French Draws Announced! Thoughts on the Women...

French Draws Announced! Thoughts on the Women...

Post by Byron P. McCra » Sat, 24 May 1997 04:00:00


Starting with the women, most of the e***ment seems to be in the
second and bottom quarters.

In the top quarter, Hingis v. Paulus and Schultz v. ASV should shake
out as the quarterfinal challenges, unless Sugiyama gives ASV a good
fight, which these days...

Look to the second quarter for some more exciting pairings.  Seles v.
Pierce in the round of 16 should be a great match, and I fully expect
Pierce to get there.  Seles, on the other hand, has either Sawamatsu
or Venus Williams in the 3rd round.  Could be interesting...

MJ Fernandez could go the distance, or be ousted early by McNeil or
Oremans--it depends on which MJ shows up.  Fernandez could make it
to the semi's this year, especially if she plays Pierce in the quarters.
I think Po will put out Huber in the first round.  

Moving on to the third quarter, I expect the seeds to bear out and
set up round of 16 matches pitting Davenport v. Majoli and Habsudova
v. Novotna.  

Finally, in the bottom quarter it breaks my heart to see Martinez and
Rubin squaring off in the second round.  Rubin really needs to break
through against Martinez.  I think Amy Frazier can beat Coetzer in the
second round if she's aggressive--if not, Steffi better look out, cuz
Coetzer could advance to the quarterfinals to play Steffi as she
advances against Spirlea in the round of 16.

Here are my BOLD predictions:

Hingis v. Schultz
Pierce v. Fernandez        Hingis v. Fernandez
-------------------
Majoli v. Novotna          Majoli v. Graf
Coetzer v. Graf

Thoughts?

 
 
 

French Draws Announced! Thoughts on the Women...

Post by Christopher Gerb » Mon, 26 May 1997 04:00:00

<< In the top quarter, Hingis v. Paulus and Schultz v. ASV
should shake out as the quarterfinal challenges >>

        I doubt Brenda will make it that far.  Clay doesn't
suit her game and there are some pretty good floaters in her
section (Schett, Labat, Zvereva).

<< Seles v. Pierce in the round of 16 should be a great match,
and I fully expect Pierce to get there >>

        I think the entire tournament could hinge on that match.
Aside from Graf and Hingis, those two are the most credible
contenders to win the entire tournament.  Nothing personal
against "the Spanish Aramda" -- Arantxa and Conchita just don't
seem to be in good form these days.

<< Seles, on the other hand, has either Sawamatsu or Venus
Williams in the 3rd round >>

        Actually, my hunch says it will be Tauziat, who's
having a pretty good year.  Venus doesn't have much experience
on the dirt.  Her one clay event this year ended in a quick
loss to Chanda Rubin.

<<  MJ Fernandez could go the distance, or be ousted early by
McNeil or Oremans >>

        I don't see that happening.  Lori and Miriam are fine
doubles players and possible spoilers on a fast surface, but I
wouldn't expect either one to get a set against Mary Joe at
Roland Garros.

<< Moving on to the third quarter, I expect the seeds to bear
out and set up round of 16 matches pitting Davenport v. Majoli
and Habsudova v. Novotna >>

        Sounds good, except perhaps for Habsudova.  She's mired
in a slump and is surrounded by danger in that section:
Dragomir, Likhovtseva, Carlsson, Barabanschikova, Basuki...  
"Drags" is the one I see getting to the fourth round.

<< it breaks my heart to see Martinez and Rubin squaring off in
the second round >>

        What's this going to be, the fourth time this year?  It
really is getting ridiculous.  The next time they hold a draw
and end up with Chanda near Conchita (or Kournikova near
Coetzer), they should throw it out and start over.

<< I think Amy Frazier can beat Coetzer in the second round if
she's aggressive >>

        Aggressive isn't really Amy's style.  She just keeps it
in play until the other player makes an error...kind of like
Amanda does.  

                        --Chris G.

--
Visit the unofficial Florencia Labat home page
  http://members.tripod.com/~Chris_G
Watch the chalk fly up at On the Line: The Online Tennis E-Zine
  http://members.tripod.com/~Ed_Toombs

 
 
 

French Draws Announced! Thoughts on the Women...

Post by Stephane Di Cesa » Thu, 29 May 1997 04:00:00

On 25 May 1997 09:09:40 GMT, Christopher Gerby

Quote:

><< Seles v. Pierce in the round of 16 should be a great match,
>and I fully expect Pierce to get there >>

A match between Testud and Pierce is expected next round, and I am not
sure the public will root for Pierce. This may change many things.

Quote:
><< Seles, on the other hand, has either Sawamatsu or Venus
>Williams in the 3rd round >>

>    Actually, my hunch says it will be Tauziat, who's
>having a pretty good year.  Venus doesn't have much experience
>on the dirt.  Her one clay event this year ended in a quick
>loss to Chanda Rubin.

Nathalie declared earlier today: "Playing against Venus Williams or
anyone else, that doesn't make any difference. If I play the way I want
to, I will win."

I have never heard such self-confident statements from Tauziat before...

Quote:
><< Moving on to the third quarter, I expect the seeds to bear
>out and set up round of 16 matches pitting Davenport v. Majoli
>and Habsudova v. Novotna >>

>    Sounds good, except perhaps for Habsudova.  She's mired
>in a slump and is surrounded by danger in that section:
>Dragomir, Likhovtseva, Carlsson, Barabanschikova, Basuki...  

There's just one left of those now... Habsudova played solidly against
Barabanschikova, so maybe she's back into form.

Stphane Di Cesar

Lund Institute of Technology - Computer Science
Sweden