Henin is quickly becoming a favorite for the FO title. I think JenCap-if she plays clay court tennis and doesn't just slug away-will get past Serena but I'll choose Henin over JenCap. Henin really knows how to slow down and frustrate the big babes...

The Williams sisters have spoken much more gracefully this year than in years past. Every once in a while, though, they still say stupid things (don't we all). Serena's comments at this Italian Open left much to be desired. Lindsey Davenport has always been the most graceful of the top players. It would be nice to see her playing again.

I'm all for Henin winning this tournament.

While I still root for Serena, I have to say how impressed I am with Justine Henin. That loss to Venus at Amelia Island may have been the best thing for her, because now she's beaten Capriati from a set down, Serena in a third set tie break, and just (finally) slew her demons by beating Kim Clijsters. Good for her.

As the clay court season wraps up, I'd say with some certainty that the winner of the French will be either an American or a Belgian. Clijsters and Henin have proven themselves to be up to the challenge.

However, having said that, when the surface is no longer clay, I think the Belgians will be at a major disadvantage. Venus is the Queen of Summer, and once Wimbledon comes around, she'll have arrived in full force.

Jennifer has won the first set, 6-2
Jenny and Serena appear to be on-serve in the second, with Serena up 3-2

Whoops!
I reported the Capriati/S. Williams match incorrectly. Serena, not Jenny, won the first set, 6-2. Capriati is up 5-3 in the second...

Serena Williams d. Jennifer Capriati, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5

She will face Justine Henin in the final, making for an interesting rematch of last week's German Open championship match...

Heh. They come all this way just to face each other again. I wonder if this will boost Serena in the rankings to #3.

Well I thought JenCap would get through Serena on clay, but, hey, Serena can take three months off and still win a tournament...

I hope Henin wears her down again. Justine is the best clay player out there right now...

Oh my god, the FO is just over a week away!!!!

Does anyone know if Serena will move up to #3 if she wins this tourney? If so, with Venus slipping to #2 - Serena and Venus would be destined to be in the same half of the draw at the French Open. Everytime the Williams are in the same half of the draw - the speculation just over-shadows the whole tourney.

Also does anyone think JenCap is still the favorite to defend her title? She's playing good
tennis - but I'm not sure she'll win another tourney this year - let alone the French.

That's not necessarily true. Slams don't hold to that kind of draw. The #1 seeded player can play either #3 or #4 depending on how the draw comes out.

Venus and Serena can be 2 and 3 and still be in different brackets.

Coincidentally, I'm not sure how the rankings work, but there's a 90 point difference between Clijsters and Serena right now. And Serena will get bonus points for beating Caprtiati.

[ May 18, 2002: Message edited by: Lev Stone ]

At least the ESPN site has rankings where they list how many points are being defended in the current tournament (Kim and Serena both none to speak of), so Serena needs to score 90 points more than Kim in this tournament, which she hasn't so far. If she beats Justine she very well might, but I haven't done the math.
ESPN WTA rankings
There are better sites with clearer charts, but I can't find it in my Favorites.

I believe she has passed Clijsters. Clijsters lost in the second round in this tournament last year and Serena did not play. KC will pick up 101 points for getting to the semis. SW will pick up 193 if she loses, 275 if she wins.

These are my own calculations and are highly subject to error.

Officially Serena will pass Kimn Clijsters for a career high #3.

[quote]The Williams sisters have spoken much more gracefully this year than in years past. Every once in a while, though, they still say stupid things (don't we all). Serena's comments at this Italian Open left much to be desired.

---

No we all don't say stupid arrogant stuff. Public figures especially need to learn to be graceful, and Venus has come a long way, but obviously Serena hasn't. As much as I love her --to me there's hardly anything as exciting to watch as Serena's ferocity -- I want her to get beaten badly by Justine.
Richard raised those girls apart from the world, so it's no surprise that they are such unsocialized geeks. But I think that they are basically good girls, and they will learn.

[ May 18, 2002: Message edited by: Tom ]

hey lev

Is that true about the seedings for the Slams? If so, what's the big deal about the #1 seed. I thought that by being #1 that at least guaranteed you the easier draw by playing the lower ranked person in the top 4.

I acutally think Serena looked very good today beating Henin. It was very close but Serena cut down on her errors and played an extremely clean game (clean for a Williams sister that is).

Lev is correct. Actually, I think #1 doesn't necessarily play #4 at any of the tournaments. The way the seeding works, it makes no difference if you're seeded #1 or #8 until the quarter finals, then #'s 1-4 will play #'s 5-8. I think the pattern is random. Which is one of the reasons, I felt people made way too big a deal about Hingis retaining the #1 ranking--it really doesn't make much difference.

Henin made an interesting remark after the Clijsters match that the clay in Rome plays faster than other places. I don't know whether it's the clay itself or the weather (Rome usually being warmer and drier than Berlin or Paris), but it might be why Rome is the only European claycourt championship Sampras ever won. Still, it was Serena's first clay court championship, so an important milestone and one that makes her a factor at the French. Jen has really not looked up to defending her title--sometimes I wonder if her shot selection is too predictable, now that people have had a year and a half to watch the "new, improved" Capriati.

[ May 19, 2002: Message edited by: JC ]