After last year's washout of the final, the State Farm Tennis Classic is hoping for a better conclusion in 2001. This weekend, the qualifying tournament got underway under threatening skies. The weather forecast for the usually sunny Scottsdale area is a little dicey for the early part of this week with temperatures predicted to be in the low-to-mid 60's with a threat of rain.

Second round qualifying matches were completed on Sunday with the final round scheduled for Monday morning. The top four qualifying seeds have advances to the final round. The match-ups are as follows: Shinobu Asogoe (the #1 seed in qualifying who stretched Monica Seles to three sets this past week in Oklahoma City) vs. Jana Nejedly, Nadeja Petrova (#2) vs. Yuka Yoshida, Tina Pisnik (#3) vs. Alexandra Stevenson (see below for more on Stevenson's second round match), and Pavlina Nola (#4 seed squeezing out a third set tiebreak against Maria Vento in the second round) vs. Jill Craybas.

One of the more interesting participants in qualifying action this year is Alexandra Stevenson. Since her surprise semifinalist showing at Wimbledon in 1999, the American has struggled to match that success on the WTA Tour. Currently ranked #133, one thought that the Stevenson would have little trouble against her fellow countrywomen, Katrina Nimmers, ranked a bit more down the rankings at #407. The two young African Americans battled to a competitive first set tiebreak, won easy by Stevenson 7-1. Despite the easy tiebreak victory, troubles began for Stevenson during the changeover as she called for the trainer. A quick back massage was done on Stevenson in the allotted amount of time. Her back problems were in all likelihood not helped by the somewhat cool conditions. Stevenson's game went totally astray in the second set. A friend who attended the match with me also noted her awkward movement around the court, but comically noted that it could have been due to her stuffing herself into that much lycra. The fashionable 20-year old was decked out in a pink top with a funky psychedelic tight skirt and matching sneakers that somewhat resembled bowling shoes. Nimmers basically keeping the ball in play and allowing Stevenson to make all the unforced errors (which she seemed all to willing to do) easily took the second set 6-1 to even the match.

Quite by accident, I found myself seated just in front of the Nimmers camp who were video-taping the match. They shouted encouragement to "Tri" (pronounced "tree") for much of the match. Nimmers, an impressive physical specimen with muscular calves but with stick-like ankles, took an early third set lead breaking Stevenson in her first service game. But the two Americans were truly in a battle of who would make the most unforced errors. In tennis terms, this was not a pretty match. Stevenson, who received another set of back treatment after the second set, continued to spray balls around the court and talk to herself during the early stages of the set. Eventually, Stevenson got her game somewhat back on track and held her serve in the "crucial" seventh game, breaking Nimmers's next service game and served that match out, 6-3 in the third. Not an impressive performance by Stevenson by an stretch and she will certainly have her a challenge to get into the main draw as she faces Slovakian Tina Pisnik, ranked #71, in the final round of qualifying action.

The sternest slot for the remaining qualifiers is a first round meeting with the 7th seed, Lisa Raymond. Other qualifier spots will be against the following unseeded players: Lilia Osterloh, Daja Bedanova, and Cara Black.