The 2002 season begun with a vengeance this week, with much exciting action at numerous venues. We focus on still more Kournikova futility, the invasion of the models in Chennai, and the remarkable performances of Francesca Schiavone.
Anna wins a title in Auckland!
No, not Anna Kournikova, although the famous but titleless Russian was on the scene in New Zealand. We speak of Anna Smashnova of Israel, who started 2002 in Auckland with the third WTA championship of her career.
However, with the celebrated Kournikova playing in Auckland for the first time in her career, it was Anna K. who dominated the media's and spectators' attentions during the tournament. As packed crowds watched the Russian pin-up sweep past the solid Cara Black and Amy Frazier in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, and as the already weak field became further depleted by a series of upsets, hopes that this might finally be her week ran wild.
Perhaps inevitably, the erratic Anna we have come to know resurfaced in the quarterfinals, as the Russian made a meal of a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over the modest Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi. And Kournikova's semifinal loss to eventual champion Smashnova was positively brutal, as she sprayed 50 unforced errors in a 6-1, 6-4 defeat.
Regardless of the outcome, Kournikova had done her job, which is selling tickets and filling the coffers of the tournament. The organizers had paid Anna an undisclosed appearance fee to make the trip to Auckland, and were surely more than paid back by the gate revenue. The other players were of course virtually ignored, but dutifully repeated the official line that "Anna sells tickets, so she's good for the game." And of course, it was not Kournikova's sometimes-stylish tennis game that the fans were fl
ocking to see.
Even though the reasons for Kournikova's impact on Auckland had little to do with tennis, tournament director Richard Palmer insisted that tennis was the ultimate beneficiary. "Without doubt this tournament has been the best thing ever for women's tennis in New Zealand," Palmer gushed. "Having four sellouts is unheard of. We now have to hope that those fringe people who came to have a look will be back."
This is the same rationale that a jazz festival uses when it programs the likes of Sting. Sting may not be attracting jazz lovers, but the organizers argue that maybe the Sting fans will come back to see, say, Terence Blanchard the next night. Naturally, most don't. But the reasoning sounds good, and in a sense, the Stings and Kournikovas support the Blanchards and Smashnovas.
So it goes?.
Top models steal the show in Chennai
Chennai, India was the site of a men's event this week, but feminine pulchritude was the topic of much conversation there as well.
You see, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, the former #1 doubles team and French Open champions who are national idols in their homeland, are each about to wed one of the nation's more noted beauties. Paes is engaged to model-turned actress Mahima Chaudhury, while Bhupathi has successfully asked the hand in marriage of Shvetha Jaishankar, a celebrated top model.
Both Mahima and Shvetha were in attendance at the Chennai event, and the local media gave as much attention to the fiancées as they did to the action on the court. The encouragement seemed beneficial to the Indian doubles duo, as the young ladies cheered the Indian Express on to an appearance in the finals (as of this writing), including two heart-stopping three set duels.
It remains to be seen whether the opponents of Bhupathi/Paes, Tomas Cibulec and Ota Fukarek, will be able to withstand both Bhupathi/Paes and their distracting supporters in the final.
"Lioness" Schiavone on the prowl
Back to the courts, I guess.
In an interesting week that saw strong comebacks by Mark Philippoussis and Karol Kucera, validation from Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati and Tim Henman, a breakthrough by Paradorn Srichaphan, and chicken pox from Lleyton Hewitt, the most noteworthy individual performance came from a 21-year-old Milan native named Francesca Schiavone. The obscure Italian went undefeated at the Hopman Cup in Perth, notably disposing of two of the leading lights of the women's game, Kim Clijsters and Monica Seles.
The 21-year-old Schiavone not only racked up impressive results in Perth, but also won over the local fans with her energetic retrievals and emotional on-court demeanour. Francesca's fighting spirit earned her the nickname "Lioness" in the local press, and she was the darling of the fans.
Schiavone first gained notice during the clay court season last year. The Italian was a surprising quarterfinalist in Rome, and an even more surprising quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, where she upset Amanda Coetzer. By year's end Schiavone had added two more quarterfinals to her resumé (Palermo and Moscow), and had wins over the likes of Schnyder, Maleeva, Petrova and Tauziat. Francesca ended 2001 with a ranking of 31, an improvement of 49 places over the course of the year.
Francesca Schiavone stands just 5' 6" (1.68 m), but is an outstanding athlete who plays a physical and energetic style. More than capable of scrambling from the baseline, Schiavone also does not hesitate to finish points at the net when the situation calls for it.
The Lioness may be preying on more WTA stars before the year is out.