Kournikova gets down to business, while Dokic outplays Capriati
by Alex Dimitrov
Anna Kournikova's career has been more of an enigma than anything else.
From bizarre loses to serious injuries, Anna has been long overdue for
a breakthrough. This week at the Acura Classic she's played her best
tennis since 1998, in many ways thanks to new coach Harold Solomon.
Both of Anna's parents are in Moscow which can explain Anna's more
relaxed yet very serious attitude on court. During Friday's day
session she took on Anna Smashnova from Israel. Kournikova had beaten
Smashnova easily the previous week in Stanford. The first set was an
exact replica of Kournikova's Round of 16 match against Conchita
Martinez, a dismal 6-1 dismissal courtesy of Smashnova. Credit to
Kournikova, however, she cameback from a 1-3 deficit in the second to
level things at a set a piece after closing out the set 6-3.
In the past Kournikova would have given in, yet this time around she
seemed to be carried by adrenaline more than anything. She was clearly
playing inspired tennis -- putting away overheads, waiting for the
right time to blast down the line forehand winners, and maneuvering
crafty half volleys. Anna has also never looked so mentally tough.
She quickly fell down 0-2 in the third yet continued to go after every
ball with the same amount of effort. She was wincing and in pain,
clearly bothered by her stomach and thigh injury yet Kournikova did
not give in. This time she wasn't afraid to get down and dirty. In
what had to be the gutsiest match of her career, Anna Kournikova
defeated Anna Smashnova 1-6 6-3 6-4.
Kournikova was in tears after
the match, attempting to catch her breath while giving an on court
interview. In her press conference she sounded content and confident
with her game and herself. "I'm very happy to win four matches in a
row, with the thought that I almost pulled out of this tournament,"
she said. On her next round opponent which at the time was undetermined
she said, "I've beaten them before, I'm not going to stress about it."
It seems like it's a whole new ball game for Anna Kournikova these
days.
While Anna Kournikova was toying around with the press, Venus Williams
was toying around with Kim Clijsters. Williams took the first
set 6-3 in what looked to be a routine win for Venus. However, Clijsters
stepped up her level of play by dictating more of the points thanks to
her awesome backhand. In a never ending baseline affair, Kim managed
to take the second set 7-5 much to Venus's dislike, who had told the
press the previous day that she no longer enjoys going into a third
set. Venus did prevail 6-4 in the third after cranking a few 118 mph
bombs. When asked who she'd rather play in the next round Venus said,
"Normally a higher ranked player, I need a couple (ranking) points here and
there." On her serving strategy, "Almost every first serve I go for
an ace." On the match, "I was never nervous, I guess I'm just old and
experienced." Venus was also looking forward to playing Lindsay
Davenport, "I haven't played her in so long now it'd be nice."
It looked like Williams would get her wish, as by the time she got
done with her press conference Lindsay Davenport was already
up 6-1 and 3-0 on Ai Sugiyama. There was no stopping Davenport.
Her serve was on. Her net game was there, and so were her groundstrokes
(surprise, surprise). Lindsay took care of Sugiyama 6-1 6-1 in
exactly 47 minutes.
After Davenport's match, Kim Clijsters came in for her press conference.
As always she was very kind and gracious in her answers. "Although I
lost, I really enjoyed it," she said. "I fought until the end, even
when she was serving for it, I ran every ball down." It seemed
Clijsters was also very optimistic about her game. "I'm getting a lot
closer than I was last year," she said. With that the day session
came to a close and in a matter of a few hours Jelena Dokic and
Jennifer Capriati would take to battle on center court.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first set Dokic looked like she
hadn't settled down. Her shots were still flying a few feet long and
Jennifer took advantage of the situation by coming back to take the
first set 6-2. Dokic looked as if she was going to waste another
opportunity to beat a top player. A problem she's had in the past is
her lack of consistency and mediocre serve. Her serve was still
mediocre but her entire game was by far the most consistent it had
ever been. Jelena's shots were deep, low to the ground, and very
penetrating. She easily took the second set 6-2.
Both girls held serve up to 2-2 in the third when Dokic broke for 3-2
only to be broken back the next game. However Dokic did manage to
once again get the break and served up 4-3. Jennifer stepped on the
gas by hitting two beautiful returns along with some very nice deep
strokes to break Dokic at love and level things at 4-4. The next
two games were the best of the match. Capriati and Dokic both fought
like dogs, some points easily exceeding 40 strokes. Dokic did prevail
in the end, scoring a huge upset 6-4 in the third. Capriati, however,
did not play badly at all. She was simply outplayed by a consistent
Jelena Dokic.
That set up a brilliant semifinal match up between Anna Kournikova
and Jelena Dokic, while in the other half of the draw Venus Williams
would finally get to play Lindsay Davenport for the first time in an
entire year. Despite Dokic's big upset and Venus's hard fought win, the
belonged to Anna. Even when she loses, Kournikova gets press -- just
imagine what tennis will be like if she keeps winning.
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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