| Hot Prospects for Australian Open 2001 | |
Dateline: 01/14/01
The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, runs January 15-28. On the men's side, the top four seeds are Gustavo Kuerten (1), Marat Safin (2), Pete Sampras (3), and Magnus Norman (4). The top female seed is Martina Hingis, followed by Lindsay Davenport (2), Venus Williams (3), and Monica Seles (4).
Of these seeds, Lindsay Davenport has the toughest first-round match, facing 17-year-old Jelena Dokic. Dokic won the Watson's Water Challenge, an exhibition in Hong Kong, on January 6, defeating Anna Kournikova 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in the final after taking out Elena Dementieva in the semifinal. She could pull a major upset over Davenport, but she isn't happy about having drawn that opportunity. Feeling that Tennis Australia has, for the second year in a row, given her a bad first-round draw, and that the Australian media have treated her badly, she has announced that she will play for Yugoslavia, where she was born and lived until 1994, instead of for Australia. Her father, Damir Dokic, accuses the Australian Open of rigging the draw against her. His behavior at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open led the WTA to ban him from attending Jelena's matches for six months.
Another young woman who could score a major upset is 18-year-old Justine Henin of Belgium. Her victory over Sandrine Testud 6-2, 6-2 at the Canberra International on Saturday was her second consecutive title, following upon the Australian Women's Hardcourt Championship last week. Henin plays with an aggressive style that, at its best, could be more than even the top seeds can handle.
The biggest warmup for the women's side of the Australian Open, though, is the Adidas International at Sydney, which also concluded Saturday. Martina Hingis defeated Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to take the title, and, she hopes, set the stage for avenging her loss to Davenport in last year's Australian Open final.
On the men's side, Lleyton Hewitt is the one coming in with the momentum of an Adidas International title. His victory over Magnus Norman 6-4, 6-1 in the final seems to indicate that he is not overly hampered by the breathing problems that have troubled him recently. Their apparent cause is a blocked sinus, and Hewitt recently postponed his corrective surgery until after the Open.
Another important men's warmup is the Colonial Classic at Melbourne, which Andre Agassi won Saturday over Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Agassi is coming back after some time off to recover from injuries and help his mother and sister cope with illnesses. Kafelnikov typically plays well in Australia, and he hopes to make the Open final again after losing there to Agassi last year.
Also coming into the Open with fresh singles titles are Dominik Hrbaty, Tommy Haas, and Marcelo Rios. Hrbaty won the Heineken Open at Auckland, New Zealand over Francisco Clavet 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday. Haas defeated Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-1 to win his second ATP title at the AAPT Australian hardcourt on January 7. Rios overcame Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at the Qatar Open, also on January 7.
What about the winners of the last Grand Slam, the 2000 U.S. Open? Marat Safin is hoping to overcome an elbow injury he says he caused by doing something wrong in his serve. Venus Williams is unhampered by injury, and probably feeling rather good about the $40 million or so endorsement deal she just signed with Reebok. She's fairly likely to be feeling even better two weeks from now.
One former U.S. Open champ to watch is Patrick Rafter, who says he is considering retirement after this year. After 11 years of playing the purest serve-and-volley game on the tour, Rafter is feeling pretty worn. If his shoulder holds up, though, he might give his Australian fans a lot to cheer in this, perhaps his last, native-land championship.
We have a few bold predictions going for this Australian Open. Come add yours.
