There was a full plate of first round action in Toronto today, with few marquee names but plenty of exciting matches. We focus on Jelena Dokic's narrow escape, Ai Sugiyama's encouraging form, and the rapidly-improving Wynne Prakusya's fine showing. We also take note of comeback wins by Sandrine Testud and Anke Huber, as well as the trials and tribulations of Elena Bovina.
Jelena Dokic (10) def. Nadia Petrova, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-1
First round
Stadium
Previous head-to-head: First meeting
38th-ranked Russian Nadia Petrova was coming off a narrow 7-6, 7-6 loss to Lindsay Davenport in Los Angeles last week, and the tall 19-year-old figured to give Jelena Dokic a handful in the evening's feature match. It turned out to be a ragged affair that Petrova appeared to have in hand, before succumbing to nervous errors, improved play by her Yugoslavian opponent, and physical problems. It was a match that both Petrova and Dokic said, in post-match comments, that Jelena was lucky to win.
Dokic appeared to be in control of the first set, in which she served for the set at 5-4 and 6-5. But Jelena, who had difficulty finding the range with her forehand all night, frittered away her chances with overhit baseline drives and the players staggered to a tie-break. The key point of the tie-break came at 5-5, when Dokic committed one of her 15 double faults. "My ball toss was everywhere and a little bit too low," lamented Dokic after the match in her unique English that marries Australian and Sl
avic accents. The tall Russian capitalized on her first set point with a probing forehand that forced an error from Dokic's racquet, thus claiming the first set.
Dokic's game was not nearly as stylish as her outfit, a grey, form-fitting shirt-shorts combo with black and white trim and a bare midriff. Her serve was broken at 1-1 on yet another double fault, and Nadia raced to a 4-2 lead and seemed a likely winner. But at 4-3 Petrova gave the advantage back in a sloppy game that included two double faults of her own, including on break point. Evidently superstitious, Petrova chose to blame a cross she was wearing around her neck for her woes. "I gave my cross to
my coach [after the crucial service break] and said I'll never play with it again." Dokic sealed the set by breaking the Russian's serve again at 5-6. It was an edgy five-deuce game and ended on, yes, another Petrova double fault.
Before the third set commenced, Petrova called out a trainer to treat an ugly-looking blister on her right foot. Already slowed by a slight muscle pull in her right thigh, Petrova was no match for an improving Dokic in the deciding frame and after failing to capitalize on two break points at 3-1, finally bowed out meekly. Make the final, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-1, much to the delight of the pro-Dokic crowd.
While the winner admitted she was "very lucky" to have survived the spotty match, Dokic feels she is making progress as the U.S. Open looms on the horizon. On the heels of a disappointing third-round loss to Nathalie Tauziat in Los Angeles last week, tonight was a confidence-booster against a difficult opponent. "My game was better than I thought it would be tonight," commented Jelena after the match. Next up is another dangerous floater, Spanish lefty Magui Serna. Serna is a hard-hitting lefty who can
be tough to beat. "I think the next one will be tough," said Dokic of Serna, "but maybe a little easier than today. Serna is a dangerous one for me if I don't play well."
Ai Sugiyama def. Selima Sfar (Q), 6-1 6-3
First round
Court 2
Previous head-to-head: First meeting
Given that the 24-year-old Tunisian Selima Sfar had impressed us in yesterday's qualifying win over Silvija Talaja, we thought we'd see how she's do against a top-drawer player like Ai Sugiyama. Sugiyama, who reached a career high ranking of 15 in 1998, has seen her singles ranking slip to 37. But the popular Japanese star carries a #1 ranking in doubles, and still is capable of providing a reality check for the aspirations of players like 82nd-ranked Sfar who hope to break into the sport's elite.
As it turned out, Sugiyama turned out to be too much to handle for the Tunisian. Hugging the baseline, taking the ball early and delivering deep, penetrating drives, Ai continually rushed her nervous opponent into errors. The lost glaring weakness in Sfar's game is her feathery second serve, and Sugiyama made her pay for the transgression, standing 5 feet inside the baseline to deliver lethal service returns. When she came to the net, Sugiyama showed excellent anticipation and volleying technique honed
her recent doubles successes
Down and seemingly out at 1-6, 2-4, Sfar attempted a gallant last stand by breaking Sugiyama's serve for the first time on a nifty backhand pass following an excellent Sugiyama lob. However, the Tunisian immediately lost her serve again, again rushed into errors by the aggressive Japanese. Now ahead 5-3, Ai closed out the win on her third match point at 40-30 with a backhand volley that glanced off the tape and beyond Sfar's reach.
Sugiyama, a clear winner with high-quality and almost error-free tennis, looked like the top-20 player she was in the late 1990s. If she holds this form she should pose problems to her next opponent, 2nd seed Justine Hénin. The Wimbledon runner-up will be playing her first match of the hard court season, and her first match since her Wimbledon over a month ago. Beware, Justine! The showdown will be the first match on stadium court tomorrow.
Wynne Prakusya (Q) def. Irina Selyutina (Q), 6-2 6-4
First round
Court 4
Previous head-to-head: Prakusya leads 1-0 (1998 Dubai Challenger)
The other qualifier who impressed us yesterday was 20-year-old Indonesian Wynne Prakusya, and she did not disappoint in her first main draw match. Granted, she was playing a fellow qualifier, Irina Selyutina out of Kazakhstan, whom Prakusya had beaten three years ago on the Challenger circuit.
A former world junior doubles champion, Selyutina has had a tough time trying to make inroads as a pro singles player. While she possesses good height (5'10", 1.78 m) and a potent serve, the rest of her game is uneven and she is not particularly quick on her feet.
Quickness is not a problem for the wee (5'3", 1.60 m) Prakusya. Wynne possesses blazing speed and, like her semi-retired countrywoman Yayuk Basuki (with whom Wynne is playing doubles here this week and who was an attentive spectator of this match) generates surprising power from her serve (6 aces today) and forehand.
The Indonesian used a series of those big forehands to break Selyutina's serve at 2-2, and went on a roll to claim a 6-2 first set win.
The second set was closer, as the Kazak ventured more frequently to the net with good effect. With the score knotted at 4-4, and Irina in trouble at 30-40, Wynne used her speed to track down a drop volley and send a backhand winner crosscourt. Prakusya looked a tad nervous serving out the match, but converted her third match point when Selyutina was unable to lift a biting Prakusya sliced backhand over the net.
Hope springs eternal for Wynne, as her next opponent, either Meilen Tu or 17th seed Iroda Tulyaganova, might be vulnerable. Tulyaganova, promoted to a seed when Conchita Martinez withdrew, has lost both of her matches on hard courts this summer since winning two post-Wimbledon clay court titles.
On The Line had the pleasure of speaking to the personable Prakusya after the match about a number of topics. You can click here to read our interview.