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Day 1, Wednesday, 1st Round Action by Ken Kamlet On opening night, while the seats were filled by less than half of the capacity, the attending crowd was still very enthusiastic and were treated to mostly solid, competitive tennis. Celebrity spotting at this event at Madison Square Garden was a fun sidebar in previous years. At the STAPLES Center, however, celebrities seemed to be in hiding. A number of tennis stars, including Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters sat with tour officials. Jennifer Capriati’s Must-See-TV Friend Matthew Perry sat on the opposite side of the stadium from Jen’s nonstop chatting dad Stefano Capriati. Match 1: Chanda Rubin (10) def. Amelie Mauresmo (6) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the first-ever Round-Robin match in the newly formatted WTA Tour Championships, American Chanda Rubin upset Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo. Mauresmo entered the event fresh off the heels of a triumphant title win at Philadelphia last week. But she continues to show her inability to control her own erratic game as she has established herself, based on her physical strength and talents, to be perhaps one of the biggest underachievers of her generation. Mauresmo did not capitalize on Rubin’s tendency to roll in serves (2nd serves are frequently under 80 mph). In fact, Mauresmo managed to convert only 3 of 12 breakpoint chances in the match. Despite a competitive match and a fine start, Mauresmo could not solve the Rubin puzzle (she is now 1-3 lifetime against Rubin) and, much to the delight of the American crowd, Rubin utilized her outstanding shot-making and all around speed for a well-deserved come-from-behind win. Later, Mauresmo admitted that she was relieved that the tournament has changed to a round-robin format, which keeps her in the competition despite tonight’s loss. “We are used to seeing one match, but you know [this format] is great. I think it is good that I have the opportunity to come back on the court tomorrow or the day after”, she remarked. Rubin, who qualified for the event only because 3 players ranked ahead of her had to withdraw, joked that Venus Williams was not mad at her for taking her spot in the draw, but miffed that Chanda didn’t win last week’s event. She explained, “She said that I should have won in Philadelphia. So I didn’t really go into it with her. But what can you do?” Match 2: Jennifer Capriati (5) def. Ai Sugiyama (11) 7-5, 7-6(7-3). An easily frustrated and temperamental Jennifer Capriati labored in her opening round match against Japan’s Ai Sugiyama. Plucky Sugiyama, the best Japanese player since former world #4 Kimiko Date, bounced around and aggravated Capriati with her deep, flat groundstrokes. While the energetic spectators seemed mostly behind Capriati, a large contingent vocally pulled for Sugiyama to keep things competitive. But like Mauresmo earlier, Sugiyama could keep things close but was not able to convert opportunities. She managed only 2 breaks in 15 chances and let 4 set points slip away. Capriati forced a second set tiebreak and after taking a commanding lead she suddenly saw 3 consecutive points slip away. Shades of her dramatic 3rd set tiebreak loss to Justine Henin-Hardenne at the US Open followed by another tiebreak collapse against Elena Bovina in her opening round at Moscow had her fans worried. But Jennifer Capriati recovered and closed things out with some clutch play. One key person off the court was almost as notable as those on it during this match. Paul Annocone, longtime coach of former world #1 Pete Sampras, is working on a “trial basis” this week with Capriati. Jennifer explained, “This is really just like a trial basis, so nothing is definite,” adding “I had been planning on doing some changes anyway for the future … and he obviously has great credentials”. Capriati was treated mid-match for a hip strain and after the match said she was still uncomfortable and hoping the injury would not affect her ability to complete the tournament. Match 3: Kim Clijsters (1) vs. Elena Dementieva (9) 6-2, 6-2. As the crowd quickly thinned out, world #1 Kim Clijsters took court for the final match which did not start until after 11pm and concluded just before midnight. In a match that featured hard-hitting and loud grunting, Elena Dementieva started off nervously and sloppily as she was swept aside relatively easily in the first set. She became more competitive in the 2nd set, but Clijsters maintained control throughout her straight-set routine win. Dementieva’s go-for-it style did not work against the on-form Clijsters. Dementieva gave away 23 unforced errors while claiming just 12 winners. |