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JELENA
IN TOKYO: 0-1 in '02
by Todd Spiker
*TOKYO POINT BREAKDOWN (Tier I)*
1 = 1r: bye
0 = 2r: Anne Kremer (#32)
1 = TOTAL
0 = 2001 points off
-1 = 17-best tournaments pts.off
0 = TOTAL POINTS FOR WEEK
#9 = SINGLES RANK (2780 pts, -0-)
#10 = DOUBLES RANK (1686 pts, up 3)
Well, Tokyo certainly didn't provide the dream start that
everyone was hoping for for Jelena Dokic in 2002, did it?
Such are the early consequences of starting play a month
later than the rest of the field, I guess. After failing to
capitalize on a brief chance to seize the opening set (it
slipped from her grasp 5-7), Jelena's chances to win the
season's first match was lost. Two stats tell the story of
the swift exit in Tokyo: 11 double-faults (8 in the 1st set
alone) in 10 service games, and 42 unforced errors in the
match's 20 total games.
Did someone say "rusty?" Well, that and the fact that Anne
Kremer was on the other side of the net. She got an early
advantage, and simply wouldn't allow Jelena back into the
match. Maybe a more inexperienced counterpart would have
given Jelena a second chance and enabled her to scrape out a
victory, but not Kremer. The lady from Luxembourg didn't
give an inch. Especially not on carpet, a surface on which
Jelena sometimes struggles to find her rhythm (she's 14-12
on it for her career), especially in early-round matches.
Jelena was realistic about it all. She took the loss in
stride and remained confident and upbeat about the upcoming
season. "I haven't played in a long time," she said, "and
you just can't come out and play so well straight away on a
tough surface like this against players who have been
playing a lot."
Last September, Jelena opened a series of late-year carpet
season by losing to Daniela Hantuchova in Leipzig (falling
0-6 in the final set). Then, she barely escaped a 1r match
in Moscow against 17-year old Lina Krasnoroutskaya, winning
7-6 in the 3rd. After finally gaining her form after that
one win, though, Jelena didn't drop another set in the
tournament and defeated Elena Dementieva in the final for
her third career singles crown.
So, as it's on to another indoor event on carpet in Paris,
one wonders if Jelena can get in enough match play to harbor
hope for a similar stringing together of victories either in
France or Antwerp the following week. She has a decent draw
in Paris, avoiding the likes of Venus Williams, Monica Seles
or Justine Henin until at least the SF, so it's not out of
the question. It won't be easy, though. And the most
important thing for Jelena will be for her to find a way to
get past her 2r match against either Patty Schnyder or
Cristina Torrens Valero (a loss would be her 3rd straight,
tying a career high)... and then build on that to hopefully
shake off the rest of that nasty rust and get this season of
great expectations headed in the right direction.
She's already managed such headway in doubles. Tokyo wasn't
simply a long trip for Jelena, as she was able to advance to
the doubles SF with Iroda Tulyaganova. The extra match play
can only help considering the quick demise in singles, but
the run also helped Jelena to raise her doubles rank to a
career-high of #10, making her the only woman currently
ranked in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles. That
surely wasn't the goal that Jelena had in mind when her
plane touched down in Japan, but it's certainly a feat that
can't be overlooked, either.
Well-deserved congratulations are in order.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
THE DRIVE FOR #5
#5 Clijsters - leads by 918
#6 S.Williams - leads by 95
#7 Henin - leads by 36
#8 Mauresmo - tied (quality pt.adv.)
#9 JELENA - 2780
#10 Seles - trails by 31
*NOTES*
...Jelena entered Tokyo with a shot to rise from #9 to a new
career-high of #6. Her 1r loss stymied that immediate
progression, but when Seles lost in the Toray Final to
Hingis it meant that Jelena's ranking didn't budge (though
Seles, who would have risen to #6 herself with the title,
cut the gap between the two from 240 to 31 points). Thus,
the race for #6 resumes in Paris this week as Jelena, Seles,
Henin and Mauresmo congregate in Paris in a battle that
could help one them overtake Serena.
...It's a chance for everyone to get closer to #5 Kim
Clijsters, too. Just as Waffle No.1 was looking like she
might be able to challenge for #2 on the computer, she's
added her name to the lengthening list of Top 10ers taken
out with an injury as she'll be off the tour for at least 3
weeks with a stress fracture in her right arm.
...#8 Amelie Mauresmo, ahead of Jelena only by total quality
points, will be defending her 2001 title in Paris this week
and will have to nearly duplicate the feat (key match: a
potential matchup with Kournikova in the 2r) to stay ahead
of Jelena... as long as Jelena can string together at least
a couple wins on the carpet, that is.
THE NEW DOUBLES #10
#7 Ruano-Pascual - leads by 469
#8 Po-Messerli - leads by 453
#9 Sanchez Vicario - leads by 370
#10 JELENA - 1686
#11 Hingis - trails by 35
#12 C.Martinez - trails by 97
#13 Sugiyama - trails by 98
*NOTES*
...On the strength of the Tokyo SF run, Jelena moved up 3
spots to attain a new career-high in doubles and her
first-ever Top 10/Top 10 week in singles AND doubles. At
the moment, she's the only woman who can boast of such a
standing. #11 Hingis is the next closest woman to matching
the honor, with Top 10 Waffles Clijsters and Henin also
hovering around the doubles Top 20.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
**LISTS**
*UNLUCKY #2 SEED?*
...Jelena as the #2-seed...
00 Shanghai...QF (Tulyaganova)
00 Kuala Lumpur...2r (Majoli)
01 Birmingham...2r (Molik)
01 Vienna...2r (Kostanic)
01 Bahia...RU (Seles)
02 Tokyo TPP... 2r (Kremer)
TOTAL MATCH RECORD: 5-6
*JELENA IN PARIS*
99 Roland Garros... 1r (Curutchet)
00 Roland Garros... 2r (Hrdlickova)
01 Roland Garros... 3r (Mandula)
02 Open Gaz De France... ??
TOTAL MATCH RECORD: 3-3
*JELENA BY SURFACE AS A PRO*
(WTA & exhibitions)
GRASS: 28-8 (.778)
CLAY: 33-18 (.647)
HARD: 67-39 (.632)
CARPET: 14-12 (.538)
UNKNOWN: 3-0
*PARIS - Open Gaz de France (Tier II)*
JELENA vs. possible opponents
2r
Patty Schnyder (2-0)
Cristina Torrens-Valero (0-0)
QF
Sandrine Testud (2-0)
Elena Likhovtseva (0-0)
SF
Monica Seles (0-4, 0-2 exhib.)
Justine Henin (0-0)
Magui Serna (3-0)
Barbara Schett (3-0, 2-0 exhib.)
F
Venus Williams (1-2)
Amelie Mauresmo (1-1)
Anna Kournikova (1-0, 1-1 exhib.)
Tokyo Finals
S: Martina Hingis def. Monica Seles
D: Raymond/Stubbs def. Callens/Vinci
*PLAYER AWARDS*
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Martina Hingis
...first Tier I win since October 2000
RISER: Anna Kournikova
...advanced to 2nd SF of '02, but is 0-2
SURPRISE: Alexandra Stevenson
...defeated Coetzer, then pushed Seles
VETERAN: Monica Seles
...4 finals in her last 5 events
NEW FACE: Saori Obata
...in Tokyo qualifying, 23-year old knocked off Q-seeds
Alicia Molik (#4) and Jennifer Hopkins (#5)
DOWNER: Jelena Dokic
...0-1 in 2002 after straight sets loss to Anne Kremer
*MATCHES OF NOTE*
1.2r - Kournikova def. Dementieva
...ED crumbles (twice, actually) in battle of title-less
Russians. Dementieva served for the 1st set at 6-5 and was
broken, then lost a TB. She was up 3-0 in the 2nd, but lost
the set in another TB.
2.Final - Hingis def. Seles
...Hingis is 14-4 vs. Seles
3t.2r - Stevenson def. Coetzer
3t.QF - Seles def. Stevenson
...Seles was pushed to a 7-6,7-6 final scoreline (11-9 in
both TBs), with Stevenson failing to convert 11 set points.
5.1r - Maleeva def. Bedanova
...the Bulgarian's quiet rise up the rankings continues.
She's now #16.
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JELENA
IN TOKYO: 0-1 in '02