12/03/24
June 17, 2004
Russians set to take over women's tennis: With Belgium's best two players unfit, the women's singles at Wimbledon will boil down to a contest between Russian grace and American gristle. The withdrawal of Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, the world numbers one and two respectively, due to nagging health and fitness problems has left a big hole in the draw.
posted by babuchutkan to tennis at 03:22 AM - 2 comments
Aren't the seedings interesting, though? Lookit where Capriati is, vs. where Serena is. I guess it does make sense, unless you're considering the French Open to be the major factor; OTOH, if you aren't, does it make sense to rank the Russians that high? Any thoughts? Still waiting for that expense account to send me to Wimbledon to write that devastatingly brilliant article; closest I've come so far is the Massachusetts girls' div 2 semifinal...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:10 PM on June 17, 2004
Any time you lose One and Two it's a big deal. But the Americans are full value for being at the top, and Myskina, Dementieva and (never thought I'd actually get to say this) Sharapova are stepping up, so until the rest of the world gets their collective shit together, the top echelons of the game are in good hands. Plus, you Venus and Serena are back and getting stronger again. It should be a decent Wimbledon, and a good year. And not one word about how hot Myskina is. Doh!