Clijsters Secures Semifinal Spot at WTA Championships, Henin-Hardenne Fights Through Flu



Posted on November 8, 2003

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEWHenin wins in L.A. with the flu (WTA)
Kim Clijsters secured a spot in the semifinals, Amelie Mauresmo kept her hopes alive, and Justine Henin-Hardenne fought through the flu in the second day of round robin play at the WTA Championships in L.A. Thursday. Current No. 1 Clijsters beat Chanda Rubin to secure her semifinal spot in an attempt to defend her 2002 championships title. "I've played two good matches, it's a relief. She (Rubin) made me work for it," Clijsters said. "To be the first one in, it's a relief as well. Everyone still has to play." Maresmo eliminated Russian Elena Dementieva from reaching the semis, and kept her hopes alive with a 1-1 overall record. "I was taking it in a looser way, I was feeling no pressure," Mauresmo said. "I felt better with my serve." No. 2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne gutted out a three-setter over Anastasia Myskina, fighting flu-like symptoms she has suffered from since the beginning of the event. "I was having trouble breathing because of the cold I've had," she said. "I tried to relax and that helped me come back in the first set. I was a little bit afraid at the end of the third set, but I hung in there. I had to deal with a lot of pressure, and I'm happy with that. It was an important victory. With the stress and the physical problems I had the past few days I was feeling really bad, but the trainer told me I was fine and then I felt more relaxed...But I am not the kind of player to go on court and stop. I take my responsibilities and do my best."

Red Group:
(1)Kim Clijsters 2-0 win-loss (4-0 sets)
(6)Amelie Mauresmo 1-1 (3-2)
(10)Chanda Rubin 1-1 (2-3)
(9)Elena Dementieva 0-2 (0-4) * eliminated from semis

Black Group:
(5)Jennifer Capriati 1-0 win-loss (2-0 sets)
(2)Justine Henin-Hardenne 1-0 (2-1)
(8)Anastasia Myskina 0-1 (1-2)
(11)Ai Sugiyama 0-1 (0-2)

On Friday's schedule is (11)Sugiyama vs. (8)Myskina (a must-win for both players), (2)Henin-Hardenne vs. (5)Capriati in a rematch of their US Open chokefest won by the Belgian, and (1)Clijsters vs. (6)Mauresmo in a must-win for the Frenchwoman.

Four more seeds into the quarterfinals at the WTA Pattaya City stop Thursday in (1)Tanasugarn (d. Kleinova), (2)Obata (d. Abramovic), (4)Barna (d. Tamaela), and (7)Kostanic (d. (Q)Bondarenko). Unseeded Elena tartarkova beat (LL)Steinbach to secure a QF berth, while Slovakian mouthful Lubomira Kurhajcova provided the only upset on the day in ousting (8)Widjaja. On court today in the quarterfinals are Kurhajvova vs. Obata, Tanasugarn vs. Rodionova, Kostanic vs. Barna, and Tatarkova vs. Nagyova.

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
The Masters Cup doubles starts Saturday in Houston, here is a look at the two round robin groups, and profiles of the eight teams:

Red Group: (1)Bryan/Bryan, (3)Bjorkman/Woodbridge, (6)Llodra/Santoro, (7)Damm/Suk
The Bryan brothers and Wimbledon/US Open champions Bjorkman/Woodbridge are the clear favorites to come out of this group. The Aussie Open champions Llodra/Santoro have shown an ill habit of dropping big matches, while Damm/Suk are capable of the big upset but generally regarded as over the hill.

Blue Group: (2)Bhupathi/Mirnyi, (4)Knowles/Nestor, (5)Arthurs/Hanley, (8)Etlis/Rodriguez
The Indian/Belarusian combo of Bhupathi/"Beast" and last year's No. 1 team Knowles/Nestor are the by-a-nose favorites here, though the Aussies Arthurs/Hanley have wins over both teams. Write off Etlis/Rodriguez, who didn't win a title this year and only snuck into the draw when Paes/Rikl pulled.

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)
2003 Titles (4): Barcelona, French Open, Nottingham, Cincinnati
Finished No. 3 in the team rankings last year, but the ATP cancelled the year-end doubles championship; this year won four titles on three different surfaces; won first slam at the French Open

Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi (IND/BLR)
2003 Titles (5): TMS-Monte Carlo, Estoril, TMS-Canada, Moscow, TMS-Madrid
Bhupathi and "The Beast" (that would make a great TV series) won an impressive three Tennis Masters Series title among their five overall; last year finished No. 5 in the team rankings and would have qualified for the year-end doubles championship had the ATP not cancelled it

Jonas Bjorkman/Todd Woodbridge (SWE/AUS)
2003 Titles (4): Halle, Wimbledon, US Open, Stockholm
Woodbridge equaled Tom Okker's record of 78 doubles titles, and would break the mark with a Masters Cup win; didn't catch fire as a team until the grasscourt season; last year finished No. 2 in the team rankings and would have qualified for the year-end doubles championship had the ATP not cancelled it

Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (BAH/CAN)
2003 Titles (6): Memphis, Acapulco, Houston, TMS-Hamburg, Queen's, Basel
Won titles on all four surfaces this year; last year finished No. 1 in the team rankings and would have qualified for the year-end doubles championship had the ATP not cancelled it

Wayne Arthurs/Paul Hanley (AUS)
2003 Titles (4): Rotterdam, TMS-Rome, Shanghai, TMS-Paris
The Australians won four titles in their second full season together, including TMS titles in Rome and Paris (defeating Llodra/Santoro in both finals); last year finished at No. 24 in the team rankings.

Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
2003 Title (1): Australian Open
Won the Aussie Open to begin the year right, but then went on to come up short the remainder of the year in four finals at the TMS-Monte Carlo (l. to Bhupathi/Mirnyi), the TMS-Rome l. to Arthurs-Hanley), Metz (l. to Benneteau/Mahut), and the TMS-Paris (l. to Arthurs/Hanley); last year finished a No. 13 in the team rankings.

Martin Damm/Cyril Suk (CZE)
2003 Titles (3): Doha, 's-Hertogenbosch, Kitzbuhel
The 30-something veterans qualify for the doubles championship for the seventh time.

Gaston Etlis/Martin Rodriguez
No titles, no shot. Qualified when Paes/Rikl pulled out the event.

Saturday schedule, beginning at 1:00 PM: Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. Llodra/Santoro, Bryan/Bryan vs. Damm/Suk, Bhupathi/Mirnyi vs. Etlis/Rodriguez.

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Now here's some good stuff. Australian player Todd Larkham, currently ranked outside the Top 150, fired off to The Age on Friday about the ATP's running of the tour: "I've had a lot of run-ins with them over the years. I think they've done a poor job running the tour, and I don't think tennis is in an extremely healthy state right now...When the ATP set out to run the tour they said that they wanted to employ the Top 100 guys, and that was probably a good statement at the time, but sport has changed over the years, and tennis has got bigger and bigger, and for the little guys, the guys between 100 and 200, it's tougher and tougher and tougher to make a living. In fact, all the rules they've made have gone the other way, to do more for the elite...(The ATP) is only interested in the Top 20 players and promoting the game through that. The minimum Challenger prize money is the same as it was in 1996, which was probably good in 1996, but in 2003 it's the same prize money, and everything else has gone up: the cost of a coach, cost of a plane ticket, food, all your travelling expenses. I think the balance is just completely askew."...The ATP and Tennis Masters Cup host Jim McIngvale have commissioned the production of a documentary to follow the players at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston; the 30-minute program will air prior to the 2004 Australian Open...In a Q&A with itself (ATP CEO Mark Miles) distributed to the media, the ATP begins "The Masters Cup remains a jewel of the calendar. It returns to Houston next year, but what about the following years?" Nice self-promotion/softball questions...In 1974 the Masters was held on grass in Melbourne...ATP CEO Mark Miles: "We are doing all that can be done to liaise with the gambling industry..." We took that quote out of context, but still pretty sweet, eh?...Apparently the Aussie Open won't make a calendar change until 2006, with a move a week or two later rather than into March, according to the ATP...Jennifer Capriati's strained hip flexor muscle could derail the former No. 1...Russia officially named Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, and the doubles team of Petrova/Zvonareva for their Fed Cup tie against France later this month...The announced crowd of 5,431 at the WTA Championships last night was just 150 more than on opening night, but appeared to be a couple thousand less (or roughly the same 2,000 from opening night!)...Jennifer Capriati has not had a coach other than her father, Stefano, since working with Harold Solomon in 1999, but is now working with former Pete Sampras coach Paul Annacone on a trial basis: "I've been planning on doing some changes for the future and he has some great credentials," Capriati said. "At this point, I want to bring out the best in my game. My dad can't travel all the time and I think he's getting a little tired. It's good for me to change things up and get a little different perspective."...Martina Hingis is at the WTA Championships as a reporter for Eurosport.