Bjorkman/Kournikova just d. Woodbridge/Navratilova, 6-2 in the third set.

AND... Kournikova/Bjorkman won because little Anna held both her service games in the third set including the winning game! Martina only held her serve once in the match, during the first set. I bet Martina will continue to tell us that Anna's got game. Anna just needs to apply the best parts about her doubles game to her singles.

Their next mixed opponents look like a lesser team, so if they get by, that puts Anna in the quarters of two Wimbledon events. And I think her and Chanda stand a good chance at knocking out Raymond/Stubbs.

I don't suppose any of this will garner her credibility. Still, I would love to see her in the top 5 of the doubles ladder again.

[ July 03, 2002: Message edited by: curtj ]

B Man, I still like your prediction of a Hantuchova upset, even though Serena Williams was just too strong today. Daniela just looks like much more of a grass court player: much more precise footwork, smoother movement, and more compact groundstrokes. I'm sure she'll continue to improve, and if she works on getting into the net (apparently she's a very good doubles player), she has a great chance to win this tournament in the near future. I see what you mean about Serena on grass: her footwork is spotty, her backswings are too large and loopy for grass, and she never seems to know when to come in. But her serve was outstanding today, and it looks like that was the difference against Daniela. Daniela also made too many UEs.

Amelie, on the other hand, looked like a quintessential grass-court player. She chipped and charged on JenCap's 2nd serve, her movement was impeccable, she approached on every short ball, and her net play was just outstanding. Jen was bothered by a sore left shoulder, but even at 100%, she had no chance against Amelie today.

I'm hoping for a Venus & Amelie final, because these two are clearly the best grass courters in the draw (no disrespect to Justine Henin, a fine grass courter in her own right).

Thanks for the comments, BoSox!

Perhaps more compelling match-ups today would have been Hantuchova vs. Capriati and Mauresmo vs. S. Williams...

I'm also rooting for a Venus vs. Mo final, and would love for Venus to defend.

I told you guys Amelie was playing really well and would challenge Capriati. Nice to see her find her grass feet this year. I think both semis are good match-ups.

Amelie has always had the sizzle, but always seemed to struggle to keep it in the pan. Today she fried up Jen's bacon and was ready for some more cooking. She was pretty awesome the entire way through today. Jen was striking the ball fairly clean, but was under attack from the get go. If Amelie can hold her mental game up, she will prove tough to beat the rest of the way. Her game was amazingly beautiful out there today.

Daniela looks like someone who will be around a while, and (hopefully) be a top player for years to come. She also has a very graceful, and seemingly complete, game. Nice to watch her play.

I do have to voice a different opinion about Venus. I personally do not consider her a natural grass court player. Yes, she has a big serve and good movement, but she really does not play up in the court with much regularity. She utilizes her big groundstrokes to hit her opponent off the court. That is not a tactic that is specific to any surface. She plays that way on all surfaces. Grass just accentuates some of her strengths (much like with Graf). However, she is no Billie Jean, Martina, Stefan, etc. A final with Amelie may prove very interesting, if Amelie continues to attack with success. Venus has not faced someone who can regularly put her under pressure from the net in the last three years. It may show us just how capable on grass she really is.

I know there's only so much sportsman like behavior one can summon up after a loss, but Huntuchova's handshake at the net after her loss to Serena was paltry. It looked as if Serena was trying to talk to Daniela (perhaps to congratulate her on her play) but Huntuchova was having none of it.

Perhaps I'm reading far too much into gestures or perhaps Capriati, Daniela's new doubles partner, has been giving her the lowdown on how to hate the Williams Sisters.

Just my little unfounded conspiracy theory.

Also I'm looking forward to Venus/Serena final. I think this one will be great. Venus wants a threepeat and Serena wants membership to Wimbledon.

Ok, this article is pretty creepy. I wonder how many of the tour players have to deal with something like this and keep focus (especially at a major championship!)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/2002/wimbledon/news/2002/07/04/serena_arrest_a p/://http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/te...ena_arrest_a p/://http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/te...ena_arrest_a p/


WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- A man alleged to have stalked Serena Williams has been arrested at Wimbledon on charges of breach of the peace and criminal damage, police said Thursday.

Albrecht Stromeyer, 34, of Frankfurt, Germany, was arrested Wednesday on the approaches to the All England Club in southwest London, Scotland Yard said.

He allegedly rode a bicycle into a police camera crew.

Stromeyer was due to appear before magistrates in Wimbledon on Thursday morning, where police were making an application for him to be held in custody.

Stromeyer was arrested in Rome in mid-May when he tried to get too close to Williams at the Italian Open, but he was later released.

"When he was arrested, he said Serena looked at him when he was in the crowd, and that's how he knew she loved him," Williams' mother, Oracene, was quoted as saying in Wednesday's Washington Post. "Of course, Serena never looked at anyone."

Stromeyer has also been spotted at a tournament in Berlin and the French Open last month.

Oracene Williams said a man came up to them in Berlin in May "and he shook my hand and asked if Serena was with me, and I said no."

"Then he found out what hotel we were at in Paris, even though we had checked in under fake names," she told the Post. "That scared me. We didn't tell Serena until later."

A full-time bodyguard is accompanying Serena and her sister, Venus, at Wimbledon.

Both Williams sisters were scheduled to play semifinal matches Thursday. They were also due to play together in women's doubles.

In February, Stromeyer walked into a hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Williams was staying during a tournament and asked to see her, the Post reported. When the desk clerk denied his request, he began taking off his clothes and was taken away by police, the paper said.

In April, a man who followed Swiss tennis player Martina Hingis was sentenced to two years in prison for stalking and trespassing. Dubravko Rajcevic, a 46-year-old Croatian-born naval architect and Australian citizen, was arrested when he ignored an order from police to stay away from Hingis during a tournament at Key Biscayne, Florida.

Security for women's players has been a priority since Monica Seles was stabbed by a German man during a tournament in Hamburg in 1993.


Ok, here is a picture of the guy being taken away.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery/200207...is_xwim101.html

[ July 04, 2002: Message edited by: Musicalidad ]

There was a rather large article about this in my morning sports section. Aparantly, some of the press is saying these women have it coming to them because of the manner of their dress and the fact that some of them are becoming even more famous, than what they receive for tennis, for posing for magazines and the like. The thrust of the article and I tend to agree was its not what the gals are wearing thats the problem, the problem is the stalkers.

Anyone who thinks that their poses and clothes bring it on is idiotic. Stalking is really, really common...ask your female friends. It happens to perfectly ordinary women without any provocative dress/actions etc. For highly visible, famous women, I'll bet it's extremely common. I'm sure we only hear about the most disturbing, threatening stalkers.

And what is it about stalking and rape that inspires this "she had it coming" reaction? If somebody breaks into your house and steals things do they say "Oh, he didn't install a security system and didn't have guard dogs. He had it coming!"

Venus took the first set, 6-3
The mood is *tight*; Justine didn't play poorly, Venus just really turned it on at the end of the first set.

V. Williams d. J. Henin, 6-3, 6-2
Looked like Venus developed a hitch in her serve, though, toward the end of the match...

Venus played well, but not great. She'll need to pick it up in the final.

Kournikova and Rubin have defeated the Ladies Dubs #1 seeded team of Raymond and Stubbs.

In the semi's, Anna and Chanda are likely to meet Serena and Venus. Serena and Venus have two matches to catch-up, though...

Go Anna! Go Chanda! That's a great win for both of them. Can they survive a semi with the williams sisters? I don't even want to conjecture. But Serena still has to finish her match with Mo and we all know that depending on how that goes will have a factor on whether the sisters play their doubles matches.

oh, and Go Anna! Go Janus! They have a mixed match later today too.

I like how Henin is really taking it to Venus at the moment. She seems to be really fired up. She is also mixing it up well. That drop shot in the second game was great. Go Justine!!!!!

Well, it's official. The WTA is now the Williams Tennis Association. Serena was so cute when she found out that she's going to be #1 last week. She started jumping around and then started to cry.

I hope that they can play a competitive match. They're just so good.

Call me cynical, but I have a really hard time believing Serena didn't know about becoming #1 until Bud Collins told her. Its been all over the press.

Anyway, they both played great today. But for me, this is their last chance to prove to they can play a competitive match. They've played each other 8 times, so hopefuly they can overcome whatever jitters they have and go at each other. I can really do without a repeat of the French Open Lovefest!

I believed Serena. I think she knew she was close in points but probably thought she had to win the title to be #1.

Yet I don't understand the need for the Williams Sisters to prove that they can play a competitive match against each other.

Did we blame Henin and Mauresmo for tanking today or did we just feel that a Williams was the better player? Today's matches were over after the first 10 minutes - and were far more boring - and lopsided- than any Venus/Serena match that I've seen (with the one exception of this year's Ericcson - Venus got spanked).

Sure I would love to see them at the top of their game, showcasing all their talents, but I don't fault them if the spectacular doesn't happen. I still believe that they are the best players in tennis today. And with another Grand Slam in the family - they're proving it.

Anyway -here's my prediction Venus in 3. Serena may be #1 next week but she's not taking the this title.

[ July 04, 2002: Message edited by: hanknyc ]

I guess it was too much to ask for Amelie to put together two perfect grass-court matches in a row. Serena played incredible tennis in that first set, Amelie wasn't, and the whole thing was over pretty quickly.

I didn't even bother to watch the French final because (1) NBC broadcasted it tape-delayed (dumb-asses!), and (2) because Serena was playing so well and Venus was so off that the outcome was never in doubt. But at W, it's quite different. Although Serena wasn't looking that great early on, she's really gotten it together in the past few matches ... much better court positioning, cleaner footwork, and her serve has been just awesome. And you can't even compare the quality of Venus's play here compared to her game at Roland Garros. My head tells me Serena should win, but my gut tells me Venus. Hope it's a good match.

Serena has faced more quality opponents in this tournament so far, but Venus easily demolished the highest ranked player either sister faced, and last year's finalist to boot. So who knows. I'm hoping that they can give us the good match just so everyone will stop criticizing them.

I read in the Associated Press that Henin and Mauresmo both said that the sisters meeting each other in the finals is bad for tennis. Granted I haven't read the full interviews so I'm taking everything with a grain of salt, but I got mad. What are they supposed to do? Lose? Quit?

Mayeb the problem isn't with them, but with the rest of the field. Personally I thought those comments reflected quite a bit of sour grapes. Venus and Serena are all too aware of how error-prone their matches are. But what sibling duo has done better?

If Henin and Mauresmo (and others) are critical of the repeated Williams-Williams finals, all they have to do to prevent it is beat one of them.

That's all they have to do, otherwise they should keep their mouths shut.

yep, they should shut the hell up. pathetic whiners!

major props to venus and serena - even if i don't like the two a wee bit.

As a gay woman and victim of vicious rumors I would think that Amelie Mauresmo would be a little less willing to start or perpetuate them against others by suggesting Williams sisters are rigging matches

That's it! She's out of the club!

[quote] Beaten Wimbledon semi-finalist Amelie Mauresmo believes the current domination of women's tennis by the Williams sisters is becoming detrimental to the game.


"I think people are going to get bored of it," she said of the prospect of a future dominated by the sisters.

"I'm not counting how many people since yesterday told me: 'We don't want an all-Williams final.'


"To me, it's a little bit sad for women's tennis but maybe it's not the point of view of everybody."

---

Mauresmo launched a stinging attack

ROFLMAO@amelie mauresmo! LOL!

I don't mean to be catty, but I think Mauresmo is suffering from extreme jealousy (this is a woman who just yesterday said she was an angel and whom Chris Evert and Jon Wertheim said was one of the nicest people in tennis.)

As I see it, she lost the pissing contest - badly. Now she needs to make herself feel better by putting down her opponents' achievements.

It is unfortunate what many adults will do when they are put into these situations. One would hope (and expect) them to behave a bit more maturely. Bringing up anything controversial right after you got your butt kicked is just not right. Acknowledge you got kicked to the curb, talk about being inpsired to play better next year, and wish your opponent the best. If they win the tournament, you can point to the fact that you lost to the champion.

If players are so damn concerned about the tennis public's boredom with the Williams sisters' domination, why the hell don't they PLAY BETTER?!?! If some of these whiners would step up, we wouldn't always be seeing Venus and Serena in all these big finals.

I gotta think Amelie's PR peeps are burying their heads in their hands right now.

I actually think tomorrow's match has some promise. Serena is playing great, and Venus will be very motivated to keep her title. Even though they haven't played great matches in the past, I have high hopes for tomorrow's final.

I'm sick of these accusations. And coming from a player whose had to deal with what Mauresmo had to deal with, it just makes me really angry. And yes, I believe that the other women have no right to complain.

I listened to their mother talk about the accusations. Oracene is such an elegant and exquisite woman (as are her daughters.) She just shrugged off the controversy without putting anyone else down.

Interesting quote from an article on NBC's sports.

"Regardless of what happens Saturday, it will be evidence that the gap between the Williams sisters and the rest of the women's tennis is growing.

"'Imagine what they could do if they learned the 75 percent of the game that they don't know,' one of the more astute and oldest tennis observers, 1942 U.S. and 1949 Wimbledon champion Ted Schroeder, said.

"Schroeder was not being unkind of overly critical. Rather he was commenting on the obcious omissions in the Williams sisters' games - lobs and drop shots, a serve-and-volley style that would help them on grass, a more controlled approach in constructing points."

Anyone on-line watching the women's final now?

Seems to me like Venus really, really, REALLY wants to win this match, but so does Serena. Venus looks out of sorts: you can tell she's pissed and she wants the V, but Serena is playing too well.

It's like watching Venus back in the days she was still scrapping to get wins vs. Davenport and Hingis. The same befuddled/struggling/nearly pissed off expression on her face.

Man, I really want Venus to pull out this second set and win the match. I think she honestly wants that, too.

So, the score was close-ish (Serena d. Venus, 7-6, 6-3), but for me, as a Venus fan, this match sucked.

Venus looked off; I wouldn't be surprised if something is wrong with her wrist. For her service to be that off...

It's been forever since Venus lost 3 consecutive matches to the same player. Maybe this will make Venus hungry again (did you see the shot of her after the match--looked like she was on the verge of tears). Thing is, pressure is on for the US Open.

I hope Venus doesn't become the new Martina Hingis...she's going to have to really fight to stay a contender on the tour, not that two consecutive Slam finals are bad.

Well, this at least gives us (me) something to look forward to in Flushing...

[ July 06, 2002: Message edited by: The B Man ]

Venus definitely needs to do something to improve her game, just against Serena. But her face after the match reminded me of her face after the 1999 US Open, so maybe this will be a new jumpstart (I felt so bad for her.)

In any case, you have to give them credit. They're really trying for a competitive match. I think they're getting there. The first set was quite excellent.

I was thinking the exact same thing, Lev Stone!

Like I was saying, maybe this will make Venus really H-U-N-G-R-Y again.

For what it's worth, I don't think it'll be Jenny or Venus who deals Serena her first defeat of the year (well, not her first defeat, but you know what I mean). I think it's going to be someone like Clijsters...

Good luck to Venus for the rest of the year! Good luck to the rest of the tour in catching up with Serena!

The thing is that Serena is so far ahead of the pack, but so is Venus. But now she's overshadowed.

Bud Collins confirmed how down Venus is feeling. So I'm rooting for her for the US Open.

Congrats to Serena, I think that this was a much better played match than the French Open. What I am more impressed about is their poise and grace. What role models for all young women, regardless of race. You go girls!!!!!

Anyone watch the Williams/Williams Rubin/Kournikova doubles match? I still love Chanda Rubin, and was sorry to see her go, but no one was taking out the Williams sisters after today.

Still Venus looked so dispirited throughout the match. If Serena were any less of a player, they would have lost.

Hey, did anyone hear about this? Sandrine Testud announced that she's pregnant and is retiring from tennis.

That's what she told L'Equipe

Lev, where did you read about Sandrine's preg. (where on-line?)???

I thought I saw that she defaulted a match at Wimbly. Wonder if the default was related.

Well, congrats to Sandrine. She's had a solid career...

It was on either CNNSI or ESPN. Maybe both.

Congratulations to Venus and Serena for winning the doubles title as well.

The House of Williams now possesses (at the majors) 7 singles titles, 5 doubles titles, 4 mixed doubles titles (a Sister Slam), and two Olympic gold medals. As well as a combined 33 other singles titles between them. And of course both sisters have been ranked #1 (while the other is #2 no less.)

Sports has never seen anything like this before.

I was just looking at the WTA Tour tournaments list and Venus, who I think needs more time off, doesn't have it. There are five tournaments where they have points to defend between now and the US Open. Bank of West Classic (starting on July 22), Acura and Pilot Pen are Venus tournaments. JPMorgan Chase and Rogers AT&T are Serena tournaments. Venus won the Acura and Pilot Pen and Serena won the Rogers AT&T.

It will be interesting to see how Venus plays in two weeks. After all, this is the one summer tournament she played last year that she didn't win.

It might be wise for Venus to drop out of the Bank of West and Serena to enter. Venus lost early to Shaughnessy so she doesn't have that many points to defend in this tournament.

[ July 07, 2002: Message edited by: PCC ]

Monica Seles is just 41 measley points out of being ranked #3. Capriati is just barely hanging onto that position. Seles even has more quality points then Jenny. If Monica could have beaten Henin, she'd have only the sisters over her. I don't know how that will effect Monica's motivation, but I can't imagine Jenny would be happy to wake up as #4. Why would people be asking Monica about retirement when she's ranked this high??

Meanwhile, Anna Kournikova is up to #7 in the world in doubles. The six players above her comprise the top three teams, so she's in good company.

Davenport will be back in action in a couple of weeks at Fed Cup and Hingis is scheduled to play by the US Open. It will be interesting to see what form they return in and how their return effects the point distribution.

The Wimbledon officials and Amelie Mauresmo should be strapped down to chairs and forced to read this.

http://espn.go.com/tennis/wimbledon02/s/20...08/1403218.html

Not only did the women's final round score a much television audience than the men, the women's doubles final drew a bigger crowd than Hewit/Nalbandian.