Charleston:

http://www.wtatour.com/global/includes/Tra...eston_draws.pdf

To be perfectly honest, no one ever follows the bastard step child Tier IV & V events other than myself, so I'll spare everyone from any sort of discussion.

The draw in Charleston is just stacked.

Quarterfinal matches if the seeds hold:

Henin-Capriati
Venus-Davenport
Dementieva-Davenport
Petrova-Serena

Incredible matches, but I don't see things playing out that way.

I don't see Justine having any problems getting through the quarterfinals. The other seeds in her section ... Dechy, Dokic, and JenCap are solid players, but Justine is just too good on this surface. I wouldn't be surprised to see her face Mandula in the quarterfinals.

In the next section, I'm concerned about Venus's chances this week. Daniilidou could give her some trouble in the 2nd round and Zuluaga is a stiff test in the 3rd round. As for Davenport, Zvonareva is going to be a tight match in the 3rd round. I don't think that Vera will win, but I'm expecting a stiff test. $5 says that Venus will lose before the quarterfinals. (I have to get ready for my graduation party, so money is tight around casa de Nick.)

Martina is in the draw again this week, drawing Amy Frazier. IMO, this is a better match-up for Martina, although Amy has enough experience to win the match. Dementieva-Schnyder in the 3rd round looks intriguing and I expect Patty to win the match. Mauresmo has an incredibly weak draw and I'll be surprised if she loses more than 4 games in any of her matches.

The bottom quarter looks stacked ... Petrova-Pierce in the 2nd round could be a thriller. Suarez could give her a test in the 3rd round as well. As for Serena, she has BY FAR the weakest route to the quarterfinals. Conchita could test her, but I like to think that Serena would just beat the crap out of her 1 and 1. Conchita is the only Top 50 player in her 1/8th of the draw.

Lots of great matches in Charleston this week ... I only wish that we could get more coverage.

Nick

[ April 11, 2004, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

Umm ... how do Serena & Venus ALWAYS end up on opposite sides of the draw!??!!? How many times in a row is this, even when they're not #1/#2?? Seriously, it's getting crazy! Isn't it?

Too bad Amelie pulled out, but otherwise, it's a wonderful draw. Hopefully injuries stay away. Top first round matchup is definitely Sprem v. Dechy. Dementieva v. Schnyder looks exciting in the third. Pierce can't catch a break in her draw, having to face Petrova in the second round this time around. Petrova/Suarez looks awesome in the third round. Conchita has a great shot at #700 when she faces Sun in the first round. Her second round match against Tanasugarn or Ashley also looks like a gimme. Then Serena in the third.

Venus/Zvonareva would be a great quarter, as would Petrova/Serena. Two Russia/USA rematches, one from the French, the other from just last week!

Would lurve to see Justine/Cappy in the quarters, but who knows these days with Jenny.

I'm picking Justine v. Serena for the finals. Lame, I know, and not part of the "script" of waiting until the French finals - but who says they'll even be on opposite ends of the draw in Paris?

In Estoril I'm going with Schett.

And please come back soon, Chanda! Any word on her?

Venus received a HUGE break with Amélie's withdrawl. Daniilidou is Davenport's section ... tough draw for Lindsay, even thought she won at AI last week ... Venus could face Zvonareva in the quarters. ITA with bpj, it could be a great rematch of the French, however, I'll go with Venus to get through the quarterfinals.

Sprem-Dechy is a tough call, but I'll go with Karolina SPREM (That's for you big daddy B Man.) in this matchup. I love Nathalie, but Sprem has the game to keep things competitive ... and she needs to pick up some results before her points from Strasbourg and Vienna fall off in a few months.

Nick

The revised Charleston draw takes a few minutes to understand, doesn't it? I have to say, if I were a Mary Pierce or even a Tammy Tanasugarn, I would have had to think really, really seriously about playing Charleston vs. Estoril.

The Estoril draw is *lite*, the Charleston draw is impressive. I think Charleston looks better than Indian Wells did. And with Amelie and Lindsay having raised the bar, we should be seeing/reading about some really competitive ball this week.

I would love, love, love for Navratilova to meet Dementieva in the third round. Martina would *embarass* a week serving E.D.

Here's to hoping Davenport makes it to the semi's. I think a strong return to form of Lindsay on clay would give the women's game some much needed depth (apologies if this sentiment has already been addressed on another thread).

As Hamm. and B-Jake have noted, the potential rematches of Venus and Vera, Nadia and Serena, and, to a lesser extent, Justine and Jenny, are quite exciting.

Sprem shot (or possibly dribbled) past Dechy 4 and 4 to post the first upset of the event. She has a very winnable match against Raymond/Randrianteffy (GO DALLY!) in the next round. WOO HOO Sprem!

Edited to add that Dally has set points for the first set against Raymond, currently at 5-2. However, for Dally to hit 2 aces and 8 winners against Raymond is very surprising. She has lots of points (for her) to defend from Charleston & Amelia Island last year, so every win will help keep her in the main draw of Roland Garros. Allez Dally!

DAMN! Dally was broken by Lisa. C'mon Dally, my favorite Madagascarite tennis player!

Nick

[ April 12, 2004, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

Sprem shot... Nick, Nick, Nick...

B Man ... Puh-lease, I know that you were thinking about saying the same thing. I try to bring the punny.

As for Dally, she won the first set against Lisa, 7-5. C'mon Dally ... a win over Raymond will add 40 points to your ranking ... nearly securing you spot in the Top 100.

Nick

Any word on why Amelie pulled out? She looked very good yesterday; if her back was still bothering her it certainly wasn't apparent in her play.

Amélie officially pulled out due to a lower back strain, which is somewhat concerning since she missed 2+ months of play after Oz due to back problems. (Personally, I think that it may be due to fatigue, but nothing has been posted to that regard.)

Now ... IIRC, it was a different part of her back which caused her to miss Indian Wells & Miami, but when you have a muscle strain, it can be due to trying to protect her previous injury. Hopefully, she'll be healthy enough for the European clay court season. I'd love to see her make a run at Roland Garros this year.

Nick

I hope this is just one of those "I had a tough week so I'll call a small nagging complaint an injury, since I don't really need the playing time right now" kind of pull-outs, like Justine's pulling out of the Italian Open last year after winning the German. Huge break for Venus.

I notice that she's still being given her special seeding, but on current form I don't think they should. Her actual play level is a lot closer to her ranking right now. Her draw isn't that tough, especially with Mikaelian unexpectedly dumping Zuluaga in straight sets. She should at least make the quarter finals, but she's really going to have to lift her game to get past Zvonareva.


Good wins for Sprem and Randriantefy today (though clay is hardly Lisa's best surface). Also a huge and surprising win by Kelly McCain (who is she?) over a competent clay courter (Arantxa Parra).

TMK, she will lose her special seeding after this event ... or the event in Poland. I think that a player has the seeding for 8 events ... or is it 10? ITA that Zvonareva is going to be a huge test for Venus and I have faith that she will pass the test with flying colours.

While clay is Lisa's worst surface, I just love Dally, so any win is cause for celebration. (If you could see me now, I'm doing the Running Man.) She's going to be in for a tough test against Sprem, but I think that Dally will wipe Sprem off of the court ... although if Sprem advances, she could cause a huge mess. Sometimes, it's tough to get Sprem out of a big tournament.

Nick

Nick, you're.cracking.me.up.
Dally wiping Sprem off the court.
*snicker*
*chortle*
*guffaw*

B Man, you didn't see the other pun? Sprem "making a mess?" There are a million of them, aren't there?

There was other news today in Charleston...such as Miss Conchita winning career match No. 700! She breadsticked and bageled Tian Tian Sun. Vamos!!!

Nick, I thought the special seeding was for four events, but could be extended for up to 8. This is Venus' fifth, unless the Australian Open doesn't count toward the total.

American women are really having a tough time today, at least that's teh way it looks on line...

Craybas fought hard against Jankovic, but eventually lost in three. I wonder if Jankovic has ever thought about playing dubs with Sprem. Hmmm...

K. Brandi served twice for the match against Schaul but finally DID win 7-5 in the third.

Harkleroad is played Madula close in the first set, but is down a set and 0-3 in the second. In earlier action, Stevenson lost to Pratt.

Has Alexandra Stevenson won a main draw match yet this year? I don't think so ... I'm pretty sure all her victories in 2004 have been in the qualies. How sad.

Amy Frazier has won the first set vs. Martina Navratilova. The score right now: 6-4, 1-0 (Frazier serving already up a break)

Henin and Shaughnessy are out. Which is partially wierd because hte live sports score is reporting that Shaughnessy just waxed Asagoe...

The top half is wiiiiiiiiide open now. All eyes will be on Capriati for a semi berth, but look out for Jelena Dokic. Venus, if you want to get deep into a clay event, you have to do it now, Now, NOW!

The full scoop (press release from the Family Circle site):

Henin-Hardenne and Shaughnessy Withdraw from the 2004 Family Circle Cup
Date: 4/13/2004
- WTA Tour News Release

Top seed and world #1 Justine Henin-Hardenne and American Meghann Shaughnessy have been forced to withdraw from this week’s Family Circle Cup.

Henin-Hardenne, the defending champion of the event is suffering from low blood sugar (Hypoglycemia), which is causing lightheadedness. Henin-Hardenne first felt the symptoms two weeks ago and will return to her home in Belgium for tests. “I’m really disappointed I have to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup”, said Henin-Hardenne. “It’s a tournament I like a lot and was looking forward to coming back here and playing.” Justine had traveled to Charleston in hopes of playing but her condition has not improved. “I have felt bad for two weeks now and that’s enough. I will now go back home and do everything I have to do in order to get better. “

“Our first concern is for Justine to get better”, said Tournament Executive Director Frankie Whelan. “She is such a great champion and I know how much she wanted to defend her title at the Family Circle Cup. We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to her being back in Charleston next year.”

Shaughnessy is ailing with a right ankle sprain, suffered during her doubles title win with partner Nadia Petrova last week at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida.

The Family Circle Cup still boasts one of the strongest fields of the year with Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport all competing.

Henin-Hardenne, coming off the best year of her career has a special fondness for the Charleston event. “This tournament started everything that I accomplished last year. It’s a great tournament, but it will be without me this year, and that’s tough for me.”

Both Henin-Hardenne and Shaughnessy’s places in the draw will be filled with Lucky Losers. Henin-Hardenne’s next scheduled WTA Tour event is the German Open in Berlin, Germany. Shaughnessy’s next event will also be the German Open.

JC ... Here is a snippet I found on the web.

Special seeded rankings (unlike their injury rankings) last for four WTA events -- meaning that Venus will have one more special seeding after this tournament, whereupon her special seeding will be re-assessed (as opposed to her special ranking, which is guaranteed for eight events under the injury rules that apply to everyone whether a star or not).

So, Venus could receive further seeding privileges ... at the disgression of the tour. As for injury rankings, a player receives 1 exemption into the main draw of a Slam, if necessary, and 8 entries to a non-Grand Slam event.

Gaga ... Steve-O has yet to win a main draw event at a match this year. Chances are that she'll have a tough time earning a wildcard at a grass or carpet event, so she's going to be screwed in the rankings for the rest of the year.

As for Sprem ... I have tons of puns because I could never lose interest when there's Sprem on the court.

Harkleroad is going to take a HUGE hit in the rankings with her 1st round loss to Mandula. She'll be hurtin for certain if she doesn't get her clay court game together before Roland Garros.

Pierce suffered a horrible loss to Akiko Morigami. Hopefully la Pierce will get her game together in Europe. VIVE LA PIERCE!

HOLY CRAP! Venus is down a set and is on serve in the 2nd against Samantha Reeves! Wow ... this would be a HUGE upset if Sammy can pull it out. Then again ... with the scoreboard issues from earlier in the day, Venus could be up a set and a break right now. *shrug*

Nick

Venus won, but it looks like the match was riddled with breaks of serve. Anyway, the score...just flashed away, damn. It was something like 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Serena just stepped onto court.

B Man ... if that score is true, I'm really surprised. Sammy was serving up 40-15 at 3-4 in the 2nd set. She was only broken once up to that point and I really thought that she was going to win the match since Venus was having a hell of a time holding serve.

Scary match for Venus and frankly, Sammy doesn't have much credentials for clay courts ... although she did get to the semifinals in Bol last year ... so Venus needs to get her shit together ASAP.

Nick

I'm so disappointed by the withdrawals, but the BMan's prediction of Justine & Serena not meeting until Roland Garros is starting to look awfully good. Justine isn't scheduled to play again until Berlin, and hadn't committed to Rome, so there may be only one more chance for them to meet, and only if Serena plays Berlin.

AAARGGH...just as we get Serena back finally, the Belgians go down. Will we ever get to see everybody at one tournament again?

edited to indicate the prediction was JHH & Serena wouldn't meet until Roland Garros...for some reason I wrote Wimbledon. Of course, maybe they won't meet until Wimbledon.

[ April 13, 2004, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: JC ]

I hear ya, JC, it's like a friggin' soap opera or sit-com. We're *still* waiting for the two "love interests" to get together...

If I were an organizer, I'd be sending flowers, jewelry, you name it to Kim Clijsters, Monica, Anna K. to wish them well and wish them BACK to the tour, if only for insurance (in case there are delayed comebacks or additional withdrawals).

Warsaw does look strong, but it's soon enough for someone to get a sprain, or to be just exhausted right after Fed Cup. Venus retired from the final giving Amelie the trophy last year. This year's accepted players list includes last year's champ and finalist, plus Petrova, Zvonareva, Kuznetsova, Farina Elia, and Sprem.

Berlin looks great, too: Justine, Kim, Amelie, Venus, AnaMyskina, J-Cap, Nadia Petrova, and the return of Chanda Rubin.

Strasbourg has Lindsay Davenport. There are other fantastic players like Sugiyama, Farina Elia, Shaughnessy, and Sprem, but no J-Cap or no major Russians. Granted, this event hasn't been a huge stop on the tour for elite players, but it seems like Strasbourg would be a great place to get match tough.

Vienna does have Zvonareva (I guess Russians are taking that week off). Chanda Rubin is slated to be the No. 1 seed there. Molik is in the draw, and so are Suarez, Serna, and Cervanova. The event is played the same week as Strasbourg. If I were running the event, I'd be courting Monica, Anna K., and Martina N. Why not?!?

It's early yet, there are a lot of wild cards left avail., so maybe we WILL see elite players at more events. With Justine and even Meghann Shaughnessy take some time, Davenport, Myskina, and the Sisters Williams entered in only a few events and Sharapova or Pierce not even entered (as far as I can see) the "women's tennis lacks depth" writing is on the wall.

Maybe Karatancheva will bust out this spring?

[ April 13, 2004, 07:48 PM: Message edited by: The B Man ]

In addition to the players currently in the draw and the wild cards, players can enter a tournament late and ask for a MDO (Main Draw Only) spot which become available when someone in the main draw withdraws from the event. In some instances, they are placed in the qualifying round, but when they get to the main draw, they can be given the #1 seed. *shrug* I fully expect the comittment list to change by the time Strasbourg or Vienna roll around next month.

As for Sesil ... I'm not sure if she will play in Europe this year because at the ripe old age of 14, she's limited to 10 tournaments a year, plus the slams, if she can enter the qualifying or main draw of the event.

Sharapova is in a similar situation, which absolutely sucks for her because she won't have many chances to pick up points ... unless she wants to play $50 & $75K Challengers, which ... TMK don't count against her 14 tournaments, excluding the slams.

As for Justine-Serena ... wouldn't it be a hoot if Clijsters manages to win the French this year. My Chem study partner absolutely lusts after Kimbo and her thighs. Whenever we talk about tennis, she starts droning on and on about Kimmy, although I do the same thing about Fish. Mmmm ... Mardy Fish, wait, wrong thread.

Finally ... if Anna K. comes back to the tour, I will go out post pics of myself in Anna's best dress. Ain't gonna happen folks.

Nick

[ April 13, 2004, 09:53 PM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

Too bad about the withdrawals...especially from Justine. But I'd rather watch a healthy Justine against a healthy Serena at Roland Garros. So, she can take a breather.

And as much as I'd like to see Nick in one of Kournikova's dresses (it would give new meaning to the term "only the balls should bounce" wink ), he's right: Anna's not coming back to tennis. She's too much of a "star" to ever need to play tennis again.

Let's see...Venus. Yikes. Hope she gets things together for her next match. I don't know she plays, I couldn't get onto the WTA website to look at the draw.

Hi Guy!

I was wondering if anyone noticed Martina's new racquet... what brand is it?

One of the previous posts mentiones Miss Seles and she schedule to play Strauburg and then the French. I have seen some pictures from here exhibition match and she has slimmed down quite some.

Regards Guys!

I'm bummed about Justine as well, although if she plans to defend all of the points that she earned during the clay court season, she needs to be healthy. If she fails to defend at Roland Garros, the Race for #1 will be more interesting. From the looks of things, if she doesn't play Berlin, she won't be playing again until Paris.

As for Venus ... Mikaelian could be an interesting test, but I don't think that Marie-Gayanay (I swear, she changes her name more than Prince.) has the consistancy to oust Venus. I fully expect both players to have a winner to unforced error differential of AT LEAST -20. Very sloppy match ahead. Vera Zvonareva must be chomping at the bit.

Serena destroyed McCain (collegiate tennis player from Duke with absolutely no power at all ... solid retriever, but match reports say that she is a marginal Top 100 player, at best) and I know that she can't wait to get on the court with Nadia in the quarterfinals.

Favorite matches today:

Sprem - Dally ... Unfortunately, Sprem will shoot and score quite a few winners against Dally. Sprem needs to be in control of her money shot (her forehand) which usually gets great distance and she always has great control. Most importantly, Dally needs prevent Sprem from getting into her head ... or mouth.

Krasnoroutskaya - Capriati ... JenCap has a great draw, she needs to take advantage of it.

Brandi - Smashnova ... Anna has struggled badly this year and Kristina is the type of player who has enough power to cause some problems.

Hey Tennisjock ... I looked at WTAtour.com under Navratilova's profile and they don't have Martina's racquet listed. Since ESPN, USA, et al., rarely ... if ever ... show women's doubles, I doubt we'll get the chance to see her play ... which would allow us to possibly determine her racquet.

Nick

Dally is up a set against Sprem. WOO HOO!

[ April 14, 2004, 08:01 AM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

Is this a brand new racquet for Martina? For roughly the past year or so, she's been playing with the Prince More Control DB ... I know, because it's the racquet I play with It's the one that's black on one side and white and/or silver on the other (depending on what size frame you have).

But she could have switched. I think Prince has recently put a new line out.

The Prince More Control DB:

The frame Martina is playing with is a totally new frame.... its aqua in color and has a funny stencil on the strings...

Gab4Gaby.. I remember seeing you at the GLTA tournament in DC... we almost played eachother in the tournament.

Bummer results this a.m. from Estoril:
Molik lost to Nagyova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7
Cervanova lost to Loit, 2-6, 0-6 (ouch!)

Edited to add this just in from Charleston:
Dally R. d. Karolina Sprem, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Amazing, Sprem hit 31 winners to Dally's relatively meager 13...

AND, interestingly, Nadia Petrova is serving at 4-5 in the third vs. Morigami. Petrova has won 107 pts to Morigami's 97, but can still lose the match if Morigami breaks here...!

[ April 14, 2004, 09:25 AM: Message edited by: The B Man ]

I haven't seen Martina's new stick then. It sounds very cool. She might have a contract with Prince, though ... they have a new line of racquets coming out called Experimental, I think ... I couldn't get their site to work properly to be certain.

I was indeed at the GLTA event in DC last year. Sorry we didn't get to play. If only I hadn't gotten clobbered by Eric in the second round!!

Petrova struggled to put away Morigami. If I'm reading the live score correctly, she just had a match point at 7-6 in the third set tie-break, but Morigami has levelled things at 7-7. Nadia did prevail, though, 9-7 in the third set breaker.

shore, Hammer..., did either of you watch? What's Nadia's form like? I wonder if trying to reach three consecutive semi's is added pressure Nadia wasn't expecting...

I saw a pic of Martina's new racquet in the NY Times ... it's not a Prince ... her hand is covering up the name, but it looks like it starts out "BASU..." or something like that. I don't know what kind of crazy racquet it is! eek!

B Man, I didn't get to watch the match because finals are in less than 3 weeks and I actually have to go to class.

(What really sucks is that I'm going to be a hermit over the next 2 weeks since I have 5 lab reports due for Instrumental, 2 formal reports due for Organic and a 15 page term paper about the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide due for my incredibly pointless Geology class before April 28th otherwise I won't graduate next month. ARGH!!!!!! I'm a slacker and it's biting me in the ass big-time. While I don't normally mind someone biting my ass, this situation is an exception.)

In any event, I'm glad that Dally won her match against Sprem, although Karolina hit at least 10 double faults after the two sets. Dally has a very winnable match in the 3rd round, so hopefully she'll come through and get to the quarterfinals of a Tier I event for the 1st time. Allez Dally!

Nick

According to the racquet geeks on TennisWarehouse.com...Martina is now playing with a Bancroft stick. The stencil on her racquet in the pics certainly seems to be the old Bancroft logo.
Martina used to play with Bancroft back in the wood days...so did Borg...
It appears that the company is back and more than happy to have Martina as a client.

JennyCap lost the first set to Mandula in a tiebreaker. The first set was a dogfight ... full of breaks. Jenny was held off a couple of set points down 4-5 and ultimately forced the tiebreak before falling short. Surprising after she won so easily in the previous round ....

She won the second set now and hopefully will dig it out!

Funny, Jen always has trouble with these Hungarian girls-in 2001 when she was winning a lot, it was Rita Kuti-Kis, now Mandula is giving her a dogfight!

What's up with Hungary?

Go Jen!

Restraining myself from making a punny about Jennifer Capriati and Hungary... Anyway, just tuned in, and it looks like Madula is serving for the match. Edited to add that Mandula d. Capriati, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5.

The stoopid Family Circle website is slooooow with updates, so I'm not sure who won between Anna and Vera.

This just in:
Serena has withdrawn?!? Her damn knee...
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylc=X3oD...ov=ap&type=lgns

[ April 15, 2004, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: The B Man ]

Wow the JCap-Mandula match is tight! Petra just broke Jenny to take a 6-5 lead in the third set...and she seemed to hold back the nerves and held serve to win the match 7-6(3) 3-6 7-5. Mandula is a decent clay court player but Cappy SHOULD have been able to win.
I didn't actually see the match, I was just following the online scores when I should have been studying for my finals, but I wonder if Jen's fitness played a role in her three set loss. I hope she can come back from this and have a decent clay season.

B Man I thought I saw that Vera beat Anna, but can't remember what the score was

Thanks OntarioJosh...I saw the Vera was up in the third, but I had to step out.

This draw started great, but man has it taken a hit. Withdrawals from Justine AND Serena, and then Capriati loses.

If I had tickets for the later rounds, you better believe I'd be sneaking into the lockerrooms and spiking someone's bottled water. I mean, a Kostanic/Mandula quarterfinal?!?

There is, of course, some "star power" left, as a Vera vs. Venus rematch can still happen if Venus beats Mikaelian tonight.

On the lower half of the draw, Davenport and Pratt have just started, and Petrova looks like she is about to win the first set vs. Jidkova.

So, how about no more upsets or withdraws for now, ladies?!?!!!

That Davenport/Pratt match is seriously boring.

Davenport/Pratt was boring? Sad, because it looks like Petrova treated Jidkova like a shortcut, too (1 and 1). After the Zvonareva vs. Smashnova-Pistolesi three-setter, the day has been kinduva let down, huh?

I watched Lindsay stomp on Nicole during the first set. Snooze city. I mean, good on Lindsay for playing so well, but interesting viewing it really wasn't. You just waited to see if Lindsay would miss her shot or not ... Pratt couldn't handle the power.

I would have much rather seen Conchie torture Serena.

The news on player health just gets worse and worse .

Interesting link, JC
I was suprised to read: "This weekend, she (Kim Clijsters) was supposed to play an exhibition against her fiancee, Lleyton Hewitt, but because of her injury it could be reduced to little more than a hitting session."

Interesting exhibition match!!!

At this point, I'm starting to feel sorry I brought up the idea that Justine might not meet Serena til the French because of injuries, upsets, or withdrawals. It's eeriely looking that way, right?

Several years ago, when Martina N. was winding down her career, she complained that she and Steffi Graf never played because of Steffi's limited schedule, saying something to the effect, "I'm No. 4 in the world and she's No. 1 and we haven't played each other all year. There's something wrong with that."

Obviously, The Belgians and The Williams WILL meet at some point before the end of the year.

The will, right?
Right?!?

If Justine has mono, it would be a tremendous blow to her chances to defend any of her clay court events this year. Hopefully, the Belgian sisters (I hate the name, but meh ...) will get healthy before Wimbledon otherwise they will take a rather large hit in the rankings.

As for Serena ... I don't really know what to say. I'm bummed that she's going to miss a few weeks due to injury. With Justine & Kim out of the event, she could have made some major inroads to their lead in the rankings. Get healthy soon Serena.

With all of these withdrawls, the door is open wide for Lindsay to continue her clay court prowess. I would laugh my ass off if she managed to win the French this year ... due to all of the injuries, withdrawls, and such. Amélie, if she can get healthy for a consistent (I always spell consistent incorrectly, but I finally caught it before submitting my post.) basis, would have a great chance to win as well.

Venus & Vera is my favorite match today ... I have to go with Venus, although Vera has such a solid baseline game. The key to the match ... Venus's (I think I'm using the apostrophe incorrectly, but I've never been a fan of posessives in English.) attacking Vera's second serve. Venus will get wild off of the ground, but she must attack the second serve better than she did against Dementieva in Miami. C'mon Venus!

The bottom half is really tough ... although I'm picking Davenport & Martinez to advance. I really like Patty on this surface, so I can see this match going to 3, but I can't see Patty pulling it out. As for Martinez-Petrova, this match will be a 1 and 1 win for Petrova or, more likely, Conchita will frustrate Nadia and win the match in straight sets. Petrova CAN win the match, but she needs to be on her game to do so.

Nick

WOW! Conchita is up 2 breaks at 5-2 in the 1st set. Vamos Conchita!

[ April 16, 2004, 09:28 AM: Message edited by: The_Hammerman ]

Conchita takes the opener, 6-3. What's most shocking in the stats is that Conchie has hit twice as many winners as Petrova so far in the match ... 14 winners for Martinez to 7 for Nadia. Crazy, I tells ya!

Chi Chi is kicking some butt today ... she's now up a break at 3-0 in the 2nd. I would think that Nadia is around -15 in the winner-unforced error differential.

Can Nadia turn it around like Justine did last week at Amelia Island or will Chi Chi close the door on the match?

Nick

The Cheetah prevails ... 6-3, 6-1! :cool: