In an interesting move by tournament officials, the majority of singles matches were scheduled on the smaller Grandstand Court with two doubles matches played on the main Stadium Court. The highlight of the day session was the return of Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles as a doubles team. The match was scheduled "not before 1230pm" to give the fans time to get out to the tournament site. A collective moan went up as an announcement was made that the match would be moved back to 1:30pm to allow Pavlina Nola adequate rest after her lengthy 7-5, 7-6 loss to Cara Black early in the day. For the first time at this year's State Farm, there was definitely a buzz of anticipation in the air prior to a match.

Capriati/Seles vs. Bovina/Nola (1st Round)

A burst of applause and cheers greeted Capriati and Seles as they walked out onto the court. As noted above, this was the second consecutive appearance by this high profile team at Scottsdale. Still, this was only the fourth time Capriati and Seles have teamed up together. The first time was a completely different era for both players -- the 1991 Italian Open, where they went on to win the title. The last time they played was at last year's Indian Wells event. They certainly did not show any rust this afternoon.

Bovina, who lost to Meghann Shaughnessy in the feature night match yesterday, struggled immediately on her first service game. Serving two double faults, Bovina/Nola eventually held saving five break points along the way. Seles held her first service game at love, finishing it off with a 103mph ace. Capriati and Seles were untouchable in their service games. The team relinquished only two points on their serve in the first set, one a Capriati double fault and the other a Seles backhand that landed into the net. Capriati/Seles breaking Bovina and Nola once each won the first set 6-2 in 27 minutes.

The second set did not start any better for the Russian/Bulgarian duo, with Capriati/Seles winning the first eight points including a break of Bovina's serve at love. The American duo broke Bovina again at love in the fifth game of the set. Seles's only struggle on serve occurred in the sixth game with Bovina/Nola reaching two break points, but denied by some Capriati poaching. A final break of Nola in the next game ended the match 6-2, 6-1 in 53 minutes.

The crowd was clearly pleased to see Seles and Capriati in action together. The pair appeared genuinely friendly with each other despite some tough matches against each other recently in Melbourne and Oklahoma City. A fan handed some flowers to Seles while she was signing some autographs. This was the second year Seles has left the Scottsdale courts with a bouquet.

Raymond Still "Dogged" By The Past

American Lisa Raymond had one of the easiest matches of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 win over qualifier Shinobu Asagoe. In an informal interview with the press after her doubles victory with Rennae Stubbs over Lilia Osterloh/Alexandra Stevenson, the majority of questions asked of Raymond were about her exclusion from the US Olympic team last year. Despite her failed legal attempts to make the team, Raymond was quite even-tempered and very patient while discussing the subject. Raymond stated that she still believes she did the right thing despite "coming up short." Clearly not holding onto any bitterness, Raymond stated that she would gladly represent her country in the future given the opportunity and invitation.

Near the close of the interview, Stubbs entered the press area with Raymond's dachshund, Casey, in tow. The dog decked out in a coat was clearly pleased to see its owner and vice versa. Before she left, Raymond was discussing having seen one of the first showings of the movie "Hannibal." She enjoyed the movie, but did not express the same enthusiasm for the book it was based on. She added that "The Silence of the Lambs" is her favorite movie and that she has seen it at least 30 times. Raymond meets Ai Sugiyama in the second round match scheduled for Wednesday.

"Skirt"-ing the Issue: Part One

Prior to the start of the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic, I did not think I would be spending much time talking about American Alexandra Stevenson. But here it is my third report and Stevenson has once again cropped into my report. Despite pulling out of singles qualifying with a back strain, Stevenson was back today in a doubles match with partner Lilia Osterloh in a match against the top seeded team of Raymond and Stubbs. Once again, the stir in the crowd over Stevenson's outfit was pretty noticeable and not necessarily a positive stir. You make the call in the photo at the right. Is it a true fashion faux pas? What would fashion critic, Mr. Blackwell, think of this ensemble? Channeling his typical blunt comments, I came up with "Alexandra's outfit is simply a Valentine Day's Massacre on the tennis court." While peeling off her warm-up top, the crowd also could catch a glimpse of a sparkly red star attached just below her navel.

I happened to be seated right behind the Stevenson/Osterloh bench for this match. During a first set changeover, I nearly jumped out of my seat as a sharp-toned comment from behind me called out "Alexandra pull your skirt down!" A somewhat befuddled Stevenson scrunched up her face while the voice quickly added "In the front!" Surreptitiously, I glanced behind me to find that the mysterious voice belonged to an older blond woman in a floppy hat and sunglasses. I am sure those clues are enough to identify the verbal assailant (and very onerous presence may I add).

Stay tuned, dear readers, the skirt returns (sans Stevenson) in future match reports!