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Preparing for a Grand Slam Triumph - Page 16

© Michael Cecilio

MATCH OF THE FORTNIGHT: Toronto Second Round, 12-Conchita MARTINEZ d. Jelena DOKIC 5-7 6-1 6-4
Conchita and Jelena gave the centre court a lot to cheer about as both fought hard and gave it their all in an exciting three set encounter. Jelena with her powerful, aggressive groundstrokes contrasted heavily with Conchita's counterpunching, topspin baseline game which made the match that much more interesting. What was more exciting was the fact that both were revved up for the match and were determined to eke out an important victory. In the end, it was Conchita's steadiness and experience which undid Jelena, but only just by a little bit in what was a tight match throughout.

UPSET OF THE FORTNIGHT: New Haven Second Round, Ruxandra DRAGOMIR d. 4-Jana NOVOTNA 7-6(5) 6-0
Novotna really looks to be struggling, having lost two back-to-back opening round matches in as many weeks. Dragomir used this victory as a springboard through to the semi finals of the New Haven tournament, where she came close to unseating Lindsay Davenport for a place in the finals. Dragomir has an opportunity for one more shot at Davenport as they look good for a second round clash at the Open this coming week.

CRUCIAL TIME FOR: Lindsay DAVENPORT (USA)
Lindsay has not been playing as well as she would have liked in the lead-up events to the US Open, where she will be defending her first Grand Slam title. She has recorded some solid results, but nothing at all like she achieved last year. Lindsay will be hoping that her experience in big matches will help her through in the later rounds of the tournament, while hoping that she can improve her game match-by-match and bring those absurd unforced error counts down to a bare minimum. She has a multitude of ranking points to defend from winning the Open last year, and recording a less-than-solid result here could have serious implications on her year-end ranking, especially with world #3 Venus Williams looming closer to her #2 ranking.

DISAPPOINTING: Jana NOVOTNA (CZE)
As I said before, Jana Novotna is struggling. She has struggled so much to the point of departing the WTA top 10 for the first time since early 1996, when she failed to defend the points she earned from reaching the finals of New Haven last year. This does not bode well for Novotna's US Open campaign, where she did considerably well in last year by reaching the semi finals. Granted, Jana has struggled due to the debilitating ankle injury she incurred at the French Open, which incidentally affected her preparations for her defence of Wimbledon. Since Wimbledon, Jana has not played very much, opting to fully rehabilitate the ankle, but the matches that she has played have not been anywhere near her championship winning standards. Her forehand has let her down and has become rather erratic at the best of times, while her all-round game lacks the vigour and acuity which it normally possesses. She may not have much in the way of confidence right now, but she'll be hoping she can make a comeback during the indoor season at the end of the year - where she traditionally plays some of her best tennis.

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