Seeds Advance at Acura Classic

Monty Basnyat

Click photo to hear Jelena Dokic talk about her game.

Dokic Turns Things Around

For Jelena Dokic it looked like the nightmare might continue after losing an error filled first set but the the number nine seed righted herself in time to down number 29 ranked, Magui Serna of Spain in 1 hour and 37 minutes 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Serna, a southpaw with a deceptively crafty game, took Dokic completely out of rhythm in the first set and she appeared to be well on her way to another disappointing outing as she had trouble putting anything together.

Using wide slice serves, loopy forehands, and low backhand backspins, sprinkled with a few well-disguised drop shots, Serna took complete control of the first set. For her part, Dokic looked lethargic and impatient and seemed to be particularly distracted by the crowd which had to be warned repeatedly by the chair umpire to settle down.

Dokic, who had never lost to Serna in four previous matches, eventually found her rhythm. She managed to stay lower on the slices and started taking the ball earlier on Serna’s second serve, pressuring her and wresting control of the match. Still, Dokic will have to put out more of an effort if she wants to go much deeper in the tournament.

Click photo to hear Lindsay talk about her match against Amy Frazier.

Davenport Takes Out Frazier

In 8 previous matches against Lindsay Davenport, Amy Frazier had taken a total of 1 set and that was way back in 1998 on the carpet in Philadelphia. So there was little reason to expect that today's match would produce any different result. Make no mistake about, Frazier is very good player and especially comfortable on hardcourts, however Davenport has too much fire power and took her apart 6-3, 6-1 in just 57 minutes.

Davenport's serve consistently pushed the radar gun to about 115 plus mile an hour and she backed that up with huge groundstrokes that had her opponent reeling. Frazier seemed to hit every ball off of her back foot and rarely had an opportunity to set up and hit through the ball.

Rubin Eases Through

Chanda Rubin went down two breaks against Tina Pisnik of Slovenia early in the match, before abruptly turning things around and pounding out a 7-5, 6-0 victory. Rubin seemed rushed and error prone when the match began but once she got focused and found her tempo, she used her all court game to take control.

Rubin uses her all court game to take control of the point.

Rubin is one of the more intelligent players on the tour and reminds me a lot of Martina Hingus in the way she constructs her points. Her shots seem measured and calculated as if she put a lot of thought into each one. She's not just a banger out there, although she has the ability to trade bombs when she needs to. She displays fantastic court sense and rarely made mental errors on the court.

Rubin can hammer it, loop it, angle it and dictate the point based on time and court position and she's not afraid to move foreword and seize the net, something very rare in women's tennis these days. She has a terrific transition game from baseline to net and she knows what to do with the volley once she gets there.

I would categorize her style of play as an aggressive baseliner with the ability to take the net when she needs to. Although she does not pose a giant serve like some of the top players, she can hit 105 mph when at times. Again what impressed me most was that her ability to mix things up. She would serve a big flat boomer and than on the very next point step up and slice a heavy sinker out wide at 69 mph catching her opponent off guard. In her next round Chanda faces Jelena Dokic and I like her chances.

See you at courtside.

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