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Post by Brinyi on Feb 2, 2005 10:45:51 GMT -5
Has Janie retired welcome back Clarissa...Martina Hingis announced herself fit for exo's after her defeat by Marlene W... LOL "Bartoli Upset By Stomach..." feel better I miss Janie, I hope she returns to the fold.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 2, 2005 10:50:49 GMT -5
At 45, Smith back in tennis
By BILL WOLVERTON, Rockford Register Star
ROCKFORD -- Anne Smith is dropping the Dr. from her name this week and giving the professional tennis tour another try at the Challenger of Rockford -- at the age of 45.
"I just got the bug again," said Smith, winner of 10 Grand Slam doubles titles between 1981-84.
Smith, a liscensed psychologist, got the idea when Martina Navratilova, one of her old doubles partners, got back into singles play last year.
"I thought, 'If Martina can do it, I'm going to give it a go,' " Smith said Sunday.
Smith and Navratilova paired for five doubles titles -- Dallas (1978), Clearwater (1978), Dallas (1979), Minneapolis (1979) and the French Open (1982). Smith also won the Wimbledon doubles title with Kathy Jordan in 1980.
She was a top-ranked singles player in those days, too, ranked 12th in 1982.
On Tuesday, though, there's a good chance she could face a player who wasn't even born in 1982.
"They're all big, tall and strong and all that stuff," Smith said. "They all hit it a ton, but a lot of it's the equipment. I have a nice slice backhand and can volley. I have a variety of shots as well as a decent serve."
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 2, 2005 10:53:17 GMT -5
No. 1, No. 2 seeds both fall in first round By BILL WOLVERTON, Rockford Register Star ROCKFORD -- Catalina Castano was ranked 113th in the world, the top singles seed at the Challenger of Rockford by a whopping 69 places. It took 66 minutes Tuesday morning for all those numbers to mean nothing and another six hours to prove it wasn't a fluke. Stephanie Dubois, ranked 224th and unseeded, upset Castano 6-1, 6-2 in the first match of the main draw at Clock Tower Racquet Club. In the last match of the day, No. 2 seed Maria-Fernanda Alves lost to an unseeded player, too, falling 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to Serra Zanetti. A hard-fought three-setter is the kind of match you expect in an upset. Dubois' win over Castano was an unforced error or two away from dominating. "Whenever you play the top seed, you know she's going to be a very good player," Dubois said. "But I was confident going in and served well." Those were two attributes Castano lacked on this day. She made 25 percent of her first serves and was wild with her forehand. "I didn't play my game," Castano said. "I made a lot of mistakes with the ball in the middle of the court." And when Dubois seemed to slip and hand Castano a crumb of momentum in the second set, the tables quickly turned back in her favor. With Dubois leading 3-2 in the second set and down 0-30, Castano seemed to be on the verge of a service break to even the set. But DuBois hit a forehand on the run that hugged the line. Three unforced errors by Castano and DuBois won the game to go up 4-2. "It's hard when things like that happen," Castano said. "You're trying to get a game and she makes great shots. It's difficult for your confidence." DuBois has to hope Castano regains her strut quickly because the two are doubles partners in this tournament. It's the first time the two have played together, a chance pairing arranged by another player days before they were scheduled to meet in the main draw's first match. "It's part of the game," DuBois said. "We're mature enough to just forget it when we play doubles." Castano, though, was too frustrated with her play to stick around and talk strategy Tuesday. She immediately left the club to go to her host's house to "calm down." "At least I know I have a good partner," Castano said. "Damn right you do," said the pesky Brinyi. ;D
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 2, 2005 10:54:59 GMT -5
Steph will more than likely play Clarisita in the 2R The geezer throwback is on today's OOP.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 3, 2005 9:01:02 GMT -5
Smith, 45, falls in first round By BILL WOLVERTON, Rockford Register Star ROCKFORD -- Anne Smith took the court at the Challenger of Rockford tennis tournament Wednesday and the clock turned back 25 years. Surrounded by teens and twentysomethings in compression shorts and tankinis, the 45-year-old doubles legend wore a loose-fitting, almost-neon yellow, T-shirt and baggy black shorts. "I was going retro," Smith said. "But adidas is hot now, so it's coming full circle." After a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Hana Sromova in the first round of the main draw, Smith's game has yet to do the same. "I just need to play more matches," said Smith, who last played a competitive singles match in 1991. The balcony at Clock Tower Racquet Club was jammed with well-wishers and curiosity seekers, all waiting to see if Smith still had the flare of yesteryear, when she won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles between 1980-84. There were glimpses of greatness in her straight-set loss. Down 3-0 in the first set and 15-love in the fourth game, Sromova dropped a shot just over the net. Smith got there and passed the 26-year-old with a backhand push shot. "She dropped me a lot," Smith said. "But I got to every drop." She won her first game of the match after being down love-30. After her crosscourt forehand volley caught Sromova leaning the wrong way, Smith pumped her right fist in a rare sign of emotion. The first set took 37 minutes. The second lasted 27. Smith stayed in points using a slice backhand that seemed to keep Sromova off balance and on the baseline. "I couldn't play my game," Sromova said. "I wanted to be aggressive, but I didn't get to the net as much as I wanted to." The loss didn't dampen Smith's enthusiasm for this comeback attempt. She plans to play next week in Midland, Mich., and again the following week in Minneapolis. "I'm going to keep plugging away," Smith said. "These girls have been playing every week. I need to get my bearings. I'll get better." The Challenger is sponsored by SwedishAmerican Hospital.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 4, 2005 14:31:18 GMT -5
Steph will more than likely play Clarisita in the 2R That match did take place... and Dubois won it 7-6 7-5. ;D She plays Joana (Hubb Hubba) Cortez in the quarters...
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 5, 2005 20:09:33 GMT -5
ITF ORTISEI semis
Michaella Krajiek d. Sandra Kleinova per 63, 67, 75 in 2 ore e 15 minuti.
Sandra Klösel d. Barbora Strycova, 60, 46, 61
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misha
Junior Member
Posts: 78
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Post by misha on Feb 6, 2005 0:18:14 GMT -5
Barbora with an O has been rather sucky of late, no?
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 6, 2005 8:06:44 GMT -5
Barbora with an O has been rather sucky of late, no? Yes, I thought she would be well clear of Challengers by now. On a happier note: ROCKFORD, Ill. (CP) - Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que., defeated Jewel Peterson of the United States 6-2, 6-2 Saturday to advance to the final of the $25,000 US Rockford Challenger tennis tournament. Peterson, ranked 236th in the WTA rankings, had not lost a set prior to the semifinal match. "I'm really excited with this win," said Dubois. "I have been able to elevate my game this week, and control the points. I'm going into the finals with confidence and a strong desire to continue my success." Dubois will face Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 10:38:34 GMT -5
ROCKFORD, Ill. (CP) - Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que., beat Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 Sunday in the final of the $25,000 US Rockford Challenger tennis tournament. It was the second ITF victory of Dubois' career. She also won at Hamilton in June 2004. "This is fantastic," said Dubois. "I was able to dictate the flow of the game and be very aggressive with my forehand and service game. I feel really good about my game right now." Dubois plays in the Dow Corning Tennis Classic next week in Midland, Mich. "I'm very pleased with the level of my game and want to continue the positive streak of performances," she said.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 10:41:02 GMT -5
From the Rockford Register Star The 18-year-old Canadian was a perfect 10-for-10 this week. She played five matches at the Clock Tower Racquet Club and won all 10 sets, beating Hana Sromova in Sunday's final 6-1, 6-2 in a lightning-quick 55 minutes. "She was just 100 percent," Sromova said. "Whenever I tried to do something different, she was just too good." Welcome to the club. Sromova experienced the same sinking feeling that No. 1 seed Catalina Castano (6-1, 6-2) had in the first round, Clarisa Fernandez (7-6, 7-5) in the second, Joana Cortez (6-1, 6-0) in the quarterfinal and Jewel Peterson (6-2, 6-2) in the semifinal. "I'm playing the way that I have to play," Dubois said. "I go for my shot and I'm confident." Dubois won $2,940, but more importantly she'll move up in the world rankings from No. 224 to, roughly, 195. The interesting clash of styles between the deliberate Sromova and hyper-aggressive Dubois wasn't that interesting after all. Dubois dominated the first set, winning in 21 minutes even though Sromova hit 15 of 19 (79 percent) first serves. The second set was almost an afterthought. Sromova moved well, saying the leg injury she suffered in the semifinal wasn't a factor. "I felt OK," she said. "The leg was OK." What Sromova couldn't overcome was the tournament's hottest player. "She was just hitting everything hard and didn't make any mistakes," Sromova said.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 10:58:30 GMT -5
Michaella Krajicek won the 75.000 dollari in Ortisei, beating Sandra Klösel 3 & 3 -- and moves up from 163 to 126
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 11:00:02 GMT -5
Sunderland final: Sofia ARVIDSSON (SWE) defeated Irina BULYKINA (RUS) 61 61
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Post by Grarliner on Feb 7, 2005 11:07:26 GMT -5
Nothing at all is better than this Anne Smith comeback! But I think she has drawn the wrong lessons from Nav's return. It's been horrible from day one!
Catalina Castano continues to warrant her reputation for completely blowing. No idea how this woman gets points.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 11:10:47 GMT -5
Midland $75K qualies
1R losers included WIDJAJA Jenifer to an unranked Brit!, MJ Argeri (to Megan Falcon), Mélanie Gloria (to KACHLIKOVA Katarina).
Still alive are STANCIUTE Lina and DEVIDZE Salome
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 11:20:10 GMT -5
Capriolo $25K
Top seed is Emma Laine, woohoo
Other notables are Kix, Ani, Sassi, Tamaela, Bret Meusberger, Jugic-Salkic & Kuti Kis...
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Post by janie on Feb 7, 2005 19:19:02 GMT -5
STEPH DUBOIS WON ROCKFORD?? ANNE SMITH PLAYED?? That's enough to raise me from the dead! I met a lot of new friends down there. We can talk about them later, but I can tell you now that Nero is one hilarious dude! ;D Might work my way back here slowly ... meanwhile, my warmest greetings to all and sundry here. janie, she is arisen (partway!)
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 7, 2005 19:32:06 GMT -5
janie, she is arisen (partway!) ;D
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 8, 2005 14:53:33 GMT -5
Among the early 1R results from Capriolo Elise Tamaela llost to DZEHALEVICH Ekaterina BLR, 64 76(4). This is a bit late, but the Ortisei tournament director was named Wolfgang Wanker. I believe G.Rusedski addressed a few remarks to him at Wimbledon one year.
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Post by janie on Feb 8, 2005 18:23:01 GMT -5
Elise Tamaela llost to DZEHALEVICH Ekaterina BLR, 64 76(4). I think it's time to start slipping quietly over to the edge of the Elise bandwagon, Brinyi, so as to be well-positioned when everyone starts jumping off. Elise Tamaela llost to DZEHALEVICH Ekaterina BLR, 64 76(4). This is a bit late, but the Ortisei tournament director was named Wolfgang Wanker. I believe G.Rusedski addressed a few remarks to him at Wimbledon one year.[/quote] Heh, yeah, I remember that! Good old Greg.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 8, 2005 18:52:29 GMT -5
Since Elise was never all that good in the first place, I'm willing to cut her some slack. ;D
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misha
Junior Member
Posts: 78
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Post by misha on Feb 8, 2005 23:46:01 GMT -5
Welcome Janie! ;D But mournful news: Anne Smith vs. Steph Dubois in the first round of Midland. However, Sania won her first round match at Hyberabad!
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 9, 2005 6:23:23 GMT -5
Midland $75K qualies 1R losers included WIDJAJA Jenifer to an unranked Brit!, MJ Argeri (to Megan Falcon), Mélanie Gloria (to KACHLIKOVA Katarina). Still alive are STANCIUTE Lina and DEVIDZE Salome Well, the unranked Brit must not be so bad because she proceeded to defeat top qualie seed Saeki. Her name is Georgia Rose and she lives in the Chicago area. 2R-q UVAROVA Tatsiana BLR def. DEVIDZE Salome GEO 61 60STANCIUTE Lina LTU def. MALL Anne USA 63 46 62 and plays Uvarova in the 1R of the MD A few surprises in the 1R already: SCHEEPERS Jeepers RSA def. 1 LEE-WATERS Lindsay 1 & 4 FAUTH Evelyn AUT def. RAO Sunitha USA 1 & 2 ALVES Maria Fernanda BRA def. 3 MC CAIN Kelly "Bag O' Fries" USA 4 & 2 ;D VIRATPRASERT Suchanan THA def. 4 JACKSON Jamea USA 4 & 4
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 9, 2005 10:14:27 GMT -5
Hmmm, I didn't think she was this bad!
1R Redbridge qualies
KHAN Natasha (GBR) d. MAROIS Melanie (CAN) 7, 6-3 6-2
Bally is top seed in the MD -- other faves in the draw are Grarlein, Toppleova, Barbie-Smith, Mighty Mouse Muller, Jane-O, and Mt. Fujiwara
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 9, 2005 10:25:15 GMT -5
Some interesting names in the Montechoro (Portugal) $10K: GOJNEA Madalina (ROM), NICULESCU Gabriela (ROM), MARAMA Paula (NZL) And in Blenheim we have Marina Erakovic and Fiddler Kobak, both through to the 2R -- Erakovic will play Szili.
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misha
Junior Member
Posts: 78
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Post by misha on Feb 9, 2005 10:54:04 GMT -5
That's a very szili smiley. Didn't Erakovic play Szili last week also or have I finally lost my mind? (Not mutually exclusive)
In other news, Ball does what Dent did not do. I like the sound of that sentence, so I'm not sure I want to explain further. Actually, Carsten B. is playing for Australia now, dirty traitor.
I saw that on the junior tennis blog: have you seen the site?
Which reminds me. Briny, you ought to have a tennis blog. It would be the best thing ever.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 9, 2005 11:01:46 GMT -5
Yes, she did play Szili and it was 36 75 62 for Erakovic (who lost in the semis to a Korean I have never heard of, Lee! Ye! Ra!).
Hmm! I was wondering why Carsten Ball had a WC for an Aussie tournament. I have not seen this blog, is it at juniortennis.com?
Wow, a tennis blog! I will have to give this some thought!!
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misha
Junior Member
Posts: 78
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Post by misha on Feb 9, 2005 11:12:27 GMT -5
Here is the link for the blog: tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/Worthog linked to it. It has some good links, albeit a bit usian-centric. The writer isn't very flairsome. What would be great for you about a tennis blog is that you wouldn't have to write "articles" per se; you could write a paragraph one day or two pages the next, about something silly and trivial or substantive, and all of your wit and wisdom wouldn't be lost to the archives of unread message boards! I think sports blogs are about to start popping up everywhere, and I really doubt that there is anyone else out there with your combination of knowledge of the game and your skill as a writer. I know I have been giggling over some random comments of yours hours afterwards. I'll bet you could eventually build up a bit of a readership; I know I would check it daily!
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misha
Junior Member
Posts: 78
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Post by misha on Feb 9, 2005 11:24:37 GMT -5
Actually, she's not a very good blogger. She's rather formal and either posts links or else articles she's written. (She's a tennis journalist.) You wouldn't have to do interviews and such, just your commentary, especially on the players ranked from 20 down to 1000 who rarely get talked about at all. I just found another new tennis blog (I'm telling you, it's just getting started): www.tennis.com/progame/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=144845&itype=1296
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 9, 2005 11:44:57 GMT -5
Thanks Misha, I see what you mean. This could be fun! Not that there is anything wrong with unread message boards. ;D And thanks for the kind words.
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