--DRIVE FOR #5 STATUS REPORT(*)--
#5 Clijsters...leads by 92
#6 JELENA (3076)
#7 Henin...trails by 71
#8 Hingis...trails by 262
#9 Davenport...trails by 439
#10 Mauresmo...trails by 787
#11 Testud...trails by 963
#12 Hantuchova...trails by 1125
(*)--the "Drive for #5" may soon become reality for Jelena,
so the weekly status chart will now begin to acknowledge her
soon-to-be-pitched battle to maintain her Top 10 ranking for
2002. Thus, I'll now include the points gap between Jelena
and the trailing players with legitimate chances of making a
challenge to pass her in the rankings before the season is
out. Get ready for Jelena to participate in "The Top 10
Tango" all the way to the Sanex Championships in L.A. this
November!
*NOTES*
...Jelena had a chance to lock up the #5 ranking with a win
over Daniela Hantuchova in the Wimbledon 4r. When that
failed to materialize, it was a waiting game to find out if
she'd match her career-high (in February 2002) #6 spot on
the WTA computer this week. When new world #2 Venus
Williams took out #7 Justine Henin in the SF, Jelena's
ranking was secure.
...Jelena now finds herself just 92 points behind #5 Kim
Clijsters and, with relatively small chunks of points to
defend between now and Flushing Meadows, the chances of
surpassing the other injury-battling Waffle over the next
six weeks seems fairly good. Jelena made the SF in Tier III
Sopot last July, but will play in the higher-pointed (and
tougher, with 6 Top 10ers scheduled to compete) Stanford
Tier II that week this season. Other than that, Jelena is
only defending a handful of 3r and a New Haven QF before
attempting to better her career-best 4r at the U.S. Open.
Clijsters, meanwhile, must defend her Stanford final victory
over Lindsay Davenport from 2001. Ah, there's the other "x"
factor in this Top 5 equation. Despite missing the entire
half-season, #9 Davenport returns to the tour this month (in
Fed Cup next week) just 439 points behind Jelena. #8
Martina Hingis, too, could return in San Diego; while the
suddenly hot again #10 Amelie Mauresmo and quickly rising
#12 Daniela Hantuchova could both be on Jelena's tail before
long. Obviously, especially with two titles and five finals
to defend after the Open, just maintaining her Top 10
ranking is going to take a little bit of work. Jelena's
results before Flushing Meadows need to be more consistent
(QF or better) in order to put her in good position for the
Top 10 Tango down the stretch. I'll break down the Top 10
race further later in this column in my 2002 TOP 10
PREDICTIONS section.
**WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONS**
SINGLES
Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
DOUBLES
Williams/Williams d. Ruano-Pascual/Suarez
MIXED
Likhovtseva/Bhupathi d. Hantuchova/Ullyett
GIRLS
Vera Douchevina d. Maria Sharapova
GIRLS DOUBLES
E.Clijsters/B.Strycova d. A.Baker/A.Groenefeld
PLAYER AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Serena Williams
...Who else? The new #1 and winner of two consecutive slam
titles.
RISER: Daniela Hantuchova
...Her best-yet slam result, and she beat Dokic in her
favorite tournament to do it.
SURPRISE: Amelie Mauresmo
...A new coach, a new practice regimen, a new willingness to
sneak in to the net on occasion, and even a sports
psychologist to help her battle that little "choking"
problem she has at times. The result: a career-best SF at
Wimbledon. Maybe Jelena should pay attention to this
result.
VETERAN: Elena Likhovtseva
...at 26, she matched her best slam result (QF) and won her
first slam doubles title.
NEW FACE: Vera Douchevina
...the Russian teen won the Girls title in a 3-setter over
another young Russian, Maria Sharapova.
DOWNER: Jelena Dokic
...0-3 vs. Hantuchova and missed #5 by one victory on her
best surface. The 4r loss to Hantuchova (#12 to Jelena's #7
at the time) was the first time she's EVER lost at Wimbledon
to a player ranked below her.
*MATCHES*
1.Final - Serena def. Venus
...2 slams, 2 Tier I titles, 2-0 vs. Venus and now #1 in the
world.
2.4r - Hantuchova d. Dokic
...3-0 vs. Dokic for her career, and a slam result worthy of
all the attention she's been getting.
3.QF - Henin d. Seles
...7-5,7-6 for the Waffle's second straight appearance in a
Wimbledon SF.
4.QF - Mauresmo d. Capriati
...a new approach is working wonders for Mauresmo so far.
Maybe the most surprising thing, though, wasn't that
Capriati lost...but that she didn't have a hissy fit in the
press conference before she hopped a plane back to Florida.
5.Kournikova in Doubles
...Sure, she lost in the 1r in singles, but her dual-doubles
runs (SF with Rubin, defeating #1 seeds Raymond/Stubbs in
the QF; and a QF with Bjorkman in the Mixed) raised her
doubles ranking to #7.
*QUOTES*
Henin & Mauresmo, on the Venus/Serena Wimbledon final, after
both were eliminated by the sisters in the SF:
Henin: "That's good for them. But I think that maybe the
crowd like also to see the other players in different grand
slam finals."
Mauresmo: "It's a little bit sad for women's tennis, but
maybe it's not the point of view of everybody. People are
going to get bored about it. It was already the final at
the French Open. I can't count how many people since (after
QF) told me, 'We don't want Williams final.'"
Venus, on the same:
"It's good for tennis. It's good for Serena and I more than
anything."
*NOTES*
--14 months after her leukemia diagnosis, former doubles #1
Corina Morariu will make her return to the court in a WTT
match in Philadelphia. She will attempt to return to the
WTA tour at the end of the month in San Diego, with her
sights set on the U.S. Open.
--Martina Hingis is set to return to action in San Diego.
STORY OF THE 2nd QUARTER
...Serena becomes the best Williams
HIGH (or low?) MOMENT:
The Williams Family Invitational
*MATCHES*
1.Rome Final - Serena d. Henin
...her first clay title, and it started her on a roll that's
included two straight slam titles.
2.Charleston Final - Majoli d. Schnyder
...Majoli becomes lowest-ranked Tier I winner in WTA
history.
3.Eastbourne 1r - Navratilova d. Panova
...45-year old, 8 years after last singles match, returns to
court and defeats the world #22.
4.Hamburg Final - Clijsters d. Venus
...the loss ended Venus's run of 10 consecutive victories in
finals. She's now lost three straight.
5.Schnyder's Charleston run
...I said it at the time, and it's still true. There won't
be a better consecutive victory string than Schnyder's here
which included wins, in order, over Pierce, Mauresmo,
Capriati and Serena.
HM-Henin's Berlin resurgence
...toss out the Roland Garros upset loss to Kapros, Henin
turned the corner and lit a fire under herself with her
back-to-back wins over Capriati and Serena to win the Berlin
title.
MISSED OPPORTUNITES:
...Any Elena Dementieva match against a lesser-ranked
opponent when she wins the first set... danger seems to lurk
right around the corner. She'd be in the Top 10 if she
didn't choke away so many winnable matches.
WORST DECISION:
Anna Kournikova's BBC interview
GOLDEN CHOKE AWARD:
Justine Henin loses Amelia Island Final to Venus after
leading 6-4,4-0
BEST WEEK, GRAND SLAM:
Serena Williams - Wimbledon
BEST WEEK, TIERED EVENT:
Jelena Dokic - Sarasota
LET'S BE FRIENDS:
1.Capriati v. Billie Jean King in Fed Cup
2.Henin/Mauresmo vs. Williams sisters at Wimbledon
3.Dokic vs. Eastbourne organizers
4.Kournikova vs. BBC interview techniques
5.Dementieva's tennis vs. Dementieva's nerves
BEST OUTFIT: Serena's Cameroon get-up at RG
ONE OF A KIND:
Myskina def. Dokic in Rome, the only time in the last 17
matches that the Yugoslav has lost to a Russian
UPSETS:
1.#179 Anika Kapros d. Henin in RG 1r
2.#109 Foretz d. Seles in Charleston 3r
EARLY SLAM EXITS:
Clijsters loses to Clarisa Fernandez in RG 3r, then Elena
Likhovtseva in Wimbledon 2r
MARATHON: Testud/C.Martinz play 3:38 match in Amelia Island
GOLDEN (OLDIE) MEDAL COMEBACK: Navratilova
SILVER MEDAL COMEBACKS: Rubin & Majoli
BRONZE MEDAL COMEBACKS: Pierce & Schnyder
INCOMPLETE COMEBACK: Kournikova
THE GRASSY WEB WE WEAVE:
In this season's grasscourt season, things went like this:
Dokic def. Myskina in Birmingham, then Myskina def.
Hantuchova in Eastbourne, then Hantuchova def. Dokic at
Wimbledon
ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE:
Myskina makes final of both grasscourt tuneups in Birmingham
and Eastbourne, but loses both times... then fails to
advance into Wimbledon's 2nd week
NEXT COMEBACK:
Corina Morariu, coming soon to a doubles court near you
**1.SERENA WILLIAMS**
BIG DEFENSES: W=Canada,Sanex Chsp; RU-US Open
SKINNY: The solid #1 player with 2 slam titles. Has great
chance at matching Martina N.'s 1984-85 feat of four
straight majors, but not all in same calendar year (like
golf's "Tiger-Slam" of a short while ago).
**2.VENUS WILLIAMS**
BIG DEFENSES: W=San Diego,New Haven,U.S. Open
SKINNY: '01 wrist injury and 9/11 leaves her with little to
defend from after last year's Open. How she responds to
losing streak to Serena might tell tale of how this series
will ultimately play out over the years. You'll notice she
didn't take pictures of Serena this time. That was a good
sign.
**3.Monica Seles**
BIG DEFENSES: W=Bahia,Tokyo,Shanghai; RU-L.A.;
SF-Stanford,San Diego,Canada; 4r-U.S. Open
SKINNY: Seles hasn't held a year-end ranking as high as #3
without the WTA's post-stabbing rankings help sine 1991, but
she's got a shot to do it this year. She has a lot of
points to defend, including three straight titles, but she's
playing well, went out earlier than expected at Flushing
Meadows in '01, and will return to the WTA Championships now
that they're no longer held in Germany.
**4.Jennifer Capriati**
BIG DEFENSES: RU-Canada; SF-New Haven, U.S. Open, Zurich
SKINNY: Questions persist about Capriati's game and
temperment in 2002, but she has room to improve on her late
2001 results. She hasn't won a title since Oz, though.
**5.Amelie Mauresmo**
BIG DEFENSES: QF-New Haven, U.S. Open
SKINNY: Mauresmo couldn't have picked a better time to
surge. A new coach and confidence could mean a big climb.
**6.Justine Henin**
BIG DEFENSES: RU-Filderstadt,Hawaii; 4r-U.S. Open
SKINNY: a thigh injury hampered her late-2001 season, so
good health could mean a chance for #5.
**7.Lindsay Davenport**
BIG DEFENSES: W=L.A., Filderstadt, Zurich, Linz; RU=WTA
Chsp, New Haven; SF=San Diego; QF=U.S. Open)
SKINNY: A spectacular 4th quarter got her to #1 last year,
but the sound you'll hear in the next few weeks will be the
rust falling off LD as she returns after being out since
November. She's been careful not to rush things, though, so
it probably won't take her long to regain her stride.
**8.Daniela Hantuchova**
BIG DEFENSES: QF-Leipzig, Zurich
SKINNY: She was just beginning her rise at this time in
2001, so the rest of the year is a virtual no-points-zone
when it comes to defending points. Don't be surprised to
see a big rise ala Dokic's in late 2001.
**9.Jelena Dokic**
BIG DEFENSES: W=Moscow,Tokyo; RU=Bahia, Zurich, Linz;
SF=Sopot; QF=New Haven, WTA Cshp; 4r=U.S. Open
SKINNY: Dokic has to defend two titles and five finals after
the U.S. Open, but very little before Flushing Meadows. A
great hardcourt season, where she'll play six straight
weeks, could be key to her quest to maintain the #8 ranking
she held at the end of 2001... it could build her up for the
pressure-packed closing two months, or tear her down.
**10.Kim Clijsters**
BIG DEFENSES: W=Stanford,Leipzig, Luxembourg; SF=New
Haven,Tokyo,WTA Chsp; QF=U.S. Open
SKINNY: A lot of points to defend, and she's still battling
an injury from January. Not a good combination.
**WILD CARDS TO WATCH**
Martina Hingis
BIG DEFENSES: SF=L.A., San Diego, U.S. Open, Filderstadt
SKINNY: Hingis's ankle injury ended her season early, so she
has room to improve... but now she's coming back from
another physical problem, and her state of mind (and level
of desire) are big question marks. She was frustrated by
the Williamses before and did little to improve her game...
and the sisters have only gotten better since she left.
Elena Dementieva
BIG DEFENSES: RU=Moscow; SF=Leipzig; QF=L.A.; 4r-U.S. Open
SKINNY: She's still never won a singles title. But her
results have been improving slightly of late, and the talent
has always been there. It's the head & heart where the
problems reside.
Anastasia Myskina
BIG DEFENSE: SF=Moscow
SKINNY: Played herself into the Top 15 during grass season,
but seemed to tire herself out and made little noise at
Wimbledon. If she can rebound in a big way, she should at
least secure a first-ever berth in the WTA Championships.
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by Todd Spiker