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 INTRODUCING
THE NEW, IMPROVED (AND HOPEFULLY HEALTHY) JELENA by Todd Spiker #8...SINGLES RANK (2974 pts) #10...DOUBLES RANK (1720 pts) After two weeks off, the 2002 WTA season officially takes flight once again this week in the Tier I event at Indian Wells. Did the tour go on a hiatus, you ask? Tournaments have been held the past few weeks, queries another? Memphis, Dubai, Bogota, Scottsdale and Acapulco all crowned winners over the fortnight? Really? Well, yes. The happenings there didn't quite register, though, did they? It's not as if anything important happened. After all... we ONLY saw a new #1 player in the world crowned a week ago, and then her sister stage a 3rd set rally this past weekend to prevent a past #1 from reclaiming the position. But all that was really a sideshow, wasn't it? When Jelena Dokic makes her much-anticipated return to the tour this week, all the other matches that take place in California will magically take on a greater importance, right? Of course they will... for some people (and you know who you are). So, after holding off last week, let us now institute the necessary physical contortions that I previously mentioned. With luck, they'll enable our favorite Yugoslavian to avoid another trip to the trainer's table before the tournament is through. Altogether now... cross every body part available (yes... those, too). (Uncross your eyes.) Very good. Hey, if this works, maybe we can all concentrate on actual match victories at some point, as well. Ah, but that's a wish for another day. *** *** *** *** *** *** THE DRIVE FOR #5 #3 Clijsters...leads by 721 points #4 Hingis...leads by 689 points #5 Davenport...leads by 593 points #6 S.Williams...leads by 235 points #7 Henin...leads by 13 points #8 DOKIC...2974 #9 Seles...trails by 110 #10 Mauresmo...trails by 323 *JELENA NOTES* ...In Jelena's final week of injury-induced inactivity, she saw her fellow Top 10ers rise and fall all around her. But, when the smoke cleared, she found herself still ranked #8. Meanwhile, Serena Williams (up 235, after having trailed by 99) moved ahead of her to #6 on the strength of her Scottsdale victory. On the other hand, #9 Monica Seles (back 110, after having led by 5) fell behind Jelena while sitting out last week. ...Up ahead, #5 Lindsay Davenport lost 295 points after missing out on the chance to defend her '01 Scottsdale crown. The subtraction cuts her lead over Jelena from 888 to 593 points. With big Tier I points available to Jelena in March (with only QF points from Miami '01 to defend), she could finally surpass the injured American by the end of the month. Also, #3 Kim Clijsters (721 up) must return from a month off (with a stress fracture in her serving arm) to defend her RU points from Indian Wells last year. Jelena could face her in the SF. ...With '01 Indian Wells champ Serena Williams sitting out, Jelena would seem certain to move back ahead of her barring another injury-riddled event. #7 Justine Henin (up 13) is also squarely within her sights this week, with the potential of a first-ever matchup between the two a long-awaited QF highlight. The chance to match her career-high ranking of #6 following Indian Wells is there for Jelena. Hopefully, her two weeks of rest in Florida hasn't dulled the sharpness that her game showed before that fatefully bad Parisian decision on February 9. **PACIFIC LIFE OPEN, March 4-16** *Indian Wells, California, USA* *Tier I - Harcourt Outdoors* POINTS TABLE W...325 RU...228 SF...146 QF...81 4r...45 3r...28 2r...16 1r...1 **** **** **** **** **** **** **WTA REPORT, March 4, 2002** *TOP 20 SINGLES* 1.Venus Williams...4790 2.Jennifer Capriati...4767 3.Kim Clijsters...3695 4.Martina Hingis...3661 5.Lindsay Davenport...3567 6.Serena Williams...3209 7.Justine Henin...2987 8.JELENA DOKIC...2974 9.Monica Seles...2864 10.Amelie Mauresmo...2651 11.Sandrine Testud...2088 12.Silvia Farina Elia...1795 13.Meghannn Shaughnessy...1695 14.Elena Dementieva...1593 15.Arantxa Sanchez Vicario...1548 16.Nathalie Tauziat...1464 17.Amanda Coetzer...1257 18.Maggie Maleeva...1240 19.Iroda Tulyaganova...1168 20.Tamarine Tanasugarn...1153 **WEEK 9** *SCOTTSDALE FINALS (Hardcourt)* S: S.Williams def. J.Capriati ...Serena's 3-set win prevented Capriati from making sister Venus' reign at #1 a one-week affair D: Raymond/Stubbs def. Black/Likhovtseva *ACAPULCO FINALS (Red Clay)* S: K.Srebotnik def. P.Suarez ...In her second final on red clay in as many weeks, Srebotnik refused to go 0-2 D: Suarez/Ruano-P. d. Krizan/Srebotnik PLAYER AWARDS PLAYER OF THE WEEK...Serena Williams ...She hadn't played since before Oz. Who could tell? RISER...Katarina Srebotnik ...Her last two events have seen her advance to four finals. After knocking off the likes of Gala Leon Garcia, Cristina Torrens-Valero and Anna Kournikova in Acapulco, she beat Paola Suarez in the final to avoid going 0-4. SURPRISE...Srebotnik ...Raise your hand if you thought she'd follow up her Bogota RU with a title this week? Hey you, put your hand down! (There's always one in the crowd, isn't there?) VETERAN...Paola Suarez ...RU in Acapulco singles, and won the doubles. NEW FACE...Celine Beigbeder ...Followed up her Bogota QF with more good red clay results. DOWNER...A.Sanchez Vicario/Mirjana Lucic ...ASV went out in her first match (again) in Acapulco; missing-in-action Lucic failed (again) to get out of the qualifying rounds, losing her only match, in Scottsdale. *MATCHES* 1.Scottsdale Final: Serena d. Capriati ...just think if Serena was actually a tour regular. 2t.Acapulco SF: Srebotnik d. Kournikova; Suarez d. Dementieva ...Just when it looked like an all-Russian, no-title final was in the works, reality set it. Kournikova fought through a neck injury and a 3-hour, 3-setter before finally breaking down in a 1-6 3rd that included 8 DFs. Dementieva, the #1 seed, went out in straight sets. This may have been the best shot either will have at a singles title in 2002. 4.Acapulco Final: Srebotnik d. Suarez 5.Acapulco 2r: Husarova d. ASV ...even on red clay, Arantxa fails to win a match. *** *** *** *** *** *** **WEEK 10/11** PREDICTIONS INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA (Tier I - Hardcourt Outdoor) Quarterfinals Clijsters def. Shaughnessy Dokic def. Henin Seles def. Kournikova Hingis def. Stevenson ...Waffle #2 down, one to go. Kournikova hits the wall (again). Clijsters might be a longer shot here than one would expect. Hingis, the Oz collapse aside, has been the healthiet, most consistent player on tour thus far in 2002. Semifinals Dokic def. Clijsters Hingis def. Seles ...Waffle #1 down. After the big win in Paris, Jelena would probably love to see Seles again. Final Hingis def. Dokic ...but if Jelena's healthy enough to get this far, who's to say she couldn't pick up her third career Tier I title? *** *** *** *** *** *** **WTA LISTS** *MOST WTA SF in 2002* 5...Monica Seles (2-3) 4...Venus Williams (3-1) 4...Martina Hingis (3-1) 3...Amelie Mauresmo (1-2) 3...Anna Kournikova (0-3) *WTA FINALS in Back-to-Back Weeks* 3...Jan/Feb...Hingis (Sydney,Oz,Tokyo) 2...Jan...Smashnova (Auckland,Canberra) 2...Feb...V.Williams (Paris,Antwerp) 2...Feb/Mar..Srebotnik (Bogota,Acapulco) *YOUNGEST 2002 WTA CHAMPION* 20 yrs, 6 mos. - S.Williams (Scottsdale) *MOST DOUBLES TITLES* INDIVIDUALS 3...Lisa Raymond 3...Rennae Stubbs 3...Paola Suarez TEAMS 3...Raymond/Stubbs *WTA TIER I WINNERS* Feb...Tokyo...Martina Hingis Mar...Indian Wells...?? *** *** *** *** *** *** *TDS RANKINGS LEADERS* 1.Martina Hingis...86 2.Venus Williams...75 3.Jennifer Capriati...70 4.Monica Seles...65 5t.Amelie Mauresmo...40 5t.Anna Smashnova...40 7.Katarina Srebotnik...33 8.Justine Henin...32.5 9.Lisa Raymond...28 10.Anna Kournikova...26 (#23...Jelena Dokic...11.5) |
