (III)...def. Myskina
San Diego (II)...lost to Venus

**JELENA's 2002 MONTHLY RECORDS**
0-1...January
3-2...February
2-2...March
9-2...April
9-4...May
10-2...Jue
4-2...July
2-1...August


=====================================

 

Venus Williams was this week's champion, but her third straight San Diego title -- and sixth win of 2002, more than any other woman -- wasn't the biggest story.  That honor would have to jointly go to a pair of uncharacteristically silent (off the court, that is) riser:  Jelena Dokic and Anna Kournikova.

Neither have ever been strangers to wild headlines, usually either the actions of sneering detractors or the result of familial outbursts and accusations.  But that didn't happen this week, where the news regarding these two young women was confined to their actions inside the white lines.  Yes, it was their tennis that led the way last week... possibly to a new and better future for both.

19-year old Dokic entered the week sporting a career-best singles rank of #5, and ended it with her sights firmly on #4 (which could happen with a good week in L.A.).  In between, she gained a confidence-boosting first victory over Jennifer Capriati in the QF, and once again put her renowned fighter's spirit on full display by overcoming two match points in the SF against Kournikova.  For her part, the 21-year old Kournikova, coming off a fine QF result in Stanford, extended her game's suddenly blossoming resurgence since bringing aboard Harold Solomon as a coach.  She defeated Anna Smashnova for the second time in barely a week, then offed Conchita Martinez and pushed Dokic in the SF, losing 7-6,6-7,0-6 and nearly advancing to her first WTA singles Final since Moscow 2000.  She exited the week having upped her singles rank to #38, with an eye on a Top 32 seed at Flushing Meadows that will allow her to avoid the early round losses that have dominated her recent grand slam history.

So, Venus might have held up the trophy on Sunday afternoon, but it would've been difficult to find someone who didn't expect that to happen before the first match was played.  The encouraging performances of Dokic and Kournikova were -- though not shocking revelations -- certainly somewhat unexepectly pleasant mid-Summer breakthroughs... and sure signs that there is indeed burgeoning life on the WTA tour beyond the Williams family tree.
 

SINGLES: Venus Williams d. Jelena Dokic
DOUBLES: Dementieva/Husarova d. Hantuchova/Sugiyama

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Venus Williams
...Venus continued her push toward Flushing Meadows, grabbing her second title in two weeks and a WTA-leading sixth of 2002.

RISER: Jelena Dokic
...ridning the confidence of her new #5 ranking, she offed Capriati for the first time in her career, physically and mentally outlasted Kournikova a day later.  Now, she's closing in on #4.

SURPRISE: Anna Kournikova
...after the last two weeks, maybe Kournikova's resurgence will no longer be classified as a surprise.  But, at least for one last time, Harold Solomon's latest charge is proving her detractors wrong.  Considering the turmoil her game has seen thus far in 2002, anyone who nitpicks the two blown match points against Dokic in the SF isn't giving Kournikova the credit she earned the right to receive during this tour of California.  Next goal:  a seed at the US Open.

VETERAN: Ai Sugiyama
...the 27-year old advanced to the San Diego Final with doubles partner Daniela Hantuchova, but only after knocking the Slovakian media sensation out of the singles in the 2r.

NEW FACE: Ashley Harkleroad
...dubbed the "American Anna," Harkleroad finally made some noise on the big tour with a 1r upset of Rita Grande.

DOWNER: Alexandra Steveson & Daniela Hantuchova
...with her love & 1 loss to Kournikova, the early season promise that Stevenson showed is now officially slipping from the collective memory.  Hantuchova's surprise 2r defeat wasn't exactly the way she had hoped to begin her hardcourt season.

 

1.San Diego QF - DOKIC d. Capriati
...After the match, Capriati said of Jelena, "She's always been a good player, but today she was a great player."  Quite of compliment from a player who throws them around like manhole covers.

2.San Diego SF - DOKIC d. Kournikova
...6-7,7-6,6-0 - Jelena saves 2 MPs, then pulvarizes Anna in the 3rd sets, winning every physical, mental and experience-related battle down the stretch.

3.San Diego 2r - Hantuchova d. Sugiyama
...being the latest "one to watch" doesn't make Hantuchova immune to her own early-round upsets.  Of course, it doesn't help to get a point penalty on match point against, either.

4.Kournikova's San Diego Experience -
...rekindling memories of her oft-overlooked Top 10 days, Kournikova strung together impressive wins over Stevenson, Smashnova and C.Martinez before nearly knocking out Dokic in the SF to advance to her first WTA singles final since Moscow 2000.

5.SD Doubles 1r - Corina Morariu returns
...sure, Morariu and doubles partner Kimberly Po-Messerli lost their 1r match to Rubin/Shaughnessy in three sets, but Morariu's return to the tour 15 months after being diagnosed with leukemia was more important than any victory.  In fact, it was a victory unto itself.

======================================

 

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
1.Venus Williams
2t.Myriam Casanova and Dinara Safina
4.Vera Zvonareva
5.Lindsay Davenport
6.JELENA DOKIC
7.Patricia Wartusch
8.Kim Clijsters
9.Barbara Schwartz
10.Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
HM-Kournikova,Nagyova,Raymond,Diaz Oliva

RISER: JELENA DOKIC
SURPRISE: Anna Kournikova
VETERAN: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
NEW FACE: Dinara Safina
DOWNER: Justine Henin


 

=======================================

 

LOS ANGELES - TIER II (Hardcourt)
website: www.jpmorganchaseopen.com

SF: Serena d. Dokic; Davenport d. Capriati
FINAL: Serena d. Davenport
...this week the Williams is named Serena, and she needs to get ready for Flushing Meadows, too.  Guess that's bad news for the rest of the field.


HELSINKI - TIER IV (red clay)
webstie: www.nordiclightopen.com

SF: Farina Elia def. Sanchez Vicario; Majoli d. Schnyder
FINAL: Farina Elia d. Majoli
...Majoli is still looking for a great follow up to her Charleston title.


*WEEK 33* - Montreal (Tier I)
*WEEK 34* - New Haven (Tier II)
*WEEK 35/36* - US OPEN

======================================

**MOST WTA SINGLES TITLES**
6...Venus Williams
5...Serena Williams

**MOST WTA SINGLES FINALS**
9...Venus Williams (6-3)
6...Serena Williams (5-1)
5...JELENA DOKIC (2-3)
5...Justine Henin (1-4)

======================================

**TDS RANKINGS - WEEK 31**
1.Venus Williams...210
2.Serena Williams...205
3.Jennifer Capriati..140
4.Monica Seles...125
5.Martina Hingis...108
6.Justine Henin...107.5
7.Jelena Dokic...98.5
8.Anna Smashnova...70
9.Daniela Hantuchova...68
10t.Kim Clijsters...60
10t.Amelie Mauresmo...60