It's All Over, Red Rover© Michael Cecilio
Dec 6, 2000
The tennis season of 2000 has officially finished and now is the time when the critics and analysts compare notes and assess what has been the season and predict what is to come for the next season. This feature is not going to stray from the norm at all – this fortnight, we’ll take a look at the Top 5 players of 2000 and weigh up how their year has been on-the-court and what we might expect from them in the season ahead. Next fortnight, we’ll take a look at the rest of the Top 10.
Before doing that, it is worth noting USA’s convincing victory in the Fed Cup as they successfully defended their title over Spain, a nation which has had its fair share of success in the team competition. Led by Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles, who played all of the live singles rubbers, USA blitzed Belgium 2-1 in the semi finals before pummeling Spain 5-0 in the final. Belgium, led by two of the most talented upstarts, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, gave the US all they could handle before the experience of the powerful Americans led them to victory. And out to avenge their 3-2 loss on clay in the 1998 semi finals, USA humiliated the veteran Spaniards on their indoor carpet surface with an overpowering display which overwhelmed the feisty counterpunching team led by Sanchez-Vicario and Martinez. Sanchez-Vicario put up a brave fight against the world #2 Lindsay Davenport, attesting to her 7-4 career record over the American entering the encounter, but fell in three tight sets. The ease of victory was even more compelling given that the Williams sisters opted out of the tie, citing injuries, and also taking into account Davenport’s own injury woes and mental fatigue and Seles’s recent comeback from feet tendonitis. Fed Cup World Finals, Las Vegas
November 21-25, 2000
Carpet (Indoor) surface
No. 1 seed: USA
1999 Champion: USA
2000 Champion: USA SEMI FINALS
2-SPAIN d. CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1
Arantxa SANCHEZ-VICARIO (ESP) d. Daja BEDANOVA (CZE) 5-7 6-4 6-3
Conchita MARTINEZ (ESP) d. Kveta HRDLICKOVA (CZE) 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 6-4
Daja BEDANOVA/Kveta HRDLICKOVA (CZE) d. Virginia RUANO-PASCUAL/Magui SERNA (ESP) 1-6 6-3 7-6(5)
1-USA d. BELGIUM 2-1
Monica SELES (USA) d. Justine HENIN (BEL) 7-6(1) 6-2
Lindsay DAVENPORT (USA) d. Kim CLIJSTERS (BEL) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
Els CALLENS/Dominique VAN ROOST (BEL) d. Jennifer CAPRIATI/Lisa RAYMOND (USA) 6-3 7-5 FINAL
1-USA d. 2-SPAIN 5-0
Monica SELES (USA) d. Conchita MARTINEZ (ESP) 6-2 6-3
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