Alexandra Fusai 2000 News

Alexandra Fusai 2000 News

Saturday 1/29/00
Alexandra is in Tokyo, Japan, at the Toray Pan-Pacific Open!
First Round Qualifying is vs. Kimberly Po, the last (8th) match on Court 2 today (there are just 2 courts, indoors, carpeted, 8 matches on each today).
Being in qualifying indicates renewed (and appropriate!) respect for Alexandra's abilities. YEA!
Po is a true tour veteran, about 2 years older than Alexandra, who has had some success at this meet over the years. Her current ranking is #126, but she has spent some real time in the top 20, as high as #14, but not particularly lately.
They have no "official history" in singles vs. each other that I'm aware of.
This looks like a win-able match for Alexandra (though perhaps not "easily").
So WIN, Alexandra! And HAVE FUN!
Sunday 1/30/00
Alexandra has won her 1st round qualifying at the Toray Pan-Pacific! YEA!
And it was clearly another "match of a lifetime" for Alexandra, and the spectators, too! The crowd must have been going absolutely bananas!
I don't know the details, but the score says it all: Alexandra Fusai defeated Kimberly Po 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. WOWIE ZOWIE!
It sure looks like Alexandra's SPIRIT is back, BIG TIME! YEA!
Next is vs. the #6 (qualifying) seed, Els Callens, again on Court 2, this time the 3rd match (4 matches/court today).
Callens is currently ranked #89 and had an easy 6-1, 6-2 1st round win over #228 Marketa Kochta. Callens defeated Alexandra 6-3, 7-6 in their only "official" meeting to date: Moscow 9/94 (a LONG time ago!). But Callens/Van Roost defeated Fusai/Tauziat a week ago in Melbourne. Um, whatever....
It wasn't long ago at all that Alexandra was eating #89's for lunch - maybe those days have now returned? Well, perhaps we'll find out today.
Callens can be expected to fight hard and play well, but can she fight harder and play better than Alexandra? I DON'T THINK SO!
So WIN AGAIN, Alexandra! And HAVE FUN!
Monday 1/31/00
Well, Els Callens defeated Alexandra Fusai in 2nd round qualifying at the Toray Pan-Pacific yesterday: 6-4, 6-1. Oh well....
Alexandra has been playing very well lately, but everyone has "off" days. Perhaps Alexandra had one yesterday. It happens. No big deal....
Now there's (probably) still doubles (probably Fusai/Tauziat) and that could provide some considerable joy this week for Earth's millions of Fusai fans!
So be good, do good, and take care, Alexandra!
And have fun!
Tuesday 2/1/00
There's some good news to report today - fer shure!
Alexandra's WTA Singles ranking has improved from #177 to #156! That's a nice jump of 21 places! Yea! And doubles moved up, too, from #12 to #10! Yea! Movin' on up!
And Fusai/Tauziat play 1st round doubles at the Toray Pan-Pacific today vs. Chanda Rubin/Sandrine Testud, match #5 on Court #2. Rubin/Testud are good players - but FT are better!
So win, FT, WIN!
And be good, do good, take care, and HAVE FUN!
Wednesday 2/2/00
Fusai/Tauziat are winnin' again!
Yep - Alexandra Fusai/Natalie Tauziat (seeded #4) defeated Chanda Rubin/Sandrine Testud in Toray Pan-Pacific 1st round Doubles yesterday: 6-3, 6-4! YEA!
Nice win there, gals! Very nice!
Next is vs. Nicole Arendt/Kimberly Po, probably tomorrow (Natalie plays 2nd round Singles today - she got a bye in 1st round).
Arendt/Po showed some real tenacity in their 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 win over Hiraki/Yoshida yesterday, but FT is the better team - and Alexandra out-spirited Po in 1st round Qualifying a few days ago.
So: now win again, FT!
And continue to be good, do good, take care, and HAVE FUN!
Friday 2/4/00
Fusai/Tauziat advanced to the semi's at the Toray Pan-Pacific yesterday!
And it was as easy as talking a walk - a "walkover" actually (Nicole Arendt had a left calf strain - hopefully it's not too serious).
Well, a win is a win, and it doesn't get much easier than a walkover, but it's nothing to be particularly proud of. Still, if there is such a thing as luck, then there is good luck as well as bad.
Next is vs. Amanda Coetzer/Alexandra Stevenson, probably tomorrow (Natalie plays quarterfinal Singles today vs. Sandrine Testud).
So: WIN, FT!
And be good, do good, take care, and HAVE FUN!
Saturday 2/5/00
The FT Monster continues marching through Tokyo!
Fusai/Tauziat defeated Coetzer/Stevenson today at the Toray Pan-Pacific 6-3, 6-3. YEA!
Tomorrow's Final will be FT vs. Martina Hingis/Mary Pierce. Hingis and Pierce are good players(!), but FT is the better team!
So win one more FT, you Femmes Francais! Get this Title!
And HAVE FUN!
Sunday 2/6/00
Well, Hingis/Pierce defeated Fusai/Tauziat 6-4, 6-1 in the Final today at the Toray Pan-Pacific in Tokyo. Oh well....
Just playing in the final is very nice. Hingis/Pierce are tough (Hingis also won singles today). Losing to Hingis/Pierce is not humiliating.
The tournament commentator, Naoko Sawamatsu, wrote that FT have "synergetic flair that keeps spectators on the edge of their seats". Very well put!
So now it's (probably) home to the City of Lights, for the Gaz de France, where the crowds can serenade Alexandra with La Marseillaise while she advances to win her 1st WTA Singles title. (That would be nice!) And they'll be on the edge of their seats as Fusai/Tauziat display their "synergetic flair" and take the Doubles title! (That would also be nice!)
Sounds like some FUN!
And be good, do good, and take care, Alexandra! Welcome home!
Tuesday 2/8/00
Well, now it looks like Alexandra is not playing at the Gaz de France at all!
She missed qualifying because of the Doubles final in Tokyo, and didn't get a wild-card into the Gaz singles, but yesterday Fusai/Tauziat were seeded #1 in Doubles. Today they are not listed in the Doubles draw at all!
Hopefully, Alexandra is not injured(!) - probably she is just a bit tired after a quite good start to 2000, liked the idea of a few days home to spend with family and friends, and wanted to be available for Hannover qualifying this coming weekend, maybe.
And Paris will have plenty of opportunity to cheer for Alexandra at the Roland Garros in a few weeks.
Whatever is going on, Alexandra, take care and HAVE FUN!
Tuesday 2/15/00
Well, now it looks like Alexandra is not playing in Hannover either!
Fusai/Tauziat were seeded #1 in Paris last week, then both dropped from doubles (Natalie won the singles title!). This week FT were again seeded #1, but then it became Likhovtseva/Tauziat (also #1) and no Alexandra in qualifying or anywhere. Oh well....
Next week the WTA Tour goes to Oklahoma City, USA (their license plates say "Oklahoma is OK", and that is basically true). Maybe Alexandra will be playing there?
Alexandra has been doing this pro-tennis thing for basically all of her adult life. Some time off now is very understandable.
At the very least, Alexandra will be in the Roland Garros qualifying, and I believe her incredible spirit will play there with her. Alexandra can win it all there this year - this year she is ready, if she wants to.
Of course, Alexandra can retire at any time. And that will be a wonderful thing if it is truly what she wants to do with her life. Of course, I hope she has not now retired; but I am a very selfish person.
When Alexandra retires she will leave behind, literally, about a million (1,000,000!) real fans who have truly LOVED watching her play, and who owe her more than they could ever repay (as I do), and who all, all 1 million+, just want Alexandra to do whatever makes her most happy - pro-tennis or whatever.
That said: I, personally, want to report on this site some, hopefully many, more singles and doubles victories for Alexandra! I want to report Alexandra's 1st WTA Singles title! I want to report that Alexandra is #1 in Doubles!
Mostly, I want to report that Alexandra is playing - I am very selfish!
Whatever is going on, Alexandra, please be good, do good, take care and HAVE FUN!
Wednesday 2/23/00
Well, it turns out Alexandra was playing some tennis last week - and some mighty good tennis!
Alexandra spent last week at the $25,000 LTA Challenger in Redbridge, Great Britain - and she had at least some fun!
A main-draw berth in singles was a welcome honor, but Sophie Erre (of France) defeated Alexandra in a 1st round battle 7-5, 7-6. Oh well....
Then Alexandra teamed with Tina Krizan in doubles. And they won it all! YEA!
I don't have the details, except that Fusai/Krizan defeated Julie Pullin/Lorna Woodroffe in the final 7-6(7-4), 3-6, 7-6(7-1). YEA!
Clearly that was yet another incredible Alexandra battle! The crowd must have been going absolutely nuts! And that is so typical of Alexandra!
There is something to be said for 6-1, 6-1 wins, but I wonder if I (for instance) would be such a Fusai fan if that is what she did. Despite her incredible beauty, I suspect not. Alexandra's greatest virtue (in my humble opinion), even beyond her obvious and incredible beauty, is that she plays matches which are enormously exciting.
There are "technically better" players (and maybe always will be), but pro tennis is a sport and a show. Even without taking into account Alexandra's incredible beauty, I can't think of any Anyone vs. Anyone match which would be more likely exciting and interesting to watch that any Alexandra vs. Anyone match. In that respect, at least, Alexandra is #1!!!
This week, Alexandra may be in Bushey, Great Britain, at another $25,000 LTA contest. If she is, then the fans in Bushey are very lucky, and will probably have the chance to see some very exciting, lifetime-memories-type, matches! And Alexandra will gain thousands of new fans who will never, ever, forget her, and her incredible beauty and Spirit!
Whatever is going on, Alexandra, please be good, do good, take care and HAVE FUN!
Tuesday 3/28/00
SO: Alexandra did go from Redbridge to Bushey, Great Britain, but to play singles only.
There she made the main draw, and drew an unseeded player named Nadejda Ostrovskaya for the 1st round.
Well, Ostrovskaya got the win, 6-3, 6-4, and Alexandra was done with Bushey. Oh well....
There is some consolation in that Ostrovskaya went on to win the Bushey Singles (vs. Sophie Erre, who knocked Alexandra out of singles at Redbridge), the Bushey Doubles, and the Ortisei, Italy, Singles the following week.
So it is clear that the Bushey singles draw was no friendlier to Alexandra than the Redbridge singles draw had been the week before, for what that's worth. Oh well...
After Bushey, Alexandra vanished from this observer's monitoring for a bit. I hope she had FUN - I had surgery.
Alexandra has now re-appeared - playing doubles at the Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA, with Star Partner Natalie Tauziat - and they're doing very well!
Seeded #4, Fusai/Tauziat drew a bye in 1st round. Karin Kschwendt/Sandra Nacuk fell in 2nd round 6-0, 6-1 and Surina deBeer/Nannie deVilliers fell in 3rd round 6-1, 6-2. YEA!
FT are winnin' again! Next is vs. Julie Halard-Decugis/Ai Sugiyama, which will not be a "breeze", but can certainly be another win for FT!
Win, FT, WIN! And be good, do good, take care and HAVE FUN!
And if anyone has a picture of Alexandra in a bikini on a Miami beach - I WANT IT!
Thursday 3/30/00
Well, Alexandra and Natalie had another quick match yesterday, but this time it was quick in a not-nice way - Halard-Decugis/Sugiyama prevailed in the Ericsson quarters 6-2, 6-1. Oh well...
Even so, Alexandra did get a couple of good doubles wins there in Miami - as Martha would say, "That's a GOOD thing!". Indeed, it is!
So now it's maybe on to Amelia, and then Hilton Head (I hope!). Both have been good to Alexandra over the past several years, and I think she has enjoyed them. At both locations, many hundreds (thousands?) of fans from previous years will be very glad to see her return, even if it is "only" to play doubles this year.
Wherever you go, Alexandra, please be good, do good, take care and HAVE FUN!
Tuesday 4/11/00
Alexandra spent this past weekend at the Estoril Open in Oeiras, Portugal - and did some winning! YEA!
As an "ordinary" entry in qualifying, Alexandra first faced wild-card Diana Costa, ranked #970. Alexandra won 6-0, 6-0! OK!
In 2nd round qualifying, Alexandra faced #112 ranked Ludmila Cervanova. Alexandra won again - this time 6-1, 4-6, 6-4! YEA!
For qualifying finals, it was Alexandra vs. #140 ranked Francesca Sciavone. Well, Sciavone won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Oh well...
So Alexandra won 2 and lost 1. That's ok. She's skipping doubles.
Now Alexandra can go to Hilton Head early, if she wants to. Based on her history of playing VERY exciting matches there, Alexandra is certainly deserving of some sort of wild-card singles invitation - and a doubles invitation is obviously a no-brainer.
But wherever you go now, Alexandra, please be good, do good, take care and HAVE FUN!
Monday 4/17/00
Well, Alexandra is in Budapest, Hungary, and I'm here at the Family Circle on Hilton Head. Oh well...
At least Alexandra is playing "somewhere" and she may do better there than she would have done here. And there is a real French contigent there (Sidot, Dechy, Pitkowski, for instance).
Alexandra faces Laurence Andretto in 1st round qualifying. Win, AF, WIN! And maybe Alexandra will decide to play doubles there in Budapest (Fusai/Sidot did very well here at HH last year - and Fusai/Dechy or Fusai/Pitkowski could be doubles monsters!).
So NOW: Alexandra: do this: be good, do good, take care, HAVE FUN - and WIN!
Thursday 4/20/00
Well, Laurence Andretto defeated Alexandra Fusai 6-3, 6-3 in 1st round qualifying in Budapest. Oh well...
And Sidot and Dechy are not there after all (Pitkowski is - she won it last year) but Alexandra is teaming with the #3 seed Karina Habsudova to be the #1 seeded doubles team.
There's a complication, though: Habsudova withdrew from her 2nd round singles after 1 set (which she lost) with "an undisclosed illness". It seems that would affect her doubles, also. Oh well....
Alexandra will be skipping Fed Cup this year, which might be just as well, since it can be a distraction, and the money is lousy.
Be good and take care, Alexandra, 'cause your situation is bound to improve soon!
Thursday 5/4/00
Well, it turns out that Fusai/Habsudova defeated Virag Csurgo/Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo in 1st round main draw doubles in Budapest, 6-1, 6-4, but then FH withdrew because of H's "undisclosed illness". So it was one win and no loss, but maybe is "technically" a win and a loss. Oh well. No problem.
There are "things" on the 'Net which suggest that Alexandra might not be in the Roland Garros qualifying. I don't believe that. Alexandra is born-in-Paris, very French, 4 times at Fed Cup, and a Junior Champion. No way would Roland Garros exclude Alexandra! Alexandra IS French Beauty on the tour! And the whole tour's most exciting player!
So I predict this: Alexandra will do very well in Roland Garros qualifying, and will qualify, and will do very well in the main draw!
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