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by Prip With Jelena Dokic in a confusing situation and out of the tournament, the locals were hoping for Alicia Molik to carry the torch and make a repeat performance of her 2000 Open win over Silvija Talaja. The match was far from a repeat, though. In a total turnaround, the Australian found herself utterly helpless against the Croat. Silvija had arrived looking stronger and confident despite failing to defend her title at Gold Coast, where extended her losing record against Silvia Farina to 6-1. Having had several days to prepare for the encounter, Silvija was ready to finally win a match in the first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open hasn’t been particularly good for Silvija, who had to face another big server, Venus Williams, in the first round in 1999. A fresh face on the tour at the time, she pushed the match to 9-7 in the third set. Alicia’s serve wasn’t working too well for her, but even then, Silvija was fully prepared to redeem herself from last year’s embarrassment. Game after game went to the Croat, who seems to have had a good and well-deserved break at the end of the year to recuperate after having played way more matches than she had expected. Silvija totally obliterated her opponent, not letting up even after the teenager had lost her head. Under the pressure of being the sole weapon to get her out of this fix, Alicia’s first serve broke down, and the Aussie started to simply swipe at the ball. The 50-strong group of Croatian supporters had an absolute ball, cheering Talaja on, while the rest of the stadium maintained relatively silent. Putting to rest any doubts of her abilities as a tennis player after last year’s disastrous end, Silvija denied the Australian a single game, taking the first double-bagel of the tournament. |