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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Tuesday, January 23 |
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| Seles, Hingis top Capriati, Dokic Associated Press | |||
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- The banner in the stands read
"Monica and Martina are leaner, meaner and keener."
The Seles-Hingis team proved it against Jennifer Capriati and
Jelena Dokic, winning 6-3, 6-3 at the Australian Open Saturday.
World No. 1 Hingis dashed and darted across the net for deft
returns, and No. 4 Seles unleashed a blizzard of withering
groundstrokes. Often, the balls came flying back at them.
"It was very high quality, very high intensity," said Hingis,
whose critical net play was a sharp contrast with the baseline
assaults of the other power hitters, most notably her partner.
"We both had to play well, otherwise, it's just bang, bang. I
was the only one who wasn't hitting the ball hard, but I was
telling Monica: 'OK, OK, I got to get to the net. I have to cross a
lot and make them think and play."'
It was only a second-round match, but what a group of marquee
names with divergent and dramatic histories.
Hingis, with five Grand Slam titles at 20; Seles, a nine-time
Slam winner who took a two-year absence after being stabbed
courtside by a fan in 1993; Capriati, on a comeback after
overcoming adolescent turmoil; and Dokic, whose often belligerent
father has helped shroud her career in controversy.
Dokic, No. 26 in the world, was the only player on the court who
was unseeded in the singles draw -- she lost to world No. 2 Lindsay
Davenport in the first round -- and was the weakest player in the
doubles match. Some of her lobs sailed long, and she appeared
reluctant to intercept at net.
Still, she often held her own, as when she lobbed over Seles'
head, and rushed the net and hit Hingis' return into the open court
midway through the second set. The point helped break Hingis'
service game.
Capriati, who at 14 in 1990 was the youngest player to win a
match at Wimbledon, pounded from the baseline and was equally
aggressive at net. She questioned line calls with vigor, and when a
baby in the stands wailed for too long, she yelled in frustration:
"Baby!"
Hingis and Seles, who beat No. 1 seeds and defending champions
Rennae Stubbs and Lisa Raymond in the first round, are unseeded
because they have just started playing together. Hingis recently
ended a partnership with Russia's Anna Kournikova.
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ALSO SEE Hingis, Williams sisters quickly win at Aussie Open Moya outlasts Hewitt, advances to round of 16 Hingis, Seles get in groove as doubles partners ATP hoping for bigger doubles audience with proposed changes AUDIO/VIDEO   Yevgeny Kafelnikov freezes Chris Woodruff with the power forehand.avi: 1185 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |
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