The question of whether Eastbourne carried as much
importance after Jelena's championship run at Birmingham
quickly became a moot point last week when she failed to
even win a single match there. Let's hope this particular
tuneup wasn't very important, after all.
Such a drastic result means having to scratch the talk of
riding a titanic surge of momentum into Wimbledon, as well
as the pre-green dream of a #5 ranking (and probably
immediately afterward, too, since it will take a jangle of
odd -- but not impossible -- results to pull it off so soon
now... though not quite as many as it could have, thanks to
the earlier exits of both Waffles in the Netherlands last
week). But it wasn't the loss itself, not a shocking
turnabout on the grass at this time of year, that sent up a
few warning flags. It was everything else.
It was the lapse in concentration, seemingly accentuated by
the post-loss grumbling about her match being placed on the
more difficult Court 1 rather than on Centre Court in favor
of "some ridiculous match" (that would be
Navratilova-Hantuchova, boys and girls). Jelena may have had
a point, but blowing off steam into a live mike may not have
shown the best judgment a week before London's tabloids
begin to pick around in the garbage for even the slightest
scrap of a story. This time, Jelena made that task a little
bit easier. This year, stories won't have to be created
from wholecloth. They'll only have to be exaggerated a
little. Of course, that won't matter if Jelena decides to
ignore the tabloid press and not utter any angry comments
about whatever slight they may throw her way... (muffled
laughter) yeah, right. That'll happen.
(On a side note, wanna make a bet a year in advance that
Jelena doesn't show up in Eastbourne in 2003 and instead
returns to the better field -- and better-remembered,
considering her SF run there in 2001 -- of the concurrent
WTA/ATP event in 's-Hertogenbosch? It would certainly fit a
well-established pattern. Crossing Jelena or her family =
making her you-know-what list for life... or close to it.)
It was also the recurrence of the same double-faulting
assault on the poor, innocent net that doomed Jelena's
Roland Garros run. On the windier, more exposed Court 1,
she double-faulted three times in the deciding game of the
1st set against Daja Bedanova... then threw in three more
late in the 3rd set to give her nine for the match. Not
exactly the memory she was hoping for heading into her
biggest tournament of the season (and maybe even unluckier
for the Eastbourne organizers she gave a piece of her mind
afterward).
On the bright side, at least the Bedanova loss removes one
worry from the pre-Wimbledon checklist. There's little
chance now that Jelena will tire herself out and have peaked
too soon. That dilemma now falls squarely in the lap of
Anastasia Myskina, Jelena's final Birmingham victim. The
Russian made the Final in Eastbourne, as well, and noted
after her loss that she was feeling tired throughout the
match.
See, there WAS something good that happened last week. It
just took a little sleuthing to find it. Mission Impossible
is Mission Accomplished... now, Jelena has some work of her
own to do.
**THE DRIVE FOR #5**
#4 Seles...leads by 658
#5 Clijsters...leads by 256
#6 Henin...leads by 39
#7 JELENA...3086 points
#8 Davenport...trails by 5
#9 Hingis...trails by 270
*NOTES*
...The new WTA singles rankings make it clear: if Jelena had
managed to win Eastbourne last week, picking up the 195
championship points as well as quality point bonuses, she
would have either been the new #5 this week or within about
a dozen points of being so. So close.
...Still, despite her virtual no-show in Eastbourne, Jelena
is on the cusp of at the very least tying her career-high
singles rank of #6. While she lost just 7 points in this
week's rankings turnover, the three players directly in her
path to #5 all lost large amounts. Henin's failure to
repeat in the Netherlands cost her 161, while Clijsters'
early exit means she loses 132. Davenport, unable to defend
her Eastbourne title, dropped 269 (and will lose her
Wimbledon SF points next) and allowed Jelena to rise one
spot to #7.
...With Henin defending 500+, Clijsters 200 or so, and
Jelena around 140 points over the next two weeks there's a
chance for more movement. If she can at least equal Henin's
results, she'll move up to #6. And a Jelena QF or better
(SF would be golden) performance, coupled with an early loss
by Clijsters (say 2r, to Likhovtseva?) will make the Dokic
breath very present on Kim's neck. #5 is still
mathematically possible in two weeks, even if it isn't all
that probable.
**JELENA AT WIMBLEDON**
1998 (Girls #2) SF (d. by Clijsters)
1999 (Qual.#14) Qual.Final def. Stubbs
1999 (Main Draw) QF (d. by Stevenson)
2000 (unseeded) SF (d. by #2 Davenport)
2001 (#14) 4r (d. by #3 Davenport)
2002 (#7) - ??
====
4-1...Wimbledon Girls
3-0...Wimbledon Qualifying
12-3...Wimbledon Main Draw
EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (II-GRASS)
S: Chanda Rubin d. Anastasia Myskina
D: Raymond/Stubbs d. Black/Likhovtseva
's-HERTOGENBOSCH, NETHERLANDS (III-GRASS)
S: Eleni Daniilidou d. Elena Dementieva
D: Barclay/Muller d. Lamade/Maleeva
PLAYER AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Eleni Daniilidou
...the Greek 19-year old put together two inspired
comebacks, so what if they were against maybe the two
biggest choke artists at the top of the women's game. In
the SF, Justine Henin held six 2nd set match points. She
lost them all as Daniilidou took an 11-9 tie-break, then
went on to win the match in three sets. In the Final, Elena
Dementieva took the 1st set and then held a 3-1, up-a-break
lead in the 3rd before Daniilidou ripped off the final 5
games to claim her first WTA singles title.
RISER: Anastasia Myskina
...she may not like the grass all that much, but she's been
playing like a demon on it the past two weeks (except for
the two crash-landings in her back-to-back finals, that
is). Myskina is now in prime position to battle for a berth
in the season-ending Sanex Championships in L.A.
SURPRISE: Chanda Rubin
...after two finals in her last four events, and a title in
Eastbourne this week (her first since 2000 Quebec City), the
26-year old's comeback from a slew of injuries is getting
results that are getting less and less surprising by the
week. Everyone forgets that she was ranked #6 in the world
a few years ago.
VETERAN: Martina Navratilova
...8 years off, and she gets a win against world #22 Tatiana
Panova and then takes a set off #13 Daniela Hantuchova in
"that ridiculous match." Hey, the 45-year old has a better
singles record in 2002 than Anna K. does (sorry, Pierre).
NEW FACES: Vanessa Webb & Tina Pisnik
...Canadian Webb knocked off good grass-courter Alicia Molik
in Eastbourne qualifying, then lost to Meghannn Shaughnessy
by the insane scoreline 7-6,6-7,6-7. Pisnik knocked off Kim
Clijsters on her way to the Netherlands SF.
DOWNER: Alexandra Stevenson & Elena Dementieva
...Stevenson, '99 Wimbledon semifinalist, lost early in both
her grasscourt tuneups. After getting out of the box so
quickly this year, her results have hit bottom. She hasn't
been the same since she blew match points against Lisa
Raymond in Memphis in her first WTA singles final.
Dementieva has Top 10 talent, but might not have Top 100
nerves. Again, this time in the Final at 's-Hertogenbosch,
she won the 1st set against a lesser-ranked player and went
on to lose the match. This time, though, she did one better
by blowing a break-up, 3-1 lead in the 3rd before locking up
and losing the final five games. I wonder if she's ever
going to be hounded for her lack of a singles title the way
fellow Russian Kournikova is on a routine basis? She's been
worse than Amelie Mauresmo is big matches ever since Jelena
Dokic came from way behind to defeat her in New Haven last
year. Wasn't Dementieva supposed to be the real deal?
*MATCHES*
1.'s-Hert.Final - Daniilidou d. Dementieva
...Dementieva's well-established pattern continues, while
Daniilidou makes herself a player to watch at Wimbledon (she
could meet Capriati in the 4r).
2.Eastbourne 1r - Navratilova d. Panova
...Can you say "intimidation?" How else can you explain how
a 45-year old who hasn't played a singles match in eight
years beats the world #22? Oh, you say Martina won
Eastbourne 11 times and may be the best grasscourter of
all-time, do you? Hmmm... you may have a point there.
Problem is, Navratilova's still-remarkable physical
condition probably only gave new ammunition to those who
wish to slam the depth of the women's game and continue to
offer up unequal prize money at grand slams. She put on a
great show, but she may have done the game some damage in
the process. Psstt...it was STILL fun.
3.'s-Hert.SF - Daniilidou d. Henin
...Justine choked on her waffle again. Someone perform the
Heimlich manuever! (Sound of Justine coughing up those six
match points she swallowed in the 2nd set).
4.Eastbourne SF - Myskina d. Hantuchova
...maybe Daniela is reading too many of the glowing articles
that are trying to turn her into the "next Anna." This was
actually her best result since winning the Indian Wells
title that began the press avalanche a few months ago. The
way Myskina breezed past her, maybe DH should take a break
from the photographers before she really DOES become the
"next Anna" (in the current context, that is).
5.Eastbourne Final - Rubin d. Myskina
...she's been such a stranger of late, it's hard to remember
how much fun Rubin's initial rise to #6 was a few years
ago. Maybe, at 26, her career can now have an Act II.
*NOTES*
--Lindsay Davenport will return to action next month in Fed
Cup play.
--Kournikova's early loss in Eastbourne makes her 16-19 for
2002...Martina Navratilova is 1-1.
===============================
*BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS IN WTA FINALS*
3 (Jan/Feb) - Martina Hingis@
2 (Jan) - Anna Smashnova
2 (Feb) - Venus Williams
2 (Feb/Mar) - Katarina Srebotnik
2 (Apr) - Magui Serna
2 (Apr/May) - Iva Majoli#
2 (May) - Justine Henin
2 (May) - Serena Williams
2 (Jun) - Anastasia Myskina
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by Todd Spiker