Testud has played well against Capriati but has not had a lot of success on clay in recent years. I think she might well lose to Majoli or Coetzer. I suspect Capriati's toughest test will be Schnyder. Her game is well-suited to clay, and she's playing like the top 10 player she once was. Jen should win, though, since she's not generally as prone to impatience as Serena. Her game isn't based on hitting clean winners to the same extent.

Patty S continues her remarkable run by ousting Jennifer Capriati in straights sets today.

So with the consecutive defeats of Amelie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce, Serena Williams, and Jennifer Capriati, Patty has beaten (in one tournament) 3 Grand Slam champions, a runner-up and a total of 4 Big Babes. Looks like she found her game.

Perhaps the other Swiss Miss should take note.

What a confident performance from Patty S. JenCap had the early break in the first set but then Patty got her game grooving and never really looked back. She really played a terrific match. What an unexpected matchup for the final: Patty S. vs Iva Majoli! Very strange. I guess you can call it the perils of playing in the first clay tournament of the season. The big babes can't just overpower everyone..it's just like the men's game when it transitions to clay.

Go Patty?

[ April 20, 2002: Message edited by: Bryan ]

Yes Patty played extremely well mixing up the pace on the game.

But how about Jen's bratty performance? Arguing a line call on a ball that wasn't questionable. I feel that many of the commentators and many of you guys who regularly post give Jen a free pass when it comse to this unsportmanslike bahavior. Am I wrong? I hope so.

This type of behavior is one of the reasons have yet to embrace Andy Roddick. His rant this past week in Monte Carlo was entirely unnecessary and downright rude.

I didn't see Andy's whole match, but did see the clip of the argued call. While the ball was out and the umpire/lines judge checked the wrong mark, Andy should have let it go. Every player gets the occasional bad call, and part of mental toughness is being able to forget about it and move on. Since this thread was initially about Serena and Venus, I'll use them as excellent examples of players who don't let bad calls get under their skin. I've never seen them question a close one, and only once have I seen either Williams argue a badly bungled call. In a recent match against Hingis, Serena clearly got rooked on a horrible call on a break point, but she quickly put it out of her mind (you even saw her making a wiping motion, like "just forget it") and went on to win the match.

What concerns me more about Andy's display is not that it was rude (hey, we all lose our tempers occasionally) as much as it was counter-productive. I don't know if he had a chance against Haas in any case that day, but it certainly didn't help Andy's cause that he wasted all sorts of energy and focus on the bad call.

I remember an interview with Martina (Navratilova, whom I always think of as the "real" Martina - not Hingis) in her prime. She made a deal with Mike Estep that she would go the entire season (1984, I think) without arguing a single line call. The decision didn't seem to hurt her much, seeing that she did manage to win three Slams that year.

I feel like I'm caught in a time warp to 1998, with Schnyder & Majoli facing off in a final. Schnyder looks like she might be the story of the year. Once again, the ladies trump the men for drama, because the return of Marcelo Rios or Carlos Moya to the top won't be quite as interesting as Patty's--their decline didn't come about under such bizarre circumstances.

Hingis and all the other smaller players should be reviewing Patty's last two matches--classic tactical tennis. Welcome back, Patty--keep it up!

hanknyc, I also take exception to JenCap's behavior. Not just for line calls, but for all the complaining and trashtalking she does. Ever since her attack on Seles, I have not really been a Jen fan.

Questioning line calls is okay, but let it go if it's ruled against you.

It's actually interesting to compare the way someone like Venus or Monica questions a call. They point out the mark (quietly) and then go on with the match.

As of Monday, the rankings shift again and Venus takes over as #1.

I agree about JenCap - in fact, I think she's been rather obnoxious for a while now, arguing rudely and with way too much attitude more often than not - the ump today handled her well though...

Patty S. really has shown the field what excellent clay court tennis looks like...I think she'd have a harder time actually with someone like Hingis, who can play a similiar game..Patty beat all these big babes who try to outslug on clay...Hingis would mix it up enough to cause Patty problems...I think?

Is this the second time Venus has become #1 without having to win? I'll say it again, it's going to be a fascinating clay court season...

I think Venus was playing a tournament when she turned #1 the first time. I think it was in the Middle East (Qatar, maybe?). But it was definitely because JenCap had stopped playing.

Edit: Seeing the way the Big Babes try to outslug on clay, I find myself missing Steffi Graf all the more. Clay may have been her least favorite surface, but damn, she did so well at the French. She was also the consummate athlete.

And also I miss vintage Seles who dominated the French, but that goes without saying. Here's hoping her French Open run is full of success.

[ April 20, 2002: Message edited by: Lev Stone ]

Oh, yes, Steffi's backhand slice was a work of art on clay and very frustrating to the other players... Monica's game, with her sharp angles and taking the ball early, transfers beautifully to the clay...although her loss to ASV at the French in 98 was all about her losing patience (and of course her sad emotional state and ASV's clay court prowess)...watching clay court tennis always makes me think of Evert as well, the greatest clay courter ever...

I hope Monica recovers from her stomach virus and gets ready for the rest of the clay court season..she'll need to be in prime shape both physically and mentally...as will all the top players...because if Patty S. can take out three top ten stars, than many other top twenty clay court players are going to believe that they have a chance, too...all bets are off..

Majoli d. Schnyder, 7-6, 6-4.

Welcome back, Iva!
Good show from Patty, too...

Wow, after all that, Patty couldn't pull out a win...she ran into an excellent clay courter inthe final and for the first time in a few matches, she wasn't the underdog...great tournament for both of them...