The Hindu : Martinez hands Kournikova another early defeat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 18, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Martinez hands Kournikova another early defeat

CHARLESTON APRIL 17. Conchita Martinez beat Anna Kournikova on Tuesday in the Family Circle Cup, the fourth straight tournament Kournikova has lost in straight sets in the first round.

Martinez, celebrating her 30th birthday, beat Kournikova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 on stadium court. Kournikova double-faulted seven times and had 56 unforced errors.

``I can't get any more disappointed,'' said the 20-year-old Kournikova, who was ranked No. 8 in the world last May, but finished the season at No. 74 after undergoing surgery on her foot for a stress fracture.

She had started her return this year with a 13-9 match record in nine tournaments, reaching three semifinals, but has lost her opening match in the last four events.

In other matches, Clarisa Fernandez defeated No. 9 Silvia Farina Elia 7-6 (7-4), 6-0; Mary Pierce, the 2000 Family Circle Cup champion, beat Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-4; and second-seeded Monica Seles rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the first set to beat Amy Frazier 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Two former Family Circle champs — No. 10 seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and No. 13 Amanda Coetzer — advanced with straight-set victories.

Just a couple of hours after her loss to Martinez, Kournikova was back on the practice court, hitting balls as a crowd gathered to watch one of the sport's most popular players.

Martinez said Kournikova ``doesn't have a lot of patience sometimes.''

``The longer you are out, the longer it takes to come back,'' Martinez said. "... I was out eight months, and that's a really long time. ... I've got to go back, work, maybe like 100 hours a day. Any athlete goes through a point in their career where it kind of gets difficult,'' she said. ``That's where you have to show yourself that you can do it.''

Kournikova's losing streak started on March 6 with a 1-6, 4-6 loss to Lilia Osterloh in the Pacific Life Open. On March 21, she was beaten 5-7, 3-6 by Eleni Daniilidou in the Nasdaq-100 Open. Her most recent loss was 4-6, 1-6 to Paola Suarez in the Bausch & Lomb Championships on April 9.

No. 16 seed Alexandra Stevenson, who sprained her right wrist last week, withdrew from the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday. She was the second seeded player to withdraw from the tournament, joining No. 5 Justine Henin.

The results:

Singles (second round): Nathalie Dechy bt Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); Iva Majoli bt Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian 6-2, 6-4; Monica Seles bt Amy Frazier 6-4, 3-6, 6-0; Serena Williams bt Jennifer Hopkins 6-0, 6-2.

First round: Janette Husarova bt Samantha Reeves 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario bt Rita Grande 6-4, 6-2; Daniela Hantuchova bt Rossana Neffa-de los Rios 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-1; Mary Pierce bt Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-4; Patty Schnyder bt Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-3; Paola Suarez bt Marissa Irvin 6-1, 6-1; Amanda Coetzer bt Erika de Lone 6-4, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama bt Anne Kremer 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Elena Dementieva bt Rika Fujiwara (9-7), 6-1; Stephanie Foretz bt Wynne Prakusya 6-2, 6-0;

Conchita Martinez bt Anna Kournikova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; Clarissa Fernandez bt Silvia Farina Elia 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport