On The Spot at Eastbourne (Friday, 23 June 2000)
A French and Belgian Final

by Beth Knizer




No one would have expected that the top 4 seeds in this 25 year history to go crashing out before the semifinals. This was a first. The fifth and sixth seeds, Dominique van Roost and Julie Halard-Decugis face off in the final. This is Van Roost's first appearance at Eastbourne and Halard-Decugis's fourth. In a doubles quarterfinal match which had been suspended from the previous day, one of the players injured a left ankle and the team had to default. On The Line wishes the injured player, Katarina Srebotnik, a speedy recover and best of luck at Wimbledon.

Friday Semi-final Results
Dominique van Roost def. Anne Kremer 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: Kremer leads 1-0 (99 Stanford)
En route to entering the biggest final of her career, Dominique van Roost utilized her same steadiness and careful shot selection to defeat her young Luxembourgian opponent. Kremer began to tire in the third set and her game was impacted by this.
Julie Halard-Decugis def. Chanda Rubin 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Centre Court
Previous head-to-head: Rubin leads 1-0 (99 San Diego)
Julie Halard-Decugis's best appearance at the tournament was reaching the quarterfinals. This is her first appearance since 1991. Her groundstrokes and serve were more than a match for Rubin.
Friday Quarterfinal Doubles Results
Els Callens/Dominique van Roost def. Anna Kournikova/Natasha Zvereva 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Ai Sugiyama/Nathalie Tauziat def. Alicia Molik/Katarina Srebotnik 5-7, 1-2 (retired - left ankle injury to Srebotnik)
Semi-final Results
Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs def. Els Callens/Dominique van Roost 6-2, 6-4
Ai Sugiyama/Nathalie Tauziat def. Nicole Arendt/Manon Bollegraf 7-6(7-2), 6-2

'Out and About' on the Practices Courts'
Seen out and about the practice courts included:
Martina Navratilova and Maarian DeSwardt facing Nathalie Dechy and Elena Likhovtseva in a simulated doubles match.
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Tell me more about......Julie Halard-Decugis
This 29 year-old had the best season of her 12 year career in 1999. She reached four singles finals, winning Auckland and Birmingham; recorded wins over Steffi Graf (at the German Open), world no. 2 Davenport and No. 6 Pierce (en route to the final at Los Angeles). She is coached by her husband Arnaud Decugis.

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

Married Arnaud Decugis on March 22, 1995, who has been her coach since 1989... husband is a distant relative of French Nationals winner Max Decugis...Father, Jacques, is a doctor; mother, Nicole is a housewife; has two older brothers, Sebastien, an officer in the army and Matthieu, an engineer; both play tennis... Likes alpine skiing, trekking, mountaineering, and climbing (reached the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest in Europe at 4,807 meters), reading and listening to classical music, especially Beethoven...Also enjoys painting, and has taken art lessons in Paris while off tour due to injuries and has painted fellow pros and given them paintings as gifts; grandmother was a sculptor; also did television commentary and conducted tennis clinics while out of action...Is restoring an 1834 chalet in the French Alps...Favorite cuisine is French and Japanese; also enjoys dark chocolates...Was instrumental in getting Yannick Noah named as Fed Cup captain in 1997-98.