[auntie janie]

The Russians!

WHY? WHY? WHY??????????

Lina had to retire against Conchi;

Elena Bovina lost meekly to a qualifier;

Elena Likhotseva lost a heartbreaker, 6-8 in the 3rd , after Fighting back from a losided first-set loss;

Panova and Kuznetsova are stuggling in 3rd sets right now.

(Yes, I left out the most famous Russian of them all, but I was rooting for JUSTINE in that match! )

What will it take to end this Russian curse? And it's getting worse- they used to have trouble winning TITLES; now it's MATCHES.

 

[auntie janie]

The Qualifier, Svetlana Kuznetsova, has won her match!

Maybe this next generation will begin to buck the tragic trend ...

 

[auntie janie]

Wow! Ya gotta hand it to little Tatiana Panova, with her 10-8 i the third win against the Aussie, Alicia Molik.

What great fighting spirit, Tatiana! Like Svetalana, it's nice to see that you bucked the losing Russian tide!

 

[auntie janie]

Anna Kournikova has played in NINE tournaments since her injury!!

For Serena Williams, that is practically an ENTIRE SEASON of events!

Exactly HOW MANY tournaments does Anna have to play before the injury time out stops being an excuse for her losses? Anna choked at the end of last night's match; I saw it; you saw it too. It is the same old Anna problem which dates back for years, so obviously it is unrelated to her unfortunate time out.

Until Anna faces and deals with this mental problem, instead of continuing to attribute her lack of success to her foot injury, I do not see her returning to that top 10 spot.

 

[auntie janie]

BTW, congrats to Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva for continuing the Russian turnaround that Svetlana and Tatiana started.

 

[auntie janie]

Wow, Iva's fan, you saw it all! Lucky you!

I am happy to hear you were impressed with Elena D's play; I had not heard a thing about that match. Maybe this will be her breakthorough tournament!

 

[auntie janie]

cat,

No, I don't like kicking someone when they are down. I would never go to an Anna K Cheering area and belittle her.

All I am asking is that Anna look at her problems more realistically. This is the great disadvantage of having parents for a coach - they, also, are seemingly blind to Anna's obvious choking problem, so how can they help her solve it?

Anna could go the entire season blaming her woes on last year's injury. That might make her feel better, but it won't answer the purpose of helping her turn things around. She needs to face this choking problem head-on before she will have any hope of fixing it. IMO, the longer it goes on, unacknowledged, the harder it will be to fix.

As for the next batch of young Russians: I look forward to watching them!

My problem is, I grew attached to a few of the current crop, and perhaps had falsely high expectations for them. I am trying to acknowledge my problem head-on and try to fix it , and be grateful for any victories these girls have.

 

[auntie janie]

LOL @ aloysius!

And Elena D. already knocked ONE Russian out!

But it is a shame, this draw forcing these two players to meet so early on. I guess we should just be glad it was not not a first-round encounter, so they each had a little moment in the sun before one has to send the other packing.

 

[auntie janie]

cat -

You are right - the day ended MUCH better than it started! So, I tried to change the name of this thread just now, but it won't change, at least not on the list of Threads.

Anyway, I agree about Lina and Elena B.; some of our expectations may have been unrealistic. Elena B. in particular really has to go back to the drawing board altogether.
I am reserving judgment about Lina until she has a chance to play a full schedule at age 18. Look at Hantuchova, she is getting some good results now. Not everyone is going to come out of the blocks like a Seles or a Hingis. Lina needs a chance; Elena B. needs help.

I am also going to wait a year to decide about Anastasia and Elena D. This may be a great year for one or both of them, and I'm not willing to give up on them yet! I just want to try to lower my expectations for the whole group so as not to be continually disappointed when they are all such nice kids, all doing the best they can.

 

[auntie janie]

Apoet (as always!!) makes an excellent point - the extra exposure and fame Anna has worked hard to achieve outside of tennis is a double-edged sword which is working against her right now.

Yes, it has brought her riches beyond comprehension. But it is that same broad exposure that brings a magnifying spotlight onto every moment of Anna's oncourt struggles.

Any other player of Anna's level struggling to reach her former heights after an extended time off would be able to do so in the relative obscurity of outer courts and little media attention. Anna's highest ranking was #8 - can you conceive of this level of attention placed on the struggles of, say a Julie Halard-Decugis, a Barbara Schett, or even Justine Henin herself? Not likely!

It is disingenuous to suppose that this worldwide focus on Anna, brought on by her own activities such as magazine covers, ad campaigns, etc etc, does not contribute, at least a little, to her ongoing choking problem.

At any rate, whatever the main cause, it is a crippling problem that will likely prevent Anna from reaching her true potential, until, as I said, it is acknowledged and dealt with.

 

[auntie janie]

Steffi is busy readying her own little player to coach!

But, about the "A Coach Is Needed" point: Agreed

 

[auntie janie]

ys,

Okay, maybe Stef WOULD take on the job -- IF it was in the contract that the bossy Alla keep her distance at all times!

 

[auntie janie]

Elena and Ana are underway!! Who will stay, who will go??

 

[auntie janie]

Anastasia out to Elena;

Tatiana out to Daniilidou (okay, so I WAS rooting for Eleni! )

Svetlana down a set & a break to Iroda!

The curse continues!!

But CONGRATS TO ELENA D!

 

[auntie janie]

Elena Dementieva = into Round 3, ALL BY HERSELF.

But Congrats Also to IRODA TULYAGANOVA, who, though she does not play for Russia, I think is of Russian heritage, and who is playing as if she wants to stick around for a while! Keep it up, IRI!

 

[auntie janie]

I know, cat. I know everyone wanted Svetlana to win.

But Svetlana did courageously defy The Curse longer than most, surviving the qualies and into Round 2, so she did very, very well here and has a bright future.

 

[auntie janie]

I am dismayed to see the Russian Curse has crept into the doubles arena now.

It is one thing to see the new team of Bovina and Stevenson go out, but for the 2nd seeds, Black and Likhotseva, to lose in the first round to upstarts Spears and Grant is VERY disappointing!

 

[auntie janie]

LOL!