Clijsters is out. Anna Smashnova has uspet Kim, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. Kim fought off four match points, but Smashnova, who has had a GREAT year so far, was too much for the tired Clijsters...

The story:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news/ap/200205...germanopen.html

Other winners today:
Daniella Hantuchova d. Chanda Rubin, 6-2, 6-4
Serena Williams d. Barbara Schett (who beat Venus at the French last year), 6-3, 6-3
Sandrine Testud d. Anastasia Myskina, 6-4, 7-5

Justine Henin and Amelie Mauresmo also advanced.
Iroda Tulyaganova d. Eva Dryberg, 7-5, 6-3

TV schedule for the chicks:

All times are Eastern

Fri 10 7:30 PM
Sat 11 7:00 PM
Sun 12 11:00 PM (!) by which time even STRAIGHT MEN will know who's won!

Sorry to see Mary Pierce unable to overcome Jelena Dokic. Hopefully she's getting match tough, though. She could pull an upset or two at the French. How cool would that be? Let's just say that no seed wants to see her as her opening match.

Ditto Chanda Rubin v. Hantuchova.

Tomorrow is Dokic/Hantuchova, which will be a fund thrid-rounder. Serena shouldn't have too much trouble with Maggie Maleeva; Henin ditto with Likhovtseva. Capriati had a much tougher time than she would have liked with Tu (the straight set score doesn't indicate how many deuces there were in the match). Can she continue over Tulyaganova, who's been impressive in her two wins over Leon Garcia & Dyrberg, and who is looking for a breakthrough upset?

Props to Smash, who beat her first Top-5 opponent today. She's my dark, dark, dark horse for the French.

Scores from this a.m.:

Capriati d. Tulyganova, 6-2, 6-0
Henin d. Likhovtseva, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
S. Williams d. Maleeva, 7-6, 6-4
Smashnova d. Torrens Valero, 7-6, 6-0

Amelie Mauresmo is serving for her match against Farina Elia 6-3, 5-3, 15-0

Amelie won 3 and 3! It was a good day for France. Arantxa lost to Natalie Dechy

Henin better watch out for Dechy this time around. Dechy's having an upset-filled year, beating Clijsters in the first round at Indian Wells, Testud at the Australian, and Shaughnessy twice. Henin beat her indoors at Paris, 7-6(8) in the third. And Justine has struggled past her first two opponents.

Meanwhile Capriati, as usual, seems to be more comfortable with a match under her belt. Testud did beat Venus in Dubai. But she's been having injury problems since then, and Capriati should NOT lose this match.

On the bottom half, Serena can't like her matchup with Mauresmo. Amelie won this event last year, desperately needs the ranking points, and this is, as we know, clay. While Serena is 3-0 against Mauresmo, two of those victories came in third-set tiebreaks and the other was 6-4 7-6 (6). Assuming Mauresmo doesn't choke, she has to be considered the favorite tomorrow.

Finally, Hantuchova v. Smashnova. Another one that's tough to call. The semifinalist here will be the surprise of the tourney. The rising young star who's finally developing clay legs. The reinvigorated veteran tearing up the circuit while her country is in the middle of a crisis. I'm guessing this one goes three sets. Small edge to Smashnova's continuing to have a breakthrough year.

If Serena tunes up her serve, and serves more consistently, she can effectively break Amelie's spirit. Amelie definitely has a chance to win the match, but I think Serena has the edge.

I'm surprised that Hantuchova has made it this far in the event. Her game just isn't suited to clay... Like bridgeportjake, I'd give the edge to Smashnova. I think Smashnova would be more of a threat to the winner of S. Williams vs. Mauresmo than Hantuchova, who is still a young player.

Re: Capriati vs. Testud, I wouldn't be surprised by an upset... Testud knows how to bug Jenny. In fact, Testud might surprise us by going all the way to the final!

That being said, if she's injured, she's toast. A Capriati vs. Henin semi would be fine (great, even!)

[quote]Originally posted by The B Man:
If Serena tunes up her serve, and serves more consistently, she can effectively break Amelie's spirit. Amelie definitely has a chance to win the match, but I think Serena has the edge.

---

I'd definitely pick Serena in this match too, but I don't think the deciding factor will be her serve. Is it just me, or does Serena seem particularly hungry as of late? Sure, she's always been that way, but I think missing the Australian and the early part of the year plus the 2 years and counting since her last (and only) Slam victory are fueling Serena's fire big-time. On the flip side, Amelie will be feeling all sorts of pressure to defend last year's points, and pressure & Amelie ... well, not so much. If Amelie wins their match, I'll consider it a huge upset.

According to the WTA page, Serena has advanced thanks to a "walk over"--apparently, Mauresmo has withdrawn, but there are no full reports on Yahoo, CNN/SI, or ESPN...

If you translate the german on the tourney's official site, it says Amelie has a "neck pulling" that is "not due to tennis." She must have strained it somehow.

Poor Amelie!
Damn.

Capriati is through, as well, defeating Testud in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The story on her victory, and Mauresmo's withdrawal:
http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,132...21284_7,00.html

Wow. Smashnova took out Hantuchova. I guess I'm surprised. And looking at the scores, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, it doesn't look like she had a good start.

Smashnova is good and maybe a resurging vetran, but I don't think Serena will have a tough time against her. The interesting semi will be Capriati against either Henin or Dechy. And I would not be surprised at all if it's Dechy.

Am I right in understanding that Serena will NOT get quality points for her walkover? 43 points is nothing to sneeze at. But if Mauresmo had gone out and hit one serve, then retired, then Serena would have had the points? Or what.

Looks like Henin is playing VERY well. She's up on Dechy 6-0, 4-4. Way to go Justine!

It's a done deal: Henin has, in fact, won. She defeated Dechy 6-0, 6-4

Yay for Henin! She could really use a big win over Jenny to boost her confidence right now! If she can stay mentally tough and play her game, she could upset Capriati.

[ May 10, 2002: Message edited by: curtj ]

Henin was going to beat Capriati in the semi's last year until she turned her ankle in the third set....

[quote]Originally posted by Gaga4Gaby:
Henin was going to beat Capriati in the semi's last year until she turned her ankle in the third set....

---

They way Henin has gagged away some big matches, grapping defeat from the jaws of victory, I'm not sure you can make that definitive a statement! Henin is a world class player who seems to get real tight when the pressure is on.

Oh, I feel safe. Henin wasn't considered a true top player at that point. She was just really starting to burst on the scene, as we witnessed when she went onto the semi's of the French and the finals of Wimbledon. Her choking has been the result of feeling pressure as a favorite. At that point, she was a major underdog.

In fact, as much as I hate to say it, I feel safe saying Henin would have beaten Capriati and then taken out Amelie in the final.

Just call me Mistress Cleo

[ May 10, 2002: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

Miss Cleo, can you tell me if the Sox will win the World Series this year???

Wertheim makes an interesting comment about Henin's choking: that the sign of a true choker (e.g., Jana Novotna after the '93 Wimbledon) is s/he is in some serious denial about what happened. In contrast, Henin always confronts that demon head-on and takes full responsibility. Has Henin choked in some high-pressure situations? Sure, but with her attitude, I gotta think she'll improve in the mental fortitude department.

I do think Henin's mental game has improved somewhat. As her recent losses to Venus have showed, she still has trouble holding leads against the top players. But to be fair, Venus is the new Steffi Graf in inspiring opponent choking--even normally quite tough players like Capriati have fallen apart against her. One way in which she has improved is that after blowing a set, she doesn't seem to cave in the way she did last summer (against Serena at the U.S. open for example). Her recent losses to Venus and Dokic were frustrating, but she fought for them till the end. I think she does better with the pressure on when she's returning rather than serving.

And I also think she might well have beaten Jen here last year. After all, she beat Jen at Wimbledon a month later.

Is there a rain delay? The "live scoreboard" hasn't changed in ages.

WOW! Henin demolished Capriati 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, winning ten of the last eleven games. The brilliant shotmaker of last spring is definitely back with a vengeance. Way to go, Justine! Watch out Serena (assuming she beats Smashnova).

Wow, I sure didn't expect that. Congratulations to Henin...JenCap is such a stubborn player to get past sometimes, good for Justine...Can she take out Serena? I think if she stays calm and focused and lets Serena overhit a bit, she'll have a great chance. Of course, Serena has to get past Smashnova first.

Serena is smoking Smashnova. 6-3 3-1

The final is set: Justine Henin vs. Serena Williams. Verrrry interesting match-up, I think.
Capriati made some rather pleasant comments about Henin after the match, and Justine, herself, seems to be optimistic about her chances tomorrow. The story from Yahoo:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news/ap/200205...germanopen.html

Henin has never even had a close match against Serena. She's been far more effective against Big Sis for some reason. It'll be interesting to see how she does. Serena, of course, still has yet to show she can beat any top player on clay.

The final is knotted right now: Henin won the first set 6-2 but Serena has rebounded to take the second set 6-1.

[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: The B Man ]

Serena has worked her way into a tie-break in the third set... Seems to be a pretty good match. This will be a very strong, quality win for whomever emerges to be the victor.

HENIN needs this win more than Serena, though. For Serena, just getting to the final and taking a set is feat enough; Henin could really re-establish herself as a top contender with a win here, and put to rest some of the talk about her being a choker...

And HENIN wins!

The final score 6-2, 1-6, 7-6. What a terrific week for Justine Henin, beating Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams in back-to-back matches.

This has to be a HUGE confidence boost for Justine. Way to go!

[quote] Miss Cleo, can you tell me if the Sox will win the World Series this year???

---

Let me look into my crystal ball...

Yes, yes...

I could tell you, but I foresee that you wouldn't like the answer