Anna def Jen 6-4 7-5 in Tampa

I find the posts in this thread interesting because so many people have different opinions about the match, yet everyone who attended the match seems to agree on a couple of things:

1. Jennifer played badly. Indeed, Jennifer really seems to have problems playing against Kournikova. I remember in January this year in an exho in Hong Kong, Capriati is up 6-3, 5-3 and loses the next 10 games because she lost her mental concentration. For some reason, Anna's fame seems to intimate her quite a bit.

2. Anna's incredibly beautiful. As if we didn't know that already! <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

3. Anna played fairly well. I agree with those that say Anna plays well in exho's because there is no real pressure on her to win. However, if that is the case, why did she lose she badly to Seles a few weeks ago? I saw that match on tv and Anna didn't even try to make it competitive. True, Anna hasn't beaten Seles in years, but at least their matches have been competitive. In Denver, Anna didn't even try, which is not like her at all. Something had to be going on there.

4. Are exhos a real measure of how well a player is going to do in a real tennis tournament? I really have to wonder that since exhos are primarily played for charity, money or in some cases, players use them for extra match practice to try things they normally wouldn't in a WTA match. Remember last year, Capriati lost to Kournikova in Hong Kong and then a couple of weeks later took the Austrailan crown. Similarly, Anna played an excellent exho match against Davenport in Dec. 99 and beat Lindsay 6-1 in the third. Even Lindsay was impressed. However, when the two met up @ the Oz a couple of weeks later, Linsday won in straights. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't feel that exhos are a good indication of how well a player will play in a real tennis match.

Anyway, I'm glad those who got to go seemed to have a good time. For Jen fans, don't take this loss so hard. It's only an exho and Jen has some problems with Kournikova anyway (I think the fame thing is really intimidating to Jenn). For Anna fans, this is a good win for her, even if the match was not quite up to professional standards, especially when you consider the whitewash she got from Seles a couple of weeks ago.

BTW, Anna probably wanted to get out of there because she is playing Coetzer tomorrow in Detroit.

I'm glad that some other posters went to this match- too bad we didn't hang out, but anyways...<br />There were definitely some bad calls going on, particularly second serve faults from both players that were called in, but it was still a win by Anna!!<br />The biggest impressions for me from the match were:

1) Jen has put on some weight in the tummy, if not elsewhere. I was watching a tape of her semi-final vs. Dementieva at the Ericcson just for fun a few hours before this match, and she is definitely not in the same shape that got to the OZ final or to the finals of that tourni....

2) Anna did seem to favor her foot and right leg at times (stretching quickly, etc.) , but I think that she is trying to be especially attentive to her body and not re-injur herself. Good scrappiness and definitely her backhand was working well.

3) Anna's serve wasn't big, but she didn't self-destruct, and she served two aces in the match (maybe three?).

4) Capriati's return of serve wasn't there at all nor was her first serve.

5) The size of the court was smaller than in tour events, and sometimes it seemed that Jen couldn't run full out to her forehand to return an angle from Anna due to the size of the court? I'm wondering if anyone else noticed this?

6) Anna really made very few unforced errors. She still maintained a very aggressive style of play, but made less silly mistakes than Jen. (She did miss one gimmy forehand on her serve, but won the game anyway on the next point)

7) Jen's parents are both very nice!!!

8)Anna is very pretty and although there was a swarm of people trying to get her autograph (she couldn't sign them all), she signed for me because I said "great match, really well played" and she noticed me and signed my program. Other attendees were just shouting "Anna!!, i love you, etc....."- She seemed to notice someone (ME) who appreciated her tennis, not just her looks.

9)Anna is extremely thin and at times I thought she almost looked fragile. She could probably benefit from putting on some extra muscle? Maybe not though, that could just be her body type????

10)Anna and Jen were very friendly with each other after the match, chatting and having fun while playing a few points with people who got to hit a few balls with them after the match.

I plan to go the Miami like I've done in other years, but it was still fun to see these two hit it out and I think a win (or a loss), exhibition or otherwise, does something for a player's confidence and is a good experience to learn from. Jen showed many flashes of athleticism and hit many good shots, but she just seemed a little rusty and out of shape. She admitted that she hadn't been practicing until just recently and I think Anna's other exhibition matches helped her prepare well for this match.

first thanks a lot for everybody who went to the match and shared their observations ....

as for anna seeming to be in a hurry to finish the match, in the past years i've watched her, she had always been the faster player to get out of the chair after a break, usually the first one ready to get the game going, and doesn't waste any time between points...stops after the call and gets to the service line....ready to return or serve a new point right away........i think it's just her type of play, sometimes i think she rushes a little too much , but oh well...

and since she seemeed to be playing better than jen, maybe she thought it would be good to keep the momentum going....either that or she wanted to get someplace else as quickly as she could ....

sergei's birthday was December 13 .....

also she has a match the next day against amanda...maybe she wanted to get as much rest and practice as she could .....

i agree exhibitions don't always indicate how a player will play when the tour starts....but anna hasn't played that much in the tour this year so we'll take whatever match we can....and with this win, things seem promising .....whether she does well in the tournies leading to the OZ open and in the slam itself where there's more pressure is completely up to her....

good win girl ! keep it up!

--------------------<br />Go Russians!!! <br />Go Anna!!!