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by Alex Dimitrov Anna Kournikova's career has been more of an enigma than anything else. From bizarre loses to serious injuries, Anna has been long overdue for a breakthrough. This week at the Acura Classic she's played her best tennis since 1998, in many ways thanks to new coach Harold Solomon. Both of Anna's parents are in Moscow which can explain Anna's more relaxed yet very serious attitude on court. During Friday's day session she took on Anna Smashnova from Israel. Kournikova had beaten Smashnova easily the previous week in Stanford. The first set was an exact replica of Kournikova's Round of 16 match against Conchita Martinez, a dismal 6-1 dismissal courtesy of Smashnova. Credit to Kournikova, however, she cameback from a 1-3 deficit in the second to level things at a set a piece after closing out the set 6-3. In the past Kournikova would have given in, yet this time around she seemed to be carried by adrenaline more than anything. She was clearly playing inspired tennis -- putting away overheads, waiting for the right time to blast down the line forehand winners, and maneuvering crafty half volleys. Anna has also never looked so mentally tough. She quickly fell down 0-2 in the third yet continued to go after every ball with the same amount of effort. She was wincing and in pain, clearly bothered by her stomach and thigh injury yet Kournikova did not give in. This time she wasn't afraid to get down and dirty. In what had to be the gutsiest match of her career, Anna Kournikova defeated Anna Smashnova 1-6 6-3 6-4. Kournikova was in tears after the match, attempting to catch her breath while giving an on court interview. In her press conference she sounded content and confident with her game and herself. "I'm very happy to win four matches in a row, with the thought that I almost pulled out of this tournament," she said. On her next round opponent which at the time was undetermined she said, "I've beaten them before, I'm not going to stress about it." It seems like it's a whole new ball game for Anna Kournikova these days. While Anna Kournikova was toying around with the press, Venus Williams was toying around with Kim Clijsters. Williams took the first set 6-3 in what looked to be a routine win for Venus. However, Clijsters stepped up her level of play by dictating more of the points thanks to her awesome backhand. In a never ending baseline affair, Kim managed to take the second set 7-5 much to Venus's dislike, who had told the press the previous day that she no longer enjoys going into a third set. Venus did prevail 6-4 in the third after cranking a few 118 mph bombs. When asked who she'd rather play in the next round Venus said, "Normally a higher ranked player, I need a couple (ranking) points here and there." On her serving strategy, "Almost every first serve I go for an ace." On the match, "I was never nervous, I guess I'm just old and experienced." Venus was also looking forward to playing Lindsay Davenport, "I haven't played her in so long now it'd be nice." It looked like Williams would get her wish, as by the time she got done with her press conference Lindsay Davenport was already up 6-1 and 3-0 on Ai Sugiyama. There was no stopping Davenport. Her serve was on. Her net game was there, and so were her groundstrokes (surprise, surprise). Lindsay took care of Sugiyama 6-1 6-1 in exactly 47 minutes. After Davenport's match, Kim Clijsters came in for her press conference. As always she was very kind and gracious in her answers. "Although I lost, I really enjoyed it," she said. "I fought until the end, even when she was serving for it, I ran every ball down." It seemed Clijsters was also very optimistic about her game. "I'm getting a lot closer than I was last year," she said. With that the day session came to a close and in a matter of a few hours Jelena Dokic and Jennifer Capriati would take to battle on center court. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first set Dokic looked like she hadn't settled down. Her shots were still flying a few feet long and Jennifer took advantage of the situation by coming back to take the first set 6-2. Dokic looked as if she was going to waste another opportunity to beat a top player. A problem she's had in the past is her lack of consistency and mediocre serve. Her serve was still mediocre but her entire game was by far the most consistent it had ever been. Jelena's shots were deep, low to the ground, and very penetrating. She easily took the second set 6-2. Both girls held serve up to 2-2 in the third when Dokic broke for 3-2 only to be broken back the next game. However Dokic did manage to once again get the break and served up 4-3. Jennifer stepped on the gas by hitting two beautiful returns along with some very nice deep strokes to break Dokic at love and level things at 4-4. The next two games were the best of the match. Capriati and Dokic both fought like dogs, some points easily exceeding 40 strokes. Dokic did prevail in the end, scoring a huge upset 6-4 in the third. Capriati, however, did not play badly at all. She was simply outplayed by a consistent Jelena Dokic. That set up a brilliant semifinal match up between Anna Kournikova and Jelena Dokic, while in the other half of the draw Venus Williams would finally get to play Lindsay Davenport for the first time in an entire year. Despite Dokic's big upset and Venus's hard fought win, the belonged to Anna. Even when she loses, Kournikova gets press -- just imagine what tennis will be like if she keeps winning. |