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by Prip Henrieta Nagyova had had a very up-and-down year 2000, battling injuries but winning 3 tournaments and chalking up a 33-20 win-loss record for the year. She had ended the year well, taking the title in Kuala Lumpur and reaching the semifinal in Pattaya, but split with her coach Tomas Malik after he decided to pursue a different career. Still coachless, the Slovakian is trying to build up on her match-toughness, although she carries a lot of confidence with her. Henrieta played extremely well in the first set, sticking to her resolve to play aggressively and made all the plays. Complimenting her baseline game well with frequent net approaches, the Slovakian did all the work, and was in the driver’s seat all the way. She took the first set 6-4 after getting an early break, and the match went into the second set. Things started to slow down for Nagyova, though, and it looked like she wouldn’t be able to keep up the level of play she had shown in the first set. Jennifer got the break to go up 3-2, and then the reason for Henrieta’s lapse became apparent. She called for the trainer, and removed her shoe to reveal a very painful looking toe. The Slovakian had nearly pulled her toenail off in her match against Chanda Rubin the week before, and had been undergoing various treatments since. The nail was bleeding considerably, and the 22-year-old must have been playing through a lot of pain. She came on court after getting the toe wrapped up, but could hardly move on the court. Jennifer consolidated for a 4-2 lead, and had a field trip hitting easy winners against an immobile opponent, taking 6 games in a row to take second set 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the third. Henrieta looked utterly helpless and frustrated, but very bravely fought on. She blocked the pain out as best as she could, and started moving about on court again. Playing as aggressively as she had in the first set, the Slovakian got the break back for 3-all, but promptly got broken again thanks to several unforced errors. Nevertheless, she continued to go for her shots, and very suddenly, found herself up 5-4 with Jennifer serving to stay in the match. The last few games were extremely tense, with long rallies and aggressive play from both players. Henrieta was still having trouble moving, though, and in a sport like tennis where you have to change directions a lot, a bleeding toe is as good as a broken leg. Jennifer took full advantage of the situation (and overcame a rather nasty looking fall on the left sideline), taking the last three games to win the match. Had Henrieta not been hampered by her injury, she would most likely have walked away the victor today. Capriati deserves credit for her strong finish, though. The American shook her fist in delight after surviving the 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 ordeal. |