Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, winner again on the European clay

first tournament title of the year, Monica came out smokin' on the North Carolina claycourts as she routed Silvia Talaja 6-3 6-1 and Iva Majoli 6-0 6-3. The intensity is still there in Monica!

SURPRISE PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Cristina TORRENS-VALERO (ESP #112). This player who hasn't accomplished much on the WTA tour reached her first WTA tour final in Budapest last week. Making the most of a seedless draw, and taking care of one of the seeds herself in Nathalie Dechy (the 5th seed), Cristina maintained a high standard throughout the tournament by not dropping a single set until the final.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Arantxa SANCHEZ-VICARIO (ESP #6). Many said she could not come back after a lean 1997. Then she went on to win the French in 1998. After a lean start to 1999, Arantxa is looking to once again make her mark, and make it on the dirt which has given her the most success.

UP-AND-COMING PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Jelena DOKIC (AUS #194). The Aussie world junior #1 has defeated a number of top players this year including Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Sandrine Testud and more recently, Barbara Schett. And she reached her first WTA quarterfinal in Cairo by beating world #26 Magui Serna and #55 Alexia Dechaume-Balleret. Just an early sign of what bigger and better things are to come for the 16-year-old prodigy.

IMPROVING: Irina SPIRLEA (ROM #17). Coming in to the tournament with a dismal 5-7 win-loss record (with those 7 losses coming in her last nine matches), Irina started the event shakily but capped it off by reaching the final and recording her first top 10 scalp of the year in Mary Pierce. Some days she's got it, other days she loses the plot. In any case, a welcome sign of improvement for the talented Irina.

MATCH OF THE FORTNIGHT: Fed Cup - Chanda RUBIN (USA #23) d. Iva MAJOLI (CRO #32) 7-6(6) 4-6 10-8. They say the wind is the biggest equaliser in tennis, and that is probably why the match had to be decided in three long and close sets. Nevertheless, it was an intense battle which was predominantly fought with some powerful baseline rallies and a never-say-die attitude from both players. No doubt Chanda is used to these long battles - she holds the record for the longest match ever played in women's tennis history at the 1996 Australian Open and the record

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