  |
|
|
|
Get ready for the final Grand Slam showdown of the year among the world’s best tennis players. The US Open is just days away and the tennis world is a-buzz. Hingis, Davenport, Williams, Pierce, Seles, Martinez, Capriati, Kournikova, Sanchez-Vicario, Tauziat, Coetzer, Dokic, Clijsters, Dementieva, Testud, Halard-Decugis – they are all going to be there! Not to mention an unspeakable number of other talented players featured in the draw who intend to challenge the established stars at their game.
Looking at the structure of the draw, we are likely to get some great match-ups all the way through to the final. Venus Williams, the odds-on favourite to win, seemingly has a clear path to the semi finals – whether she can progress beyond that round for the first time since 1997 seems to be the only question in most people’s minds. Amanda Coetzer, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and a resurgent Nathalie Tauziat are the seeds who will attempt to dethrone Venus from her position but none really possess the weapons to hurt her unless Venus is out of her elements. The toughest section of the draw is the bottom quarter which features Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams as the main contenders. Anna Kournikova, Silvija Talaja, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Jelena Dokic are the main challengers, however if both Davenport and Williams are healthy, it doesn’t seem likely that anyone else will feature in the quarter finals from their section. Health is an important factor in this section as both Williams and Davenport retired from their matches in Montreal with foot injuries and we are yet to know just how serious those injuries are. Even as it is, Davenport faces a monstrous draw with a potential second round clash with Clijsters who has all the weapons to hurt an off-Davenport. Kournikova or Henin loom as potential fourth round opponents – players she has had difficulty with in recent matches. If she can get by all of those players, then there is Serena to contend with in the quarters most likely, and Serena is probably the only player on the tour today who can say that she owns Lindsay. Serena has won five straight encounters against Lindsay and you’ve got to like Williams’s chances of making it six given Davenport’s shaky form all summer.
The copyright of the article Looking into the crystal ball in Women's Tennis is owned by . Permission to republish Looking into the crystal ball in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
