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The great 1-2 punch - Page 3

© Michael Cecilio

As Hingis put it in her post-match press conference, it is depressing for her to keep on losing to Lindsay time and time again. But she must be able to put this match into a slightly more positive light than the ones of the past year or so. Having taken a set off Davenport for the first time in a long time must give her just an inkling of confidence in trying to figure out how to beat her for next time. However, the disappointment in blowing a handy lead of 6-4, 4-2, 30-15 is not going to go away from Hingis anytime soon - that is, unless she can get her revenge at Key Biscayne in two weeks.

Davenport believes that although she has been playing like the #1 player since November, she really does feel like she is just #2 in the world behind Martina. Consistency over the 52-week rating period is something which is crucial in determining world rankings and having played lackluster tennis through the claycourt season and the spring American hardcourt season last year, it is no surprise to find her sitting in second place. However, holding two Grand Slam titles on her points listing compared to Martina's zero will inevitably put her into #1 sooner rather than later, especially considering the fact that she is playing out-of-this-world tennis. In fact, this shift in computer rankings is likely to happen after the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. Martina has 394 points coming off the computer following Key Biscayne (her tier I Hilton Head win comes off the computer after the Ericsson due to a scheduling change of WTA tournaments). Lindsay has zero points coming off the computer. Only 191 points separate them in the current rankings, which means Martina, can produce better results than Lindsay at the Ericsson and still lose her #1 ranking. This further means that seedings and the structure of the draw may determine the top position for the next rankings issue. Martina will be hoping that Lindsay draws a dangerous player like Serena Williams in the quarter finals or Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the fourth round in order to have a chance at sustaining her spot in the rankings (players who have winning records over Lindsay). But it seems with the way Lindsay is playing, she is likely to beat anyone who is standing in her path anyway.

Just an aside
Needed to talk about the big win of Indian Wells. Of course, I am talking about Mary Pierce's huge victory over Serena Williams! Williams was heaavily favoured to win her quarter final encounter with Mary Pierce, having won in straight sets both times they had played previously. However, neither of those matches had been whitewashes. In fact, Serena's last victory over Mary was also in the Indian Wells quarter finals when she won in a tight 7-5 7-6(1) encounter. This time, it was Mary who was the aggressor, hitting everything in sight with impeccable timing and precision. It was enough to throw Williams off her game, who had not seen the best of her form throughout the whole tournament anyhow.

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