Article by Todd Spiker

ROLAND GARROS 2002
WEEK 1: 9 Lives & Counting

by Todd Spiker


*WEEK 1 -ROLAND GARROS POINTS BREAKDOWN*
---to 4th Round---
90...4r points
20...1r: Gagliardi (#44) - 6-4,6-2
16...2r: C.Martinez (#60) - 3-6,7-6,6-2
20...3r: Likhovtseva (#43) - 6-2,6-3
xx...4r: vs. Katarina Srebotnik (#48)
146 = TOTAL
-69 = Points Off
77 = TOTAL FOR WEEK 1
...CURRENT WTA SINGLES POINTS: 2912
...NEW WTA DOUBLES POINTS: 1169, -469


**JELENA CORNER**

--JELENA THE CAT--
The troubling pattern of slow starts continued to hound Jelena in Week 1 at Roland Garros.  In fact, after falling behind early to Emmanuelle Gagliardi in the 1r and then being on the brink of a straight sets loss to Conchita Martinez in the 2r, she may have already used up all her nine lives of luck for this tournament.

The Martinez match, particularly, stretched her resurrection act to the limit.  It was a 2-hour, 22-minute affair, and Jelena was down a set and 5-6 (after trading breaks with CM throughout the 2nd set) before she finally began to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel.  After being two points from defeat, she managed to rally for a 9-7 TB win before showing her greater fitness with a 6-2 3rd set victory.  In a wink, she confidently turned a potential calamity (96 unforced errors!) into the highlight of her week.  Of course, the 21 double-faults in her first two matches was nothing to feel good about.  A high error total is often a natural occurrence in the go-for-it-all style of Jelena's game, but it's difficult for her to survive too many matches when her serve lets her down as often as it did early this week.  It's just not a big enough weapon for her to condone that many free points for her opponents.

The 3r match against Elena Likhovtseva seems to be just what Jelena needed, a 54-minute "breather" that saw her bring her First Serve Pct. up to 76% and cut her DFs to 1.


--A GOOD MOVE--
Jelena's decision to skip all doubles competition this RG looked even better after the Martinez match, even if the failure to defend the Doubles RU points from last year will cost her 469 points and drop her from #12 to no better than #24 in the doubles rankings.


--RESURRECTION, PART II--
Jelena has already succeeded in attaining her best-ever RG result with her 4r showing, but things could get much better very soon.  She'll move up to #8 in the June 10 rankings no matter what happens in Week 2, and the early losses of both Waffles (Henin in the 1r to lose 291 points, Clijsters the 3r to cut 424) means the Drive for #5 can be resurrected after next weekend... and the goal could be achieved by the time Wimbledon is over.  Jelena has points to defend in the coming weeks (a SF at 's-Hertogenbosch, though she'll play at Eastbourne instead, and a Wimbledon 4r), but both Waffles have even more to protect.  Henin won the 's-Hertogenbosch title over Clijsters, and both advanced deeper into Wimbledon (Henin RU, Clijsters QF) than Jelena, as well.  Meanwhile, Martina Hingis' injury absence (-340) moved Jelena past her on the computer, and Lindsay Davenport will drop points for her '01 Eastbourne title and Wimbledon SF unless she can return to the tour in time and in form enough to prevent it.  In other words, that coveted Top 5 ranking is once again within reach for Jelena... and it could become a reality even without a magical Week 2 ride in Paris.  Of course, that would speed the timetable up just a "tad."


*JELENA 2002 RG COMBINED MATCH STATS*
Matches...3
1st Serve Pct...143/237 (60.3%)
Aces/DFs...4/22
Winners/Unforced Errors...76/179
Dokic Break Points...16/34 (47.1%)
Opp. on Break Points...10/32 (31.3%)
At the Net...27/44 (61.4%)
Total Points...247-214
Fastest Serve...161k (3r)
Shortest Match...:54 (3r)
Longest Match...2:22 (2r)
Combined Match Time...4:27


*JELENA UP-TO-DATE 2002 STATS*
10-2...three-setters
4-0...tie-breaks
7-8...down 0-1 set
17-2...up 1-0 set

*JELENA UP-TO-DATE SLAM STATS*
6-5...three-setters
5-3 (+ 1-0 qualifying)...tie-breaks
3-9...down 0-1 set
20-2 (+3-0 qualifing)...up 1-0 set


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

ROLAND GARROS, WEEK 1

PLAYER AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Serena Williams
...the Cameroon-style outfit, the easy matches, and the new role of RG favorite.

RISER: Daniela Hantuchova & Jelena Dokic
...both have already made some slam noise in the past, but their dual 4r results are their bests at RG.  Dokic faces Srebotnik next, while Hantuchova will see Seles.

SURPRISE: Aniko Kapros
...When the #179-ranked, 17-year old pulled off the biggest upset of the year (just edging Foretz def. Seles), she became the third Hungarian (after Rita Kuti Kis defeated Dokic at '00 Oz, and Petra Mandula beat Dokic at RG '01) in recent years to get a huge slam upset.  RKK and Mandula, by the way, lost in the 1r at RG this year.

VETERAN: Chanda Rubin & Mary Pierce
...Both have battled injuries for over a year, but both have gotten healthy and hit their stride at just the right time.

NEW FACES: Vera Zvonareva & Clarisa Fernandez
...both won "New Faces" awards here in recent weeks, but who expected this in their first slams?  Fernandez knocked out Clijsters and has a shot to upend Dementieva next (a decent bet, too).  Zvonareva has won 6 straight matches (3-0 in qualifying), and if she upsets Serena next we'll have to start comparing her run at RG to Dokic's at the '99 Wimbledon.

DOWNER: The Waffles
...Roland Garros feasted on a double order of Waffles in Week 1, as both Kim Clijsters (2001 RU) and Justine Henin (SF) came into RG facing the pressure of defending big slam points for the first time... and failed miserably in the attempt.  Battling a leg injury and sinus troubles, #5-seed Henin was bounced in the 1r by Aniko Kapros.  #4-seed Clijsters barely escaped Tatiana Poutchek in Round 1, went to two tie-breaks in Round 2 against Eleni Daniilidou and then was finally taken down and out (0-6 in the 2nd set!) by Clarisa Fernandez in the 3rd Round.


*MATCHES*
1.1r--Aniko Kapros d. Justine Henin
...Henin took a 5-1 1st set lead, then lost 15 of 17 games to lose 6-4,1-6,0-6 as qualifier Kapros pulled off the biggest win of her career.

2t.1r--Kim Clijsters d. Tatiana Poutchek
...Escape #1: Poutchek served for the match at 6-5 in the 3rd, but Clijsters won it 8-6.

2t.2r--Kim Clijsters d. Eleni Daniilidou
...Escape #2: 7-6,7-6.

3.3r--Clarisa Fernandez d. Kim Clijsters
...There was no Escape #3 for Clijsters, as the girl from Argentina made her grand slam mark (with a 6-0 twist in the final set).

4.3r--Vera Zvonareva d. F.Schianove
...the 17-year old Russian qualifier led 6-2,5-0 before nearly throwing the match away.  She lost the 2nd set TB, but won the 3rd set at 7-5.

5.2r--Jelena Dokic d. Conchita Martinez
...Dokic was 2 points from a straight-sets defeat.  After 2:22, and 96 unforced errors (including 11 DFs), she pulled off her 4th straight win over Martinez (after starting the rivalry at 0-5).

6.1r..Marta Marrero d. A.Sanchez Vicario
...6-0,6-1... It might be over.  ASV was so discombobulated, she and Hantuchova (#4 seeds in doubles) lost their 1r match in straights, too.  There was no sting left in this bee at the 2002 RG.

7.1r--Conchita Martinez-Granados d. Meghannn Shaughnessy
...Take away her Strasbourg SF run, and Shaughnessy's lost 7 straight.

8.1r--Paola Suarez d. Sandrine Testud
...This time, it was #8-seed Testud -- not Mauresmo -- who was the Frenchwoman who melted at RG.

9.1r--Martina Muller d. Amanda Coetzer
...didn't you used to be Amanda Coetzer?

10.1r--Christina Wheeler d. Anna Kournikova
...at 16-18 for the year, AK's tennis is getting even less attention than usual.  Maybe Harold Solomon can work some magic, but...


**CURRENT TOP 10 POINTS TOTALS**
--to 4th Round--
1.Venus Williams...4725 (*)
2.Serena Williams...4008 (*)
3.Jennifer Capriati...3797 (*)
4.Monica Seles...3602 (*)
5.Kim Clijsters...3474
6.Lindsay Davenport...3350
7.Justine Henin...3286
8.JELENA DOKIC...2912 (*)
9.Martina Hingis...2816
10.Sandrine Testud...2181

(*)-still alive in 4r


*ROUND OF 16 MATCHUPS/PREDICTIONS*
#1 Jennifer Capriati/#20 Patty Schnyder
...Schnyder defeated Capriati in Charleston the last time they played, but doing in for a second time in a grand slam is probably more than she can chew.  She has a shot if Jen has a bad day, though, just like in South Carolina.

#7 Jelena Dokic/Katarina Srebotnik
...Dokic has struggled at times (especially with her serve) in Week 1, but seemed to finally right herself a bit in the 3r against Likhovtseva.  This is already Jelena's best RG result in four tries, and it should get at least one round better.

#3 Serena Williams/Vera Zvonareva
...the Camaroon-style outfit of Serena looks like it'll prove to be good luck.  17-year old qualifier Zvonareva, in her first RG, nearly blew a 6-2,5-0 lead in the 3r before winning 7-5 in the 3rd set over Schiavone.  But she's won six straight matches (after going 3-0 in qualifying... kind of like Jelena at the '99 Wimbledon), and might ride a wave of confidence to at least give Serena a run.  That's probably all it will be, but wouldn't it be something if it wasn't?

#9 Silvia Farina Elia/Mary Pierce
...Farina Elia, at 30 the oldest remaining woman in the bunch, has been able to hold the form that won her the Strasbourg title last week.  Pierce, 27, seems to finally be healthy and getting better with every match.  She's ready to give the French crowds something to cheer about.  Pierce, easily.

#13 Elena Dementieva/Clarisa Fernandez
...We'll see whether Fernandez can follow up her Clijsters upset with another big win.  Dementieva has a shot at making her first slam mark in a few years, but I'm picking Fernandez to continue her roll when the Russian fails in the clutch yet again.

Paola Suarez/#10 Amelie Mauresmo
...It's been a bad week for French sports.  First, Sandrine Testud went out in the 1st Round, then Senegal beat the defending champion French boys in the World Cup and Arnaud Clement came back 2 sets down to Alex Corretja only to lose 8-6 in the 5th.  Who would have thought that Mauresmo would be one of the sports bright spots?  So far, she hasn't had a chance to crumble.  But her draw will soon get tougher... and she could head in the opposite direction in the blink of an eye.  But it won't be this in this match.

#6 Monica Seles/#11 Daniela Hantuchova
...Hantuchova seems to be close to being back in Indian Wells form, and she showed in Oz (when she took Venus to 3 sets) that she won't wilt under slam pressure.  But this might be Seles' last best chance at winning a title, and I'll go with her if for no other reason than sentimentality.

Chanda Rubin/#2 Venus Williams
...Rubin is making a nice comeback run the last two weeks, but Venus hasn't even had to break a sweat this week.  She likely won't here, either.


QUARTERFINALS

#1 Capriati def. #7 Dokic
...Jelena has the capability to win if she plays a cleaner game than she did in Week 1, but it's hard to pick against the #1 player defending her title.  Maybe Schnyder can take JC out in the QF.  Either way, RG '02 is a success for Dokic.

#3 S.Williams def. Pierce
...Serena might be destined to win the whole thing.

#10 Mauresmo def. C.Fernandez
...But the pressure of making a SF in Paris might take her out.

#6 Seles def. #2 V.Williams
...my pick for the bottom half, and I'm sticking with it.

SEMIFINALS
#3 S.Williams d. #1 Capriati
#6 Seles d. #10 Mauresmo

FINAL
#3 S.Williams d. #6 Seles


*ROLAND GARROS - WEEK 2 POINTS TABLE*
90...4r
162...QF
292...SF
456...RU
650...W


*LOST POINTS FROM ROLAND GARROS '01*
-424...Kim Clijsters
-340...Martina Hingis
-291...Justine Henin


NEXT WEEK: MAY (+RG) WTA AWARD WINNERS