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Forget the fact that the Chase Championships have had some big name withdrawals. The critics may have predicted a lack of star power at this year’s final WTA event – sure two of the biggest names in tennis in Venus and Serena are not around to challenge for the title – but it doesn’t mean that the draw has lacked plenty of excitement thus far in the championships. There are still plenty of recognisable names, together with a few others who are sure to be recognisable in the very near future.
Seles certainly needs no introduction as the winningest active player on the tour with 47 career titles, including 9 grand slams. As two of the most popular faces in the game, the Spice Girls doubles team and semi final combatants in Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova need no introduction either. The fourth semi finalist, Elena Dementieva, has raised quite a number of eyebrows this year with her rise up the rankings and some big results but she is yet to become a household name as the previous three are. Many feel that her time is soon to come, and maybe that time is now. Up to this point in her career, Elena Dementieva has lived in the shadows of her more popular countrywoman Anna Kournikova. Free from the world of the media spotlight and big-time endorsements, Elena has been content to let her tennis do the talking, and she has spoken loudly this year. Elena came to the attention of the tennis world when, as the world #3 in the juniors, she won the praise of Martina Hingis after their second round Australian Open match in 1999, acclaiming the young Russian as a player to watch out for in the future. Although she turned professional in 1999, Elena achieved her breakthrough tournament at this year’s event in Indian Wells. Reaching the semi finals by beating some decent players in Anke Huber, Chanda Rubin and Nathalie Dechy, Elena’s bolted up from #59 to #39 in the space of one week. However, it was at this year’s US Open when Elena achieved world fame. With the top three players, Martina, Lindsay and Venus, into the semi finals, Elena joined them as an inexperienced rookie in her first Grand Slam semi final. As much as the situation overwhelmed her in that opening set against Lindsay Davenport, the Russian renowned for her mental toughness fought back from a 6-2 5-2 deficit (and a match point) to eventually give the 1998 US Open champion the fright of her life by taking it to a tiebreak. She lost the tiebreak but she won some worldwide fans for her fighting spirit and will to win.
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