Natasha Zvereva def. Lisa Raymond 7-5, 6-3
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: 5-5 (Zvereva won last; 2000 Indian Wells)

A clash of two excellent grass court and also very well established doubles players. Natasha Zvereva is the defending singles champion at this event and Lisa Raymond is coming off of her first grass court singles title at last weeks DFS Classic in Birmingham. Zvereva's passing shots and Raymond's double faults were two key factors in the outcome of the match.

Dominique van Roost def. Tina Pisnik 6-4, 7-6(6)
Court 1
Previous head-to-head: Van Roost leads 1-0 (99 Luxembourg)

Van Roost's grass court experience truly paid off in this match. Though Pisnik's game includes an excellent slice backhand and no fear of coming to the net, Van Roost took advantage of this by shots in the vacant open court. Pisnik has a very strong serve however, Van Roost's steadyness, choice of shots was the deciding factor in here.

Anastasia Myskina def. Amy Frazier 6-4, 7-6(7-3)
Court 2
Previous head-to-head: First Meeting

This was the upset of the day. Another clay court player took advantage of unforced errors, combined with patience were several reasons Myskina came out the winner. Myskina had a successful tournament at Birmingham last week. She reached the round of 16, before falling to Kristina Brandi.

Tatiana Panova def. Sylvia Plischke 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Court 3
Previous head-to-head: Tied at 1-1 (Panova won last; 2000 Oklahoma City)

Perserverence usually has a beneficial result in tennis. As does playing three qualifying matches to make the main draw. Such was the case of Tatiana Panova. As the no. 1 seed in qualifying, Panova had enough grass court "practice" to prevail. Panova turned in her career best Grand Slam performance at the 1999 Wimbledon by upsetting 16th seed Natasha Zvereva to reach the third round.

Julie Halard-Decugis def. Maria-Alejandra Vento 6-3, 6-1
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: Halard-Decugis leads 3-0 (99 Philadelphia)

Despite winning three qualifying matches to make the main draw, Maria-Alejandra Vento could not withstand the blistering groundstrokes of the more experienced Julie Halard-Decugis. Halard-Decugis utilized her doubles prowess in addition to her strong serve and moblity around the court to solidify this match.

Chanda Rubin def. Sara Pitkowski 7-5, 6-3
Court 1
Previous head-to-head: Rubin leads 3-0 (99 Du Maurier Open)

Coming back onto form over the past year, Rubin was more than a match for the no. 40 ranked Pitkowski. Rubin's steady play and groundstrokes were key factors into winning this match.

Jana Kandarr def. Anne-Galle Sidot 6-2, 6-2
Court 2
Previous head-to-head: Sidot leads 1-0 (97 Gold Coast)

Kandarr had relatively little trouble in straight setting Sidot. Her three qualifying matches prior to the main draw were beneficial in addition to her powerful groundstrokes.

Amanda Coetzer def. Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-0
Centre Court
2nd Round
Previous head-to-head: First Meeting

In this first second round match, Amanda Coetzer had relatively little trouble of disposing of Anna Smashnova. With Coetzer's forehand and mobility around the court, she was able to have an answer for everything Anna 'Smash-nova'ed to her.

One doubles result, Alicia Molik/Katarina Srebotnik def. Katalin Marosi-Aramcama/Magui Serna 7-6(4), 6-4.

Matches suspended by rain included DeSwardt/Navratilova vs Sugiyama/Tauziat (4-6), Arendt/Bollegraf vs. Davenport/Morariu (6-4, 3-4) and Horn/Vis vs. Callens/Van Roost (4-6, 6-3, 1-1).

Not much action on the practice courts to note. Martina Navratilova was out with partner Maarian DeSwardt.

Tell me more about......Anastasia Myskina

This young Russian amazed me today when she was playing Amy Frazier. I'd like to tell you more about her. This 19-year old Russian was born on 8 July, 1981 and makes her home in Moscow, Russia. She was the lowest-ranked player to win a singles title on the Sanex WTA Tour in 1999 when, as a qualifier ranked no. 196, she collected her first title at Palmero, becoming the first lowest-ranked player in 10 years to win a Tour singles event since No. 205 Kumiko Okamoto won the 1989 Japan Open. She qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the 1999 U.S. Open, winning her first round before falling to Mary Joe Fernandez, 7-5, 7-5. She prefers clay courts and her best shot is her backhand. She's coached by Sviotoslav Mirza.

Some quick bits (courtsey of the Sanex WTA Tour Media Information):

Father's name is Andrey; mother's name is Galina... Likes to play football, listen to music and read. Favorite color is black; favorite move is Armageddon.