Shooter
Mar 6th, 2003, 07:06 AM
Saw her get into the main draw by defeating Petrova in the qualies yesterday. It was a very entertaining match to watch. Evgenia really impressed us with her hustle and will to win. She was doing a heck of a lot of running in that match. She's sort of a defensive, claycourt style player, while Petrova is a more classic hardcourt style player. Nadia was dictating the action, running Evgenia ragged, but somehow Evgenia was winning more points! It was very suprising and must have been quite frustrating for Nadia. It didn't seem possible that Evgenia could win that match given how much running she was doing and how hard she was breathing between points. The one situation in which she would get offensive was when Nadia came to net. Then boom - Ev. would reel off a passing shot with one of her forehands. E has 2 one-handed forehands and occasionally uses a two-handed, slice backhand on the right side of her body. This bizarre array of strokes is another thing that makes her fun to watch. She's also very likeable. Now I see that she defeated Rita Grande in the first round of the main draw. Good for her!