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Fall to the ground, and rise sky high - Page 7

© Michael Cecilio

Prediction: SANCHEZ-VICARIO in THREE sets
Result: SANCHEZ-VICARIO in THREE sets (S-Vicario d. Coetzer 7-6(12) 3-6 6-3)

JANA NEJEDLY (85) versus 2-CONCHITA MARTINEZ (8)
Head-to-Head Record: MARTINEZ leads 1-0
Last Meeting: 95 Delray Beach (Hard) 2R, MARTINEZ def. NEJEDLY 6-0 6-2
This is probably the easiest match to predict, on paper anyway. Not only is the disparity in their rankings the greatest of all the quarter finalists in the draw this year, but Martinez is also starting to play the kind of crafty baseline tennis that made her so unbeatable in the early 90's. She has had an unbelievable resurgence this year, having reached two tour finals (including at Amelia Island last week) and reaching the semi finals of the Australian Open. No longer is she losing to people she should be beating, much. Now that the tour has moved to clay, expect her crafty spins and great retrival instincts to be even more effective as she continues to bewilder and confuse her opponents into submission. Against a player like Nejedly who is ranked below 50, expect that bewilderment and frustration to linger throughout the entire ordeal. ***Now I know with all that said, Martinez is probably going to have a shocker of a day, spray losers all about the court, end up with Nejedly winning in two sets and make me look like a silly fool! Looking forward to it! ***
Prediction: MARTINEZ in TWO sets
Result: MARTINEZ in TWO sets (Martinez d. Nejedly 6-2 6-1)

Bausch & Lomb, Semi Finals
Who will win the tournament? Anything is possible, now that each of the top 4 seeds have reached the semi finals. All four have played some remarkable tennis in this tournament and must be considered as title contenders for the upcoming French Open. With an astounding 117 career singles titles and an amazing 30 Grand Slam appearances in finals among the four, these experienced campaigners are looking to heat up on the clay of Hilton Head. And what a stark contrast in matches! The Pierce versus Seles clash promises to be a match-up of relentless power-hitting from the baseline while the Sanchez-Vicario versus Martinez clash promises to be a match-up of grit, of wills and of running to the bitter end. Here are the matchnotes.

FEATURED MATCHES AND PREDICTIONS

1-MARY PIERCE (4) versus 3-MONICA SELES (7)

• Head-to-Head Record: SELES leads 5-2
  
• Last Meeting: 98 Moscow (Carpet) Final, PIERCE d. SELES 7-6(2) 6-3
  
• Claycourt Head-to-Head Record: SELES leads 2-1