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| Monday, June 26 Women's player profiles |
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(1) Martina Hingis, Switzerland
Returned to the site of the most embarrassing loss of her career
after falling to qualifier Jelena Dokic in the first round, 6-2,
6-0, at the All-England Club; played the match without
mother-coach Melanie Molitor when the pair took a small break
from each other; in 1997 at the age of 16, she became the
youngest female in the Open Era (since 1968) to win a Wimbledon
singles crown; lost to eventual winner Jana Novotna in the
semifinals in 1998; has won four titles this season, including a
grasscourt crown this week at the Heineken Trophy in the
Netherlands; has won four tournaments this season, including her
third straight Australian Open title in January; owns has
compiled a 42-5 record in 10 events this season.
(2) Lindsay Davenport, United States
Won the second of three Grand Slam titles last year at the
All-England Club, beating Steffi Graf in the final; defeated
Martina Hingis to win the Australian Open in January; put
together a 21-match winning streak this season, which ended with
a loss to Hingis in the Ericsson Open final; defeated Hingis to
win the title at Indian Wells, California; has held the No. 1
ranking on two occasions this season as she battles with Hingis
for the top spot; also won the 1998 U.S. Open title and last
year's Wimbledon; is 22-6 lifetime at Wimbledon; has suffered
from a lower back strain; lost in the first round of the French
Open and the quarterfinals in a grasscourt event in Eastbourne,
both times to Dominique Van Roost.
(3) Mary Pierce, France
Has only played a grasscourt exhibition at the Hall of Fame in
Newport since capturing the second Grand Slam of her career at
last month's French Open; was the first Frenchwoman in 33 years
to capture the women's title in Paris; has reached the fourth
round or better three of the last four years at Wimbledon, with
a quarterfinal finish in 1996 her best effort; her crown in
Paris was her second title of the season as she also won Family
Circle Cup; her first Grand Slam title came at the 1995
Australian Open.
(4) Conchita Martinez, Spain
In 1994, appearing in her first Grand Slam final, became the
first Spanish woman to win Wimbledon, stopping Martina
Navratilova short of a 10th singles title at the All-England
Club; appeared in her third Grand Slam final last month at the
French Open, losing to Mary Pierce in straight sets; won lone
title of the season at the German Open on clay in May; also
reached the final at the Australian Hardcourt Championships and
the Bausch & Lomb Championships and was a semifinalist at the
Australian Open; has not advanced past the third round at
Wimbledon the last three years but was a semifinalist in 1993
and 1995.
(5) Venus Williams, United States
Made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open in just her
third tournament of the year; was sidelined for six months
with tendinitis in both wrists before making her season debut at
Hamburg, Germany in May; has reached at least the quarterfinals
in nine of her last 10 Grand Slam matches, including consecutive
quarterfinal showings at Wimbledon the past two years; did not
play a warm-up event on grass this year and is just 6-3 this
season after winning six titles in 1999; huge serve should be
a factor on grass.
(6) Monica Seles, United States
Winner of nine Grand Slam events, Seles will seek the only one
of the four majors that has eluded her; has won 22 of 29 matches
lifetime at the All-England Club, losing in the third round last
season; in her best Wimbledon performance, lost to Steffi Graf
in the 1992 final; has come back from a broken foot to win three
titles; won her debut event of the season at Oklahoma City and
events in Amelia Island, Florida and Rome; has not played a
match since losing to eventual-winner Mary Pierce in the French
Open; former top-ranked player has won nine Grand Slam titles,
including four Australian Opens and two U.S. Opens.
(7) Nathalie Tauziat, France
Veteran has prepared for Wimbledon well, reaching the semifinals
at the DFS Classic in Birmingham and the quarterfinals at the
Direct Line Insurance Championships in Eastbourne; claimed her
only singles title of the year in Paris at the Open Gaz de
France, but has gone 16-11 overall in 2000; lost in the second
round in her first Australian Open since 1994 and the third
round at the French Open; best performance at a Grand Slam was
runner-up at Wimbledon in 1998.
(8) Serena Williams, United States
Retired from her match in Amelia Island with left knee pain from
a meniscus tear and withdrew from the French Open; underwent
treatment at home, forgoing playing in a grasscourt tuneup; won
her lone title of the season at the Faber Grand Prix this spring
and reached the final at the Open Gaz de France; did not play at
Wimbledon last season due to an injury; fell in the third round
in her only appearance at the All-England Club in 1998 but
captured the mix doubles title with Max Mirnyi for her first
Grand Slam title; took home her first Grand Slam singles crown
last September at the U.S. Open -- the first time she advanced
past the fourth round at a major.
(9) Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain
The four-time Grand Slam champion suffered a second-round loss
at Wimbledon last season, the first time she exited before the
fourth round at the All-England Club since 1992; is 37-13
lifetime at Wimbledon, including losses to Steffi Graf in the
final in 1995 and 1996; has reached claycourt finals at Hilton
Head, South Carolina and Hamburg, Germany and is 29-10 overall
in 2000; reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open; opted
not to play a grasscourt tune-up event since falling to Conchita
Martinez in the semifinals of last month's French Open; first
Spanish professional tennis player ever to hold the No. 1
ranking.
(10) Sandrine Testud, France
Owns just a 10-8 mark at Wimbledon, losing in the third round or
earlier six of eight visits; consecutive fourth-round showings
are her best results at the All-England Club; reached her only
final of the year at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and took
Lindsay Davenport to three sets in the semifinals at the
Ericsson Open; advanced to the fourth round at the Australian
Open but lost in the third round at the French Open; reached the
quarterfinals on grass at the Heineken Trophy in the Netherlands
last week; has not won a singles title since Filderstadt,
Germany in 1998.
(11) Anke Huber, Germany
Turned her season around after a disastrous 2-7 start, going
17-4 and winning her first title in four years at Estoril,
Portugal; also reached the semifinals at Hamburg, Germany; has
not played a warm-up event on grass; lost in the first and
fourth rounds, respectively, at the Australian and French Opens;
advanced to her only Grand Slam final at the 1996 Australian
Open; was a quarterfinalist at last year's U.S. Open; lost in
the first round at Wimbledon last year after missing the event
the season before due to injuries; three fourth-round showings
are her best efforts at the All-England Club, the last coming in
1995.
(12) Amanda Coetzer, South Africa
The diminutive South African finishing runner-up at the German
Open before winning her first title in two years at Antwerp,
Belgium; ended 1999 with losses in eight of her last 10 matches,
but opened 2000 by leading her country to victory at the Hopman
Cup; lost in the second round at the Australian Open, and the
fourth round at the French Open; made it through to the
quarterfinals in her only grasscourt event this season at the
Direct Line Insurance Championships at Eastbourne; snapped a
string of four consecutive second-round setbacks at Wimbledon
last season but lost in the next round; is just 12-10 lifetime
at the All-England, a fourth-round effort in 1994 her best
result.
(13) Amelie Mauresmo, France
Making her 2000 grasscourt debut with her second appearance at
Wimbledon; did not play last year after losing in the second
round in 1998; defeated Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport
back-to-back to win the Sydney International, but suffered a
second-round loss at the Australian Open after reaching the
final last year; fell in the fourth round of the French Open
last month.
(14) Julie Halard-Decugis, France
Is having a strong grasscourt season, reaching the quarterfinals
at the DFS Classic at Birmingham, England and winning her third
event on the turf at the Direct Line Insurance Championships at
Eastbourne; also reached the semifinals at the Open Gaz de
France in Paris and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open;
has lost in the third round at Wimbledon the last two years
after missing the event two years in a row with injuries; is
10-10 lifetime at the All-England Club, with three first-round
exits.
(15) Barbara Schett, Austria
Reached her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 1999
U.S. Open, dropping just nine games in her first four matches;
advanced to the fourth round at the Australian and French Opens;
has not won a title in 1997 at the Maria Lankowitz; lost her
only grasscourt match this season at the Heineken Trophy in the
Netherlands; snapped a string of three straight second-round
extits at Wimbledon last year with a fourth-round showing.
(16) Dominique Van Roost, Belgium
Had lost seven early-round matches before advancing to the final
of this week's Direct Line Insurance Championships at
Eastbourne; has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon the last
two years to improve to 11-8 at the All-England Club; has not
made it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event since the
1994 French Open.
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