Venus Williams for the French Open title? Quite likely indeed... - Page 5© Michael Cecilio
Page 5
May 9, 1999
Brought up in a middle-class family and poised for success and stardom, the pretty Dominique Van Roost has led a life that many would dream of. She is happily married to the man who has been her coach for a significant portion of her career, Bart van Roost, who has been instrumental in developing his wife's game over the years. Dominique (nee Monami) came from the school of "power baseline tennis", the concept of playing tennis by hitting the ball hard from the baseline and returning with even more power. Given her very petite stature, it seems that this style of play was not innate and that it had to be developed over time. With the constant evolution of the women's tennis tour, it was not enough to be just a one dimensional power hitter from the baseline - if the shots were working, then the power hitter would be successful, but if they weren't working (which happens occasionally with the big hitters), then there was no Plan B to fall back on. And if that power player came across an opponent who hit the ball even bigger? The Van Roost's realised this and incorporated an all-court style of play into Dominique's game by improving her serve and developing a net game.
Still, Dominique will always be renowned for her powerful ground game, especially for her two-handed backhand and her return of service. Regarded as one of the bigger-hitters on tour, she's not quite up there in the power league of Lindsay Davenport, the Williams' sisters, Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, but she can still hit many players off the court with her punishing groundstrokes. Just ask world #1 Martina Hingis how punishing Dominique can be from the baseline. In their first career meeting, Dominique toppled the top ranked player in three sets at Filderstadt last year, and subsequently ended Martina's reign at #1. She became only the third player to defeat a #1 ranked opponent in their first career meeting. Although she did not go on to win the Filderstadt tournament, it was certainly the highlight of her season as she made it to the semi finals by not only defeating Martina Hingis but also world #5 Venus Williams in straight sets. In the process, she became just the third person in 1998 to defeat Venus and Martina in consecutive matches (following Novotna at Wimbledon and Davenport at the US Open) - not an easy feat at all. Filderstadt seemed to provide Dominique with only good fortune as it propelled her into the top 10 for the first time in her career, marking the first time a Belgian tennis player achieved that feat. But while it provided her with some important scalps and a top 10 ranking, it also set her up for a successful indoor season as she reached the semi finals at Leipzig (defeating Majoli and Zvereva) and the quarter finals of Zurich (defeating Kournikova and Mauresmo). Her performances, especially toward the end of the year, qualified her for the Chase Championships for the first time in her career where she went on to the quarter finals by defeating Conchita Martinez in straight sets. But it wasn't just until the end of the season when Dominique kicked her game into full gear. By June of 1998, she had already won a singles title (at Auckland) and finished runner-up at five other tournaments, including two major carpet championships in Paris (losing to Pierce) and Linz (losing to Novotna).
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