On to semis in Linz

By Pierre Cantin
Date: 26/10/2001

Although Stevenson did offer a lot of opposition, Jelena was able to get through in straight sets today in Linz to reach the semifinals where she will now face Iroda Tulyaganova.

As the match started, both players were playing well and Stevenson was able to hang in there mostly because of her serve that was very powerful and accurate. Jelena was able to take the first break to go up 4-2 and then never looked back on that first set, winning it 6-3.

So one would have expected Jelena to run with this match in two easy straight sets but that is far from what happened. Within a few minutes, Alexandra Stevenson had built a 4-1 lead and looked very strong against a Jelena who simply was not able to get the ball in the court as Stevenson was making her work harder...

But we all know Jelena, she fought her best and was able to get back in the match at 4-4. While Stevenson was able to hold her next serve, she simply was not able to compete with Jelena anymore and Jelena won the match 6-3, 7-5 to move on the semifinals.

In her next match, Jelena will face Iroda Tulyaganova from Uzbekistan. Iroda is a young player who is better on clay but still is a real threat for Jelena. She hits the ball very hard and moves very well also on the court. What Jelena needs to do is be patient as Iroda can get impatient in matches when all the balls come back and that would make things much easier for Jelena. That match will be played on Saturday, good luck Jelena!