Rubin Chokes, Capriati Reaches Semifinal at WTA Championships; Bryan Bros. Win at Masters Cup Doubles



Posted on November 10, 2003

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEWJennifer Capriati wins in three to reach the WTA Championships semifinals (WTA)
Chanda Rubin led Elena Dementieva 6-4, 5-2 Saturday at the WTA Championships before clutching her throat and eventually losing in three sets to blow her chances of qualifying for the semifinals. "It was a blown opportunity," said Rubin, who lost 11 of the last 12 games. "It's frustrating because there's not a lot of opportunities for me like this. It would have meant a lot to make the semifinals." Jennifer Capriati became the lone American to make the semifinals when she defeated Anastasia Myskina 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. "The more I can pull those matches out, I think the more confidence I'll get," said Capriati, producing a rare win in a three-setter. "I still don't have any expectations because really the way I've been feeling, I can't expect that much. (The hip flexor) felt a little bit better, definitely could move a little better. I wasn't 100 percent, but it was all or nothing today. I had a difficult time pushing off, but I tried to come to the net a lot more and make the points a little shorter." Justine Henin-Hardenne, who will end the year No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings and has already qualified for the semis, tanked her match 6-2, 6-4 against Ai Sugiyama.

Sunday's semifinals at the WTA Championships are Clijsters vs. Capriati (Capriati leads 3-2, but has lost the last two), Henin-Hardenne vs. Mauresmo (tied 1-1). The doubles semifinals will also be played today with Clijsters/Sugiyama vs. Black/Lihhovtseva, and Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. Kuznetsova/Navratilova.

Red Group:
(1)Kim Clijsters 3-0 win-loss (6-1 sets) *qualified for semis
(6)Amelie Mauresmo 1-2 (4-4) *qualified for semis
----------------------------
(10)Chanda Rubin 1-2 (3-5) *eliminated from semis
(9)Elena Dementieva 1-2 (2-5) *eliminated from semis

Black Group:
(2)Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-1 win-loss (4-3 sets) *qualified for semis
(5)Jennifer Capriati 2-1 (4-3) *qualified for semis
----------------------------
(8)Anastasia Myskina 1-2 (4-4) *eliminated from semis
(11)Ai Sugiyama 1-2 (2-4) *eliminated from semis

It will be an all-Slovak, all-unseeded final in Pattaya City Sunday, with Henrieta Nagyova ousting No. 1-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn in straight sets, and Lubomira Kurhajcova crushed No. 4 Anca Barna 6-0, 6-0 in the Saturday semis. In the doubles final, (3)Li/Sun beat (1)Prakusya/Widjaja 6-4, 6-3. The Sunday singles final of Nagyova vs. Kurhajcova will be followed by a "Super Star Challenge" of Anna "Has It Come To This?" Kournikova vs. Tanasugarn.

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan saved four match points in their opener at the Masters Cup doubles, downing the Czech team of (7)Martin Damm/Cyril Suk 7-5, 6-7(0), 7-6(1). "That's like a quadruple overtime win in Game 7 of the play-offs," Bob Bryan
said. "That was the most amazing match we've ever played. Coming off a three-match losing streak we had to win that match. We've been working so hard and we just needed that little bit of luck to turn things around." The two other top teams in action were not so lucky in escaping the upset bug, with (6)Llodra/Santoro of France upsetting (3)Bjorkman/Woodbridge 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, and (8)Etlis/Rodriguez ousting (2)Bhipathi/Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4. "Even in the third set I thought we were on top, but a couple of
loose points cost us," Woodbridge said. "Momentum switches quickly. I don't think we played poorly -- it was a high standard match. With the heavy balls it's tough to put it away, which made for some great rallies."

Red Group:
(1)Bryan/Bryan 1-0 win-loss (2-1 sets)
(6)Llodra/Santoro 1-0 (2-1)
(3)Bjorkman/Woodbridge 0-1 (1-2)
(7)Damm/Suk 0-1 (1-2)

Blue Group:
(8)Etlis/Rodriguez 1-0 win-loss (2-0 sets)
(2)Bhupathi/Mirnyi 0-1 (0-2)
(4)Knowles/Nestor 0-0 (0-0)
(5)Arthurs/Hanley 0-0 (0-0)

On court today at the Masters Cup doubles are Knowles/Nestor vs. Arthurs/Hanley (K/N lead head-to-head 3-2), Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. Damm/Suk in a must-win for both teams (B/W lead 2-0), and Bryan/Bryan vs Llodra/Santoro (tied 1-1).

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Four teams have the opportunity to finish No. 1 on the ATP Team Rankings: the Bryan brothers, Bhupathi/Mirnyi, Bjorkman/Woodbridge, and 2002 year-end No. 1s Knowles/Nestor...Mike Bryan says he and brother Bob aren't just flailing around out there on the doubles court, but employ a refined work ethic: "We run plays out there. Say the ball goes down the middle. I start running forward. Bob knows he's got to hit that ball in the alley, then I'm going to move over. Then he'll switch around and cover me. We've worked on that a hundred times."...Many of the players on the ATP have given up trying to tell Bob and Mike Bryan apart, and just refer to each as "twin"...Hey ATP, why no live scoring from the Masters Cup?...Anna Kournikova playing an exo in Pattaya City against Tamarine Tanasugarn? How much cash did Mrs. Iglaesias pull in for that one? From the Pentangle Promotions website: "Anna's visit to Pattaya is being supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, for whom, she will also be acting as a presenter to promote tourism in the city...Anna Kournikova, a skilled and graceful player, was ranked No. 8 in the world two years ago, but a back injury this season has resulted in her making few appearances on court."...How odd is it seeing Martina Navratilova giving press conferences at the WTA Championships, with Martina Hingis in the crowd as a reporter for Eurosport?...Martina Navratilova had already won 11 slams by the time her doubles partner, 18-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, was born...Andy Roddick this year before Brad Gilbert: 25-11 win-loss; after Brad Gilbert: 45-6...Andy Roddick sees the young "Three Kings" taking over tennis in 2004: "With the exception of Andre, the people who are taking over the game right now are all pretty young. It's fun because, for sure, Juan Carlos is the best on clay, Roger is awesome on grass, I did well on the hardcourts. It will be fun to see us try to steal the titles from each other. It will make for some good moments."...Kudos to ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale for being able to keep his mouth shut with the regular flow of idiocy the comes out of mouths of his fellow women commentators during the WTA Championships, such as "I think Justine Henin-Hardenne has MORE power than Lleyton Hewitt"...The ATP and WTA will combine to produce a joint media guide next year...For only the fifth time in the 33 years of the tour championships, the top four seeds have advanced to the semifinals...A slow start, but Andy Roddick ended up holding his own on Saturday Night Live last night, with the highlight the Andre Agassi past-present-future sketch...Could John McEnroe appear in more sketches yesterday on SNL? Nice effort.