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by Michelle Chuang Morning Session Lindsay Davenport vs. Corina Morariu Lindsay drew a relatively easy quarterfinal match against her doubles partner, Morariu. Lindsay was upset with her sloppy play against Rubin in the second round, and she had some trouble seeing the ball during that match. Today she had an afternoon match, so she didn’t have any trouble eyeing the ball. Lindsay took the first three games for 3-0. At this point, it looked like it was going to be a very quick match, but Corina came back with a break of her own for 1-3. She proceeded to hold her own serve for 2-3. Both players kept holding serve until Lindsay broke Corina again for the set 6-3. There looked to be a few calls that Lindsay usually would have argued, but I guess since she was playing against her doubles partner and friend today that she decided she wouldn’t argue. She would just stare at the line judge for a second or two. Morariu was sporting some sunglasses since it was such a bright day. At 1-1 in the second set, Lindsay served 4 straight aces in a row to take the game and 2-1 lead. After the game was over, she received a huge amount of well deserved applause. She just nodded her head and had a little smile on her face. In the next two games, Lindsay and Corina traded breaks for 3-2 (Lindsay), but the difference was that Lindsay broke Corina’s serve again for 4-2. Lindsay kept holding and took the match 6-3, 6-3 in match that took just over an hour. Lindsay is always asked a lot of questions from all different subjects because she is so well spoken. Today, she was asked, "Lindsay, why don’t you think Kournikova hasn’t been able to win a tournament yet?" She replied, " Good question. I don’t think she’s ever played beneath a Tier II. Sometimes, it’s so important at the beginning of your career to play a Tier III or IV tournament to learn how to win a tournament." Lindsay also mentioned that she is available for the Fed Cup final in September, and she also hopes that Anna Kournikova will get to play for Russia since she wants to beat the best (from Russia) to win the Fed Cup title. Corina came into the press conference somewhat disappointed with her play. She didn’t seem to have all the weapons today that she did yesterday playing against Capriati. I asked her, "How big was winning the Wimby doubles final for you?" She replied, "It was amazing. I really can’t describe the feeling. My first Grand Slam title. It was a huge boost for me, and we got along so well. It was really special... special title." Lindsay faces Amy Frazier next. Amanda Coetzer vs. Sandrine Testud Amanda came into the match fresh from her three set comeback victory over Lisa Raymond, and Testud looked to be playing extremely well in her previous matches against Schnyder and Majoli. Testud was off to her usual quick start with a 4-0 advantage. It looked like Amanda was making a comeback when she held and broke for 2-4, but Testud erased any hope of that by breaking Coetzer’s next service game and taking the set by holding 6-2. In the second set, both players held until Coetzer broke Testud for a 4-3 lead. Coetzer handed back the break in the next game for 4-4. By this point, it looked like Testud was struggling physically. She looked fatigued, and of course Amanda did not. Despite her fatigue, Testud broke for a commanding 5-4 lead and was serving for the match. That game was an interesting one. Testud hit a good winner during one point, and Coetzer showed her distress by smashing her racquet into a chair. The racquet totally caved. No, it wasn’t just a small crack. Amanda broke that racquet badly. The racquet looked so bad that the crowd was amazed. She had to change racquets, so she got a warning for code violation. A couple points later… Testud had a match point. Amanda saved it and broke. Testud was just too tired. Amanda took the set 7-5. In the third set, Testud was still dictating all the points, but Coetzer just kept running everything down. Eventually, Testud would throw in the unforced error. Coetzer eventually won the match in a thrilling 2 hour and 21 minute match. Final score was 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. It seems like any singles match with Coetzer turns out to be a thriller, and fans who had tickets to this morning’s session got their money’s worth. After the match, Amanda said that her racquet smashing was due to frustration. She felt like she was running way too much, and Testud was controlling everything. I asked her about her newly aggressive game. I think she was surprised I noticed, but she said that she had been working on attacking and coming to net more often. She has to face Venus Williams or Anna Kournikova next. She has never beaten Venus, but this year she beat Anna at Oklahoma City. Other Morning Session Results Amy Frazier defeated Anne Kremer 7-5, 6-0 Davenport/Morariu defeated Tanasugarn/Tatarkova 6-2, 6-1 Evening Session Anna Kournikova vs. Venus Williams This highly anticipated quarterfinal match and Wimbledon round of 16 rematch received a lot of well deserved hype. Fans packed the stadium and waited in long lines to possibly buy one of the few tickets left. Two of the three meetings between these two players went to three sets, so I was expecting a close match. Anna Kournikova came out firing her groundstrokes. She had four break points but failed to convert on any of them. Anna didn’t play poorly at all; Venus was just too powerful for Kournikova to handle. Venus took the first set 6-1 with Anna only holding serve once for her only game. Anna started the second set with a different game plan. Right from the beginning, she was mixing up her shots. She would try to slow the pace with high lobs and low slices. She had to do all that just to hold her serve in the first game 1-0. Both held serve until 2-2 when Venus broke Anna for a 3-2 lead. Anna’s fans pleaded with her to, "Do something!!!" Anna complied with a break of her own for 3-3. That would prove to be the last game she won. Venus won the match 6-1, 6-3. There really wasn’t much anyone could say to describe Venus’s outstanding play today except for, "Wow." She made Anna Kournikova look like a qualifier which was really tough since Anna was playing some great tennis herself. Venus said later in the press conference that when she plays a match, she goes in thinking that no one can beat her. She also said that this way she isn’t intimidated by the player on the other side. Kournikova came into the press conference afterwards, and she seemed happy with the way she played. She said she left the court feeling good about her game, and that the score didn’t reflect the closeness of the match. Anna fans shouldn’t be unhappy though. She’s still in the doubles. Venus faces Amanda Coetzer next. Other Evening Session Scores Fernandez/Raymond defeated Rubin/Testud 6-3, 6-4 |