Lisa Raymond (#5) vs. Ai Sugiyama (First Round)
Head to Head: Raymond leads series 6-3 (Last Meeting: 2002 Memphis, Semis, Raymond 6-2, 6-1)
It was a battle of #1's this morning on the stadium court at the Faimont Scottsdale Princess. No the names
were not Jen or Venus or Martina, but Lisa and Ai. We are talking #1 doubles players. Ai Sugiyama held
the top ranking in doubles for much of the first half of 2001, while Lisa Raymond took over the spot in
August (and still holds today). In the sometimes wacky world of tennis, last week's semifinal
can turn into this week's first round matchup. Such was the case today
as the American faced the same opponent she knocked off last
week in the Memphis semifinals.
From the start, it was apparent that this would not be the cakewalk of
last week for Raymond. Raymond
was in trouble early on serve but held and then failed to take advantage of 0-40 lead in Sugiyama's first
service game. Sugiyama broke Raymond in the next service game for an early 2-1 lead, which Sugiyama
gave back with a slew of unforced errors in the sixth game. At 3-3, the proverbial "crucial" seventh game
begun and it would take some time to complete. With a double-fault Raymond went down 0-40, but battled
back to deuce. At that point, neither player seemed capable of stringing two points together. With most
points lost on unforced errors, the two contested 7 deuces - with Sugiyama eventually pulling through on
her fifth break point. But all was for naught, as Sugiyama, serving on the same very sunny side during
Raymond's service game, double-faulted twice and was broken back to even the score at 4-4. At this point,
Raymond appeared to be kicking into gear - with more power and accuracy behind her shots but the set
would be decided by a tiebreak. Here is how the set was decided:
R: Raymond hits a forehand wide, Sugiyama 1-0.
S: Raymond is stretched wide, hits a weak backhand lob that Sugiyama smashes, Sugiyama 2-0.
S: Backhand lands into the net for Raymond, Sugiyama, 3-0.
R: A Raymond forehand sails long and wide, Sugiyama, 4-0.
R: Sugiyama's service return goes wide, Sugiyama, 4-1.
S: On 7th shot of a rally, Sugiyama sends a forehand long, Sugiyama, 4-2.
S: Raymond jammed and hits an awkward backhand wide, Sugiyama, 5-2.
R: A wide forehand wide for Sugiyama, Sugiyama, 5-3.
R: A Raymond orehand lands in the net, Sugiyama, 6-3.
S: On 10th shot of a rally a Raymond forehand goes wide, Sugiyama wins tiebreak 7-3.
So not the cleanest of tiebreaks (or matches) and unforced errors had to be the stat of the day. Perhaps with
their doubles experiences, the points also tended not to last very long despite the 1 hour, 2 minutes it took
to complete the first set.
The new was not good for Raymond as the trainer was called out between sets. The American was soon flat
on her back for what appeared to be treatment on her shoulder. Back on the court, Raymond dropped her first
service game and at the 3-0 changeover, the American waved off the trainer who was waiting in the wings.
Had Raymond recovered from her ailment or was she beyond help for the day? That question was
answered as I saw Raymond's doubles partner and good friend, Rennae Stubbs, leave the match at that
point. Raymond managed only to win 9 points and remained on the court for 17 minutes in a 6-0 second set.
With that, last week's tournament champion became this week's first round loser.
Sugiyama next meets Nicole Pratt, a winner today over Meilen Tu, in the second round
Lilia Osterloh vs. Alina Jidkova (Q) (First Round)
Head to Head: Series tied 1-1 (Last Meeting: 1999 Kirkland, R16, Osterloh 6-4, 7-5)
I had a feeling this could be a loud match. On Sunday during qualifying while watching a match, I heard
shrieks of "AAAlllinnnnnnaa" coming from another court - so we had a fiery Russian on our hands. Alina
Jidkova struggled through the qualifying draw, but made it into the main draw after victories over Jana
Nejedly, Maria Jose Martinez, and Virginie Razzano. This afternoon, she faced unheralded the #55 ranked
American Lilia Osterloh in a first round match.
As opposed to the more finessed play of the Raymond/Sugiyama match, these women were hitting hard and
not holding much back. Again it was not the prettiest of matches, but when the shots landed inside the
court they were pretty spectacular. Jidkova, perhaps more match tough after qualifying, ultimately proved
to be the more consistent player. She broke Osterloh's serve three times in the first set (to the American's
one service break back), to take the first set at 6-2 in 27 minutes.
Things did not improve for Osterloh in the second set. Osterloh was broken in the third and seventh games
of the set. During the seventh game, the frustrated Osterloh mumbled "Great day" after a double fault gave
Jidkova a couple of break points. Jidkova served out the match with a 6-2 second set. Perhaps a scouting
report on Osterloh showed that the American did not like hitting deep, loopy shots or those with heavy
topspin. Osterloh rarely was able to keep those balls in the court. Jidkova advances to the second round
where she has the unenviable task of facing Serena Williams.
Serena, Magui, and a Man In A Skirt
Serena Williams had a little more to worry about than hitting balls at her morning practice session.
She was being pursued by a man in tennis skirt! No need to call security, it was only wacky local
weatherman, Brad Perry, reporting for Good Morning Arizona. As he did last year, Perry donned a white
pleated tennis skirt for his annual visit to the State Farm tournament. He quickly caught the eye of Richard
Williams and got the okay from Dad for an interview with his daughter, but it was Serena who initially
waved him off. But Perry's persistence paid off after another talk with Mr. Williams, Serena relented and
came over for a brief chat on the morning show. Perry claimed to be a ranked tennis player to which
Serena responded "in what universe" and when asked about his tennis fashion Serena just raised an
eyebrow and said it was "very nice." Later, Magui Serna was a bit of a better sport and merely
giggled a "yes" when asked if she was intimidated by Perry's outfit. Perhaps, the Spaniard was a little too
spooked by the morning's events as she easily fell to Tatiana Panova in her first round match.
Around The Grounds
At smaller tournaments it is not unusual to see top players to sharing a practice court. On Sunday,
Meghann Shaughnessy and Barbara Schett stole some of the crowd from qualifying action for their
hitting session. Schett, seeded 6th, opens against qualifier Jelena Jankovic in the second night session this
evening, while Shaughnessy, the 4th seed, is not scheduled to play her first match until Thursday where she
hopes to score her first victory over Nathalie Dechy who she has lost to in four previous meetings.
Top seeds and Saddlebrook neighbors, Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis, were also seen hitting
together on Monday with their respective parents watching from the sidelines. So apparently no bad blood
between the two players who have contested the last two Australian Open finals and hope to meet again
this Sunday at the State Farm.