Venus Williams for the French Open title? Quite likely indeed... - Page 7© Michael Cecilio
Page 7
May 9, 1999
NOTABLE MENTION: Mary PIERCE (FRA)
The in-form Pierce has been rather unlucky to find Venus Williams as her opponent each time she has contested a clay court final this year. Still, she has gained some new found mental strength which has helped her immensely over the past two weeks, and she is still as explosive as ever from the baseline. Hopefully she can remain cool, calm, collected and explosive for the French Open, a title the fans there would love her to win.
SURPRISE PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Sylvia PLISCHKE (AUT)It is Sylvia's aggressive baseline game which has taken her to new heights on the tennis tour and which helped her eliminate two seeds en route to the Italian Open quarter finals last week. Which players were they? None other than Amanda Coetzer and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, two players renowned for their speed and consistency around the court. You definitely know that your aggressive game is finding some consistency when you are beating players of the calibre of Coetzer and Sanchez-Vicario, and even more when you beat them in consecutive matches. COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Arantxa SANCHEZ-VICARIO (ESP)
We know that there is still plenty of improvement left for Sanchez-Vicario if she is to regain the form which took her to the French Open trophy last year. She did gain a side of momentum at Cairo, winning the title there, and reaching the semis of Hamburg the following week. The question remains: can she repeat at Roland Garros again?
IMPROVING: Amelie MAURESMO (FRA)
She has been rather inconsistent as of late, but it comes as no surprise that we find Amelie still remaining in the draw by the end of the week. The surprise Australian Open finalist has a huge game which can upset a few top players, especially on the red clay, her favourite surface. The French fans will be in her corner in three weeks time, I can tell you that much. MATCH OF THE FORTNIGHT: Rome Semi Finals - 3-Venus WILLIAMS d. 1-Martina HINGIS 6-4 1-6 6-4
They are headed for a rivalry as magnanimous as that of Evert/Navratilova or Graf/Seles. Hingis leads their series 6-3, but Venus is quickly catching up to the world #1, having defeated her in three intense sets. What was evident on court was the amount of determination each player displayed - they fought with fierce hunger and drive, characteristic of an intense rivalry. We'll be seeing many more Venus/Martina matches in the near and far future.
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