A Grand Draw for the State Farm Tennis Classic
by Ed Zafian
The Scottsdale draw is out and many early round matches are worthy
of some second week matches at the Grand Slams. While perusing the
draw, I thought I would pick out some noteworthy matches, but realized
that would be virtually impossible. Please note the final round of
qualifying is to be completed on Monday morning. At this writing there
are many qualifiers still alive for the four spots in the main draw.
They include Plischke, Bacheva, Bedanova, Nacuk, Pitkowski, Pisnik,
Jidkova, Panova, Krizan, and Parkinson. So here is the draw from top
to bottom:
Hingis (#1) receives a bye and will play the winner of
Rubin vs. Black -- Black received a wildcard into the main
draw and faces a test from Rubin. Rubin may be looking forward to a
potential meeting with Hingis in the second round. The American took
out the "Swiss Miss" last year at Indian Wells and will be facing
similar conditions this week in Scottsdale. This match is scheduled
for Monday on the Stadium Court following the completion of two final
round qualifying matches.
Huber vs. Frazier -- A battle of two veterans on the WTA
Tour. Frazier has had better results this year with a semifinal
showing in Hobart and reaching the quarterfinals of Oklahoma City last
week. Huber has yet to pass the second round of any event this year.
This match is scheduled for Monday on the Grandstand Court following
the completion of two qualifying matches as well.
Van Roost vs. Testud (#7) -- Who is the seed? With these
two players they tend to float around the same ranking. However,
Testud has improved her ranking thus far this year to a career high
#10, while Van Roost has dropped a bit to #19. This will be Van
Roost's first match since pulling out of Hannover with an illness.
But this match by far is the highest ranked first round match on the
bill.
Mary Pierce (#3) receives a bye and will play the winner
of Nagyova vs. Qualifier -- The #44 ranked Nagyova might face
a stiff test from the qualifiers still alive. In fact, two of them
Plischke and Pitkowski, are ranked higher than the Slovakian.
Lucic vs. Shaughnessy -- A battle of wildcards. Shaughnessy
is the lowest ranked player in the main draw. However, the hometown
crowd will be on Shaughnessy's side. But will Lucic overpower the
Scottsdale resident or will those nasty unforced errors creep in? It
should be Lucic's match to win or lose.
Dechy vs. Martinez (#5) -- Dechy reached her first WTA tour
final last week in Oklahoma City. However, the Scottdale field it
much tougher and an opener against the pesky Spaniard is no easy
task.
Kournikova (#6) vs. Qualifier -- A question mark for the
Russian. In a competitive qualifying field, her opponent could either
be quite tired or quite match tough. If Kournikova gets through, she
could have a good chance to get deep in the draw.
Likhovtseva vs. Qualifier -- Same story here. With
qualifying matches stretching to Monday morning, the turn-around time
for the qualifier will be minimal.
Raymond vs. Sugiyama -- Another match that is really too
close to call with Sugiyama currently ranked at #23 and Raymond at
#29. This match follows Huber vs. Raymond on the Grandstand Court on
Monday. Should be a competitive day on this intimate court where some
seats are a few feet from the baseline.
The winner of this match plays Halard-Decugis (#4) who
receives a bye.
Schett (#8) vs. Qualifier -- Schett squeaked in with the
last seed thanks to the withdrawal of Venus Williams. This is
Schett's first tournament appearance since reaching the fourth round
of the Australian Open. An abdominal strain forced her out of Hannover
and Oklahoma City.
Seles vs. Talaja -- Yes, Seles is NOT seeded. One can only
guess that last time that this occurred. Seles successfully returned
to the tour last week (winning Oklahoma City) after being out with a
foot injury since September. Talaja also holds a title (Gold Coast)
but has not passed the second round in any other event this year.
Capriati vs. Stevenson -- One of the marquis first round
matches. This match received the honor of being the first night match
of the tournament (always reserved for "top draws"). Capriati is
making her first appearance since reaching the semifinals of the
Australian Open. The sometimes erractic Stevenson reached the Sydney
quarterfinals but has suffered a series of early exits since then. A
hard-hitting match is guaranteed. The winner of this match plays
Davenport (#2) who receives a bye.
The doubles draw is likewise filled with quality matches from the
start. The Australian Open doubles champions, Raymond/Stubbs head
the draw and open up against a qualifing team. The #2 seeds are an
interesting pairing of Davenport/Kournikova who face Po/Schett in a
first round match. This match will take place Monday afternoon.
Following Capriati vs. Stevenson on Monday night, the #3 seeded
Hingis/Pierce take on Tarabini/Vis. The #4 seeded team of
Halard-Decugis/Sugiyama face Callens/Van Roost in a first round match.
However, a crowd will surely be drawn to a first round doubles match
between two unseeded teams. The established duo of Rubin/Testud drew
the wildcard team of Capriati/Seles. The winner of that match will
face the winner of Hingis/Pierce vs. Tarabini/Vis.
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