Here's the Australian Open women's QF lineup for Tuesday:
Graf(1) vs. Davenport(16)
Martinez(3) vs. Date(10)
Novotna(5) vs. Sabatini(4)
Maleeva-Fr.(8) vs. Sanchez Vicario(2)
All eight quarterfinalists have amassed impressive hard court records, so
if they play up to their capabilities, we should have some very interesting
matches. IMO there is only one matchup where one of the competitors has a
clear advantage. The emergence of Davenport and Date in the QF's could be
a signal that the changing of the guard may not be far away. Or, perhaps
these two are just stepping into the vacancies left by Seles and Capriati.
Time will tell. One thing for sure is that they have established themselves
as worthy competitors on the hard courts.
Here's some thoughts about each of the matchups:
1. Graf(1) vs. Davenport(16)
I'm not aware that these two have ever met before, but maybe they did
very early in Davenport's career. Graf should probably win this match,
but it could be a good yardstick to gauge Davenport's progress. Even
if Davenport loses she will emerge a winner if she can give Graf a good
fight (which I think she will). Davenport's strength is her hard
groundies, and her serve is apparently improving. Her main weakness at
this time seems to be lapses in concentration which result in clusters
of unforced errors.
2. Martinez(3) vs. Date(10)
Here again, the (relatively) new kid on the block asserts herself. As
was pointed out earlier, Date humbled Martinez at the recent Sydney
tournament, 6-3 6-0 (a match in which Martinez described herself as
playing "beginner"-level tennis). So the question is, has Martinez
recaptured the form that has catapulted her to #4, or will Date prove
that her win last week was no fluke?
There are indications that Martinez may be vulnerable, although she has
had a fairly tough draw as I said before. I think she is itching to
turn the tables around on Date, but she will need to play a pretty clean
match and avoid the nagging concentration lapses. Otherwise, she may
find herself on the losing end.
3. Novotna(5) vs. Sabatini(4)
The last time these two met on the hard courts (Lipton), Sabatini
emerged the victor. Sabatini has also won most of the matches
between these two, although Novotna won their most recent encounter
(Wimbledon). Sabatini has already shown her usual signs of
vulnerability, but Novotna has not really been tested yet this
tournament. Because there are no signs that Sabatini has emerged
from her doldrums, I think Novotna will be the one to determine the
winner of this match. I slightly favor Novotna, but the outcome of
this match is the toughest to call.
4. Maleeva-Fragniere(8) vs. Sanchez Vicario(2)
I already talked a bit about this matchup. The question in my mind is
if, because of impending retirement, Maleeva-Fragniere is thus playing
with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Or will the weight of this last big
occasion affect her performance? And, how much did the grueling match
with Sabine Hack take out of her emotionally?
Sanchez Vicario seems to be sailing quietly through the draw, but there
are small signs that she might be vulnerable. She dropped a set to
Magdalena Maleeva, and she needed 8 match points to close out against
Shi-Ting Wang in the 2nd round. If Maleeva-Fragniere plays the way she
did in Zurich recently, I think she'll win the match. Otherwise, Sanchez
Vicario probably has the advantage.
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