WIMBLEDON 2000

 

REVIEWS BY MARK NEWMAN

 

 

PICK OF THE WOMEN’S

FIRST ROUND MATCHES

 

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(2) Lindsay Davenport vs. Corina Morariu

Last year Lindsay Davenport put an end to Steffi Graf's glorious Wimbledon career with a straight sets defeat in the final. It was Davenport's second Grand Slam title, and earlier this year she won her third at the Australian Open. Dominant at the start of the year, Davenport began to look human again at the start of the claycourt season. She injured her back, and playing through the pain of back spasms crashed out in the French Open first round to Dominique Van Roost. Davenport rested her back for three weeks and returned at Eastbourne for grasscourt practice, only to be beaten again by Van Roost in the quarterfinals. She may not make it all the way to the title this year, but expect Davenport to get past her doubles partner Corina Morariu in straight sets.

 

(10) Sandrine Testud vs. Anna Kournikova

Surely one of the hottest clashes of the first round puts 10th-seed Sandrine Testud of France against glamorous Russian Anna Kournikova, the World #17 who missed out on a seeding position by one measly place, only to be given the toughest first round draw of the tournament. Kournikova has been nursing a foot injury for the last few weeks, and did not look comfortable in Eastbourne, losing to Chanda Rubin in the quarterfinals. However, Testud also lost in the quarterfinals at 's-Hertogenbosch, so all seems even as the battle approaches. Expect Testud to win in three tight sets, and the other players to be pleased to see the back of Miss Kournikova, who steals the limelight from them all for her looks rather than her tennis ability. That first title for Kournikova seems a long way away.

 

(16) Dominique Van Roost vs. Jennifer Capriati

Like Anna Kournikova, World #18 Jennifer Capriati just missed out on a Wimbledon seeding, and paid for it dearly with a tough opener against 16th-seed Van Roost. Van Roost has been playing fantastic grasscourt tennis at Eastbourne, defeating Davenport along the way, and will be looking to improve on her fourth round showing of last year. Capriati though may have something to say about that. A quarterfinalist on the grass in Birmingham, and a semi-finalist at the time of writing in 's-Hertogenbosch, she will be looking to regain the form that saw her reach the Australian Open semi-finals in January. I'm hugely biased, being the biggest Jennifer Capriati fan (check out my website www.capriati.com), but I think Jennifer will win what is likely to be an error-strewn match from two of the biggest double-faulters in the game.

 

(3) Mary Pierce vs. Nicole Pratt

Current French Open champion Mary Pierce will have not endeared herself to Wimbledon crowds with her complaints about the All England Club this week and she may find them cheering her lowly-ranked opponent, Nicole Pratt. Pratt has a good grasscourt game, and if she is playing well could pose a serious threat to Pierce in the opening round. Pierce has played only one grasscourt exhibition match as warm-up (which she won) but will, nevertheless, still prove too tough for Pratt to beat.

 

(4) Conchita Martinez vs. Anne Kremer

French Open runner-up and 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez has been handed a tough opener against Anne Kremer, who has done well on grass in the past. Martinez though is looking to be back to the form that saw her destroy Martina Navratilova's hopes of a 10th Wimbledon singles title way back in '94, and will probably squeeze the match out in three sets.

 

(7) Nathalie Tauziat vs. Kim Clijsters

This is Nathalie Tauziat's final Wimbledon as she is retiring at the end of the year, and having been a runner-up here in 1998 she will have hoped for a better first round opponent than up-and-coming youngster Kim Clijsters. Clijsters may have got her 1999 Wimbledon heroics lost in the fuss surrounding fellow teenagers Dokic, Stevenson and Lucic last year, but, unlike that trio, she has seen her results consistently improving over the past 12 months. Expect Tauziat, who has lost relatively early for her in Birmingham and Eastbourne, to bow out in the first round, and extend her retirement until next year, when she can finish her Wimbledon career in more style.

 

Sabine Appelmans vs. Ruxandra Dragomir

They may not be two of the biggest names in tennis, but Sabine Appelmans and Ruxandra Dragomir are certainly two of the most consistent Top 30 players in the game today. Never quite scaling the heights, they are still often a danger to the top players. Expect Dragomir to have the edge after her defeat of Sandrine Testud in the quarterfinals at 's-Hertogenbosch.

 

Chanda Rubin vs. Nathalie Dechy

Nathalie Dechy is having the kind of burgeoning career that Chanda Rubin was enjoying a few years ago before a wrist injury cut her down in her prime. Rubin is working her way back up the rankings though and is nestled again in the lower reaches of the Top 20. With a fine win over Anna Kournikova at Eastbourne, Rubin will be the favourite over Nathalie Dechy and will be expected to improve on her 1999 first round loss.

 

(9) Arantxa Sanchez Vicario vs. Justine Henin

Sanchez Vicario is no stranger to Wimbledon having been runner-up here twice. Like Conchita Martinez she is having one last push back up the rankings in her last years in the game. She is coming off a terribly one-sided semi-final loss to Martinez at the French Open, and opted for a week's rest instead of her usual pre-Wimbledon trip to Eastbourne. Her thoughts are likely to be on her imminent wedding, and she could prove an easy target for youngster Justine Henin, who has been raring to kickstart her year after a lengthy injury break. I'd go for Henin in three sets, but you can never count Sanchez Vicario out.

 

Jelena Dokic vs. (Q) Greta Arn
Mirjana Lucic vs. Denisa Chladkova
Alexandra Stevenson vs. Rita Kuti-Kis

Last year Dokic, Lucic and Stevenson created some of the biggest headlines at Wimbledon. Jelena Dokic crushed the then defending champion and World #1 Martina Hingis 6-2 6-0 in the first round and advanced to the quarterfinals, only to be beaten by fellow qualifier Alexandra Stevenson. Stevenson had had an easier route through to the last-eight, and by upsetting Dokic became the first qualifier ever to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Mirjana Lucic upset Monica Seles and Nathalie Tauziat on her way to the semi-finals last year, before losing a three set thriller to Steffi Graf. This year though don't expect to see their names in the latter stages. Alexandra Stevenson has had an unremarkable twelve months since last year's event, and despite bragging that her year would turn around once she got back on the grass she has suffered early losses at Surbiton, Birmingham and Eastbourne. Mirjana Lucic has suffered even worse - in eleven tournaments this year she has managed to win only one match. Jelena Dokic has had better results over the last few months than Lucic or Stevenson, but is likely to face big-serving Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in the second round, and will join the other two 1999 heroines on the sidelines.

 

(WC) Lorna Woodroffe vs. Amy Frazier
(WC) Julie Pullin vs. Natasha Zvereva
(WC) Louise Latimer vs. Holly Parkinson
(WC) Hannah Collin vs. Tina Pisnik
(WC) Jo Ward vs. (11) Anke Huber
(WC) Samantha Smith vs. Cara Black
(WC) Lucie Ahl vs. Barbara Schwartz
(WC) Karen Cross vs. Magui Serna

The British girls don't inspire the same kind of devotion as Henman and Rusedski, and that's because they don't get the results. There are more than a handful of them playing in the first round, and it's all thanks to wildcards as not one of them had a ranking high enough for direct entry, but don't expect many, if any, to make it through to the second round. British #1 Louise Latimer, winner of the ITF/Surbiton Challenger on grass a few weeks ago and with a ranking approaching the Top 100 is your best bet for a win, and Samantha Smith will be hopeful after Cara Black withdrew injured from her 's-Hertogenbosch quarterfinal this week. Hannah Collin is our hope for the future and could possibly upset Tina Pisnik, but it is unlikely. Jo Ward faces the toughest match against seeded player Anke Huber, with Julie Pullin surely cursing the draw as she faces grasscourt expert Natasha Zvereva. Karen Cross reached the third round here a few years back, but will surrender meekly to Magui Serna who, curiously for a Spaniard, loves the grass. Once again we will shuffle our feet and be embarrassed by our British female tennis players, and though we know that they give it their all, it just isn't good enough at the moment.