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by Prip Book-makers had put the odds on winning against Venus Williams at 6.25, and they certainly had their reasons for doing so. With Venus capable of running down trains and in possession of a much more aggressive game, Amanda Coetzer would logically stand close to no chance of coming through. And yet, the Little Assassin surprised the tennis world yet again. From the time she put an end to Steffi Graf's Grand Slam winning streak in the fourth round here in 1997, to the time she beat Venus in Hamburg last year, Amanda has managed to overcome her natural disadvantage with pure determination. Venus very clearly didn't start the match well, and was making errors everywhere. Amanda, on the other hand, came out firing, and broke Venus's serve to open the match. Breaking Venus early isn't so much a surprise, as she takes a game or two to really get into the match, and the real challenge comes in holding on to the lead. Amanda did more than hold the lead, and took game after game, getting 2 breaks and a 4-0 lead before Venus finally got on the scoreboard. For stat buffs who checked out the website, no, there is no mistake and yes, you can believe your eyes. Amanda made only 1 unforced error in taking the first set 6-2. As expected, Venus soon picked up her game, and Amanda's near flawless tennis had to stop somewhere. Venus's shots started landing in, drastically cutting down on her unforced errors while adding to her number of winners. Amanda, on the other hand, found the balls coming faster and further away, and cold hardly get to many of them despite her speedy footwork. In a total turnaround, Venus took the second stanza 6-1, and it looked like it was all over for Amanda. Amanda still had a few cards up her sleeve, though, and fought hard to get the break to go up 5-3 in the third. She was still making the errors, but Venus came up with even more, and the match turned out to be a comedy of errors. Venus managed to get the break back to even the match up, and went up 6-5, serving for the match. Somehow, Amanda actually managed to play a couple of clean points and finally followed the short balls in to the net, winning her the break back. That's where the match turned even sloppier than ever, and Venus took the final two games for an 8-6 victory in the third. |