Come in, Miss Dokic. We've all been awaiting your arrival.
Really, Oz wasnt' quite the same without you. Let me be the
first to say we hope you had a good rest. It was
well-deserved. We all hope that you'll have a grand time
while you're in Tokyo. I understand your last visit here
was very rewarding. We hope that this one will be quite
similar.
Have a seat. Here's your draw menu. We hope it meets with
your approval. First up will be a side order of Kremer de
la creme, or perhaps some Hrdlickova hors d'oeuvres. After
that, we'd be happy to bring you a nice Russian delicacy.
Our specials will be either Anna a la mint, or Elena
D.'flambe... I sincerely hope you won't mind that whichever
it will be will have to be determined later.
If all goes well, we might just be able to serve up an order
of Seles-ini, as well... with the main course of Hingis de
la soul to follow. We understand that your past experiences
with these dishes haven't always been good, but we have a
new kitchen staff and we all hope things will be different
this time. If so, everyone hopes you won't be too tired at
the end of the week to raise your dessert above your head so
that the patrons can capture the moment on film as a
souvenir.
Now, if you'll just sit tight, someone will be with you in a
moment. I'll go tell the chef to whip up something extra
special for the occasion.
Oh, and one more thing, Miss Dokic. Welcome back. You
should know that everyone here now believes that all is
right in the tennis world. You have returned. We can all
drink the water again.
**** **** ****
**A REMINDER OF WHERE WE LEFT OFF**
...5 finals in the last 7 events...
...3 finals in the last 4...
...3 WTA titles on 3 surfaces...
...Tier I finals on 3 surfaces, too...
...2 Tier I titles, tied for '01 best...
...a 19-5 record since the U.S. Open...
...19-2 vs. players not named Lindsay...
...12 con. wins vs. lesser-rankeds...
...26-1 (and 29-2) vs. lesser-rankeds...
Let me see. Am I forgetting something? I can't quite...
Oh, yeah. Jennifer Capriati won the first grand slam of the
year in Melbourne this weekend, too. Congrats, by the way.
I'm sure the cup will look just swell in her trophy case.
*The Drive for #5*
#4 Hingis - leads by 1121
#5 Clijsters - leads by 918
#6 S.Williams - leads by 95
#7 Henin - leads by 36
#8 Mauresmo - tied at 2780
#9 DOKIC - 2780 points
#10 Seles - trails by 240
...Jelena's return to the tour could pay off with immediate
ranking dividends. Her pre-Oz ranking of #7 slipped to #9
over the past two weeks, but could very well rise to a new
career-high of #6 one week from now. Moves past #8 Mauresmo
(ahead due to more quality points) and #7 Henin (up 36) are
there for the taking, but the big target is Serena. With
Williams absent from Tokyo due to injury, Jelena can close
the 95-point gap that separates them and get to within just
one spot of the coveted #5 ranking with a good (a SF, say,
where she could face Seles) showing
...As for the women far ahead of Jelena this week, some
movement could also be made there. Davenport can't defend
her 446 points from her 2001 Tokyo title, so Jelena should
be able to cut that gap to around 1000 points (with LD out
for at least three and a half more months); and #1 Tokyo
seed Hingis must defend 225 from a RU in '01 just days after
seeing her elusive next grand slam title slip away after
holding a 6-4,4-0 lead and four championship points in
Melbourne on Saturday
...Jelena's doubles ranking fell from #12 to #13 after Oz,
and she's now 145 points behind #10 Kournikova and being the
only female double-Top 10er (Hingis is now 102 points from
the same feat, but isn't playing doubles in Tokyo after her
grueling run in Oz)
*** *** ***
*THIS WEEK*
TORAY PAN PACIFIC OPEN (TIER I)-Tokyo
*JELENA'S RECORDS VS. POSSIBLE OPP.*
2nd Round
Elena Likhovtseva (0-0)
Anne Kremer (1-0 WTA)
QF
Anna Kournikova (1-0 Fed Cup, 1-1 Exhib)
Elena Dementieva (2-1 WTA, 0-1 Olympics, 1-0 Exhib., 1-0
Juniors)
*JELENA IN JAPAN*
98 Saga (Challenger) - RU (A.Molik)
98 Exhib. - 0-1 vs. Seles
99 Tokyo Princess Cup - 1r (C.Martinez)
00 Tokyo Princess Cup - QF (S.Williams)
01 Exhib. - 0-2 vs. Coetzer
01 Tokyo Princess Cup - W (Sanchez V.)
02 Tokyo Toray Pan Pacific - ??
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jennifer Capriati
...came back from 4-6,0-4 and 4 MPs in biggest slam final
comeback in open era
RISER OF THE WEEK: Daniela Hantuchova
...pushed Venus in 3r singles, RU to Hingis/Kournikova in
doubles, then finally won mixed title
SURPRISE OF THE WK:Adriana Serra-Zanetti
...tiny Italian gave Hingis a good go in QF
VETERAN OF THE WEEK: Monica Seles
...ended Venus' 24-match streak in QF in first career win
over Williams
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: Su-Wei Hsieh
...15-year old who knocked off Evie Dominikovic in
early-season qualifying draw took out Girls #1 seed Svetlana
Kuznetsova in Oz QF (but lost in SF)
DOWNER OF THE WEEK: Venus Williams
...24-match, 18-slam match and (amazing) 15-straight vs. Top
10ers streaks came to a crashing halt with first career loss
to Seles
*TOP 5 OZ MATCHES OF NOTE*
1.FINAL - Capriati def. Hingis
...biggest comeback in slam final
2.QF - Seles def. V.Williams
...first Venus, then Sugar Shane Mosley. Who knew?
3.SF - Hingis def. Seles
...turned out that 3rd set fade (from 5-1 to 6-4) was a
prelude to things to come
4t.DOUBLES SF - Hingis/Kournikova def. #1 Raymond/Stubbs;
DOUBLES FINAL - Hingis/Kournikova def. Hantuchova/ASV
...Anna's comeback is complete, at least in doubles. She's
back in the Top 10.
*QUOTE*
Capriati, on Marcelo Rios saying women's tennis is "a joke"
because of little depth: "What can you answer back to
that? Stupidity really deserves no answer back."
*WILLIAMS SISTERS PLEDGE DRIVE UPDATE*
A hamstring injury (at 4-4 in the 1st) limited Venus in her
QF match against Seles, as she lost in 3 after pulling out
the 1st set following the injury
***JANUARY AWARD WINNERS***
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
1.Jennifer Capriati
2.Martina Hingis
3.Anna Smashnova
4.Venus Williams
5.Kim Clijsters
HM-Martina Sucha
This page was created in january 1999 by myself
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