Alexandra Fusai News

Alexandra Fusai 2001 News
Monday 8/6/01
Alexandra is at the "estyle.com" Classic near Los Angeles, California, USA, this week. (It is actually happening in Manhattan Beach.)
In 1st round qualifying, Alexandra faced Pavlina Nola, actually last Friday. Well, Nola got the win, 6-4, 6-3. Nola is a good player, currently ranked above Alexandra (#102 vs. #141), and Alexandra may have been a bit stressed from travel and the previous day's clearly hard-fought late-afternoon Fusai/Grande loss to Hingis/Kournikova in the quarters down the coast in San Diego. So I don't see this as any indication that Alexandra's recent quite good Singles play is ended, or even paused. Alexandra probably played very well - but Nola played better. Even so: oh well....
Fusai/Grande, who are also playing very well lately, are in the main-draw, but the draw around them is currently somewhat confused. Originally, they were set for a rematch vs. the #1 seeded (again) team of Hingis/Hournikova, but little Anna has quit at the last minute (a debilitating pimple, perhaps?), so maybe FG get a "walkover" or a "bye" into 2nd round? But the most recent posted draw shows Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario/Barbara Schett moved into the former Hingis/Kournikova spot (although they remain in their original spot near the middle of the draw). And then there are rumors that Hingis may be permitted to pick a new partner and retain her spot in the draw......
The possibilities at this point approach the infinite....... (ok, not infinite, ok?)
At least I feel there is a very high probability that Fusai/Grande will take the court vs. some team this week, soon, for a 1st or 2nd round, maybe tomorrow, and FG will play very well.
Win, FG, WIN! And WIN FUN!
Wednesday 8/8/01
Late today, at the "estyle.com" Classic near LA, Alexandra and Rita (Fusai/Grande) played 1st round doubles vs. Arantxa and Barbara (Sanchez-Vicario/Schett). This matchup resulted from the last-minute vanishing of Anna Kournikova, so SS was moved into the Hingis/Kournikova spot, and it looks like a "lucky-loser" pair from doubles qualifying moved into the original SS spot in the middle of the draw. Personally, I think this stinks. FG should have gotten a "bye" or walkover, or, at least, the LL's should have gone into the spot vacated by HK. To "punish" FG (and reward some mid-draw team) due to little Anna's uncommitting herself at the last minute, after the draw was released to the world on the web - this seems wrong. That's just my opinion, though!
Even so, although SS would be favored, I thought this was a very winnable match for FG. But it was not to be - SS got the win: 6-4, 6-2. Oh well.....
Alexandra: I know LA a bit so here's a fun day for you tomorrow: get hold of a nice vintage convertible, like an old Triumph (TR or Spitfire), or Lotus (Elite, Elan, or Seven), or Morgan (any), put the top down (of course!), do Griffith Park, Mulholland, and Angeles Crest. Then get to the top of Scholl Canyon in Glendale for the hour before and after sunset (bring your putter!). "LA Weekly" might help you then pick a dinner place. The Sunset Strip has some nice places, like Cyrano's maybe?
Next for Alexandra might be Toronto, Canada, next week. Canada is a very nice place: the culture, the land, the climate. Back during Vietnam I was about a day away from being a resident (it was 25 miles away). Last year I spent $12,000 to have a kidney-stone removed - it cost me my home, now I rent. It would have been $0 in Canada. I like Canada a lot!
Take care, Alexandra: be safe and have fun, OK?
Tuesday 8/14/01
Alexandra got a good win today in Toronto! (Rita helped.)
But this week really started for Alexandra this past Saturday with the Singles Qualifying at this Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Alexandra, unseeded, faced the #2 seed Shinobu Asagoe (ranked #71) in the 1st round.
Well, Asagoe got the win, 7-6(7-2), 7-6(7-1), in a match which was probably (and understandably) quite frustrating for Alexandra. Even so, there is a strong implication that Alexandra played very well (except, perhaps, for the tie-breaks). Still: oh well....
Unfortunately(?), I was unable to watch this match on Java Scoreboard, so I have no details, except possibly a snippit with Alexandra up 4-2 in the second set, serving for 5-2, but down 0-15......
Next time, Alexandra, OK? It's time for some more FUN Singles wins now soon!
On to good news: Fusai/Grande, seeded #6, faced the qualifier team of Evie Dominikovic/Marissa Irvin in 1st round this afternoon. FG got the win 6-3, 6-3! YEA!
It went like this (DI served 1st): 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3. YEA!
In the 1st game, DI went down 0-30, then 30-40, but held after 3 deuces on their 3rd chance. FG then held at 30 on their 1st chance. DI then went up 40-15, and got the add after the 1st deuce, but FG then got the break on their 1st chance. Holds at love, 30, 30, 15, and 30 brought 5-3 with FG still up a break. FG took the set with a 2nd break, this time at love: 6-3. YEA!
In the 2nd set, FG went down 15-40, came back to deuce, but then DI got the break: 0-1. DI then held at 15, and FG at 30: 1-2. Then FG got the break back at 15: 2-2, back on serve. But then FG went down 0-30, then 15-40, then finally held after 3 deuces on their 1st chance (DI had 4 break chances): 3-2. Then DI went down 15-40, but held through a deuce: 3-3. Then FG went down 0-30, then 15-40, then held through a deuce: 4-3. A break at 30 finally put FG up a break, and a hold at 30 gave the set, and match, to FG: 6-3. YEA!
This was a very good match for Alexandra and Rita - showing much SPIRIT! It was closer than the score indicates, and one the crowd will clearly long remember. And it was a match which Dominikovic/Irvin can be very proud of, as well.
Quarterfinals for FG, maybe tomorrow, will be vs. Daniela Hantuchova/Nadia Petrova - these girls are DANGEROUS!
SO: win again, FG, WIN AGAIN! And HAVE FUN!
Saturday 8/18/01
Well, as I suspected (and feared), Alexandra and Rita discovered this past Wednesday that Daniela Hantuchova and Nadia Petrova are dangerous players, even in doubles. And I suspect that FG knew that, yet I also suspect that they were not intimidated by HP, and I still feel they were right in those feelings which I suspect. But Hantuchova/Petrova got the quarterfinal win in Toronto: 7-6(7-5), 6-4. Oh well.....
It was even closer than the score indicates - both teams can be, basically, equally proud of their play in this match. It may the case that HP played better, at times, in this match, but FG is the better team.
It went like this (HP served 1st): 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 6-6, (0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-4, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 4-6, 5-6, 5-7) 6-7, 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 4-6. Oh well....
It started with FG getting the break at 30, then holding at 15, but then HP held at love: 2-1. FG then came back with a hold at love, and HP held at 30 on their 2nd chance: 3-2. FG then went up 40-0 and finally held at 30, then HP held at 15 on their 2nd chance: 4-3. FG then went up 40-15, and finally held through 3 deuces on their 4th chance (HP had one break chance): 5-3. Then HP held at 30 on their 1st chance: 5-4. Then FG, serving for the set, went up 40-0 (triple set point!), but HP got the break through 3 deuces on their 3rd chance: 5-5. (This game may have been the game of the match, so to speak, unfortunately.) Then HP held at 15 on their 1st chance, and FG held at love: 6-6.
In the tie-break, holds produced 1-1, then HP got the mini-break for 1-2. Holds from then on gave the 1st set to HP: 6-7(5-7). Oh well....
In the 2nd set, FG were broken at 30, but then broke back, also at 30: 1-1. FG then went down 30-40 but held through a deuce: 2-1. HP then went up 40-0, and finally held at 30 on their 3rd chance. Then HP got the break through 2 deuces on their 3rd chance (FG had no hold chance): 2-3. A 1st chance hold and a 1st chance break, both at 15, put HP up 2-5, serving for the match. But FG got the break at 30 on their 2nd chance, then held at love for 4-5. But then HP took the match with a hold through a deuce on their 2nd chance: 4-6. Oh well....
This was a very close match. Besides the 3 set points in the 1st set, FG were only 2 points from putting the 2nd set back on serve in that last game. Hantuchova and Petrova both seem to be quite good players, and that is good for the game. Will they have careers as good as Alexandra's and Rita's have been? Statistically, probably not - although I hope they do, for the good of the game. Will HP be a great team like FG are? Probably not, but maybe.
So this was a loss for FG - that's OK, they are still a great team - maybe a top-8 team in the year-end championships. It is a good win for HP. Are they a top-8 year-end team? No.
This coming week is US Open qualifying in New York for Alexandra. For some reason, I have a very good feeling about this.
Play well, Alexandra, OK? And be you, and have fun, and WIN, OK?
Tuesday 8/21/01
Alexandra got a very good and nice win in New York today! YEA!
Alexandra defeated Alyssa Cohen in 1st round US Open Qualifying today: 6-0, 6-3. YEA!
Some (but not me) will say this is just an "expected" result - Alexandra is seeded #29 in Qualifying, Cohen was unseeded - Alexandra is ranked #142, Cohen #449 - Alexandra has earnings of almost $1.5M, Cohen is at about $7K. Here's what I say: Cohen is actually a quite good 18 year-old player making an impressive march up the rankings - she may well be ranked 150ish a year from now - Cohen showed impressive spirit in today's match. Meanwhile, Alexandra is actually a top 50 player, and is clearly playing at that level lately, and demonstrated it clearly today. So today was not #142 over #449, but more like #50 over #150, in my humble opinion.
It went like this (AC served 1st): 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3. YEA!
In the 1st set, AC went up 40-30, then got the ad after the 1st deuce, but AF got the break after the 4th deuce on her 3rd chance. Then AF went up 40-0 and finally held at 30: 2-0. A 2nd break, this time at love(!), put AF up 3-0. Then AF went down 30-40, but the hold was recorded after 3 deuces on AF's 3rd chance: 4-0. Another break at love, and a hold at love, gave the 1st set to AF: 6-0. YEA!
In the 2nd set, AC held at 30 on her 1st chance, then AF held at love: 1-1. Then AF got the break through a deuce on her 2nd chance, but AC got the break back at 30 on her 1st chance: 2-2 - back on serve. I don't have any detail about the next game, except AC held through at least 1 deuce: 2-3. Then AF held at love, broke at love, and held at 30 on her 3rd chance: 5-3. In the final game (which is unclear), it looks like AC had a hold chance at 40-30, then got the ad after the 1st deuce. Then, after deuce #2 it looked like a point initially awarded to AC was reconsidered and awarded to AF. There then followed a deuce #3, with AF getting the break, and set, and match, on her 2nd chance: 6-3. YEA!
OK, I wasn't there, but here is what I saw: although Alyssa Cohen has some very good spirit, Alexandra's VERY GREAT SPIRIT is still entirely there, as I expect it will always be. And Alexandra is playing VERY GOOD Singles lately, maybe better than she has ever played. Consider this: 3 love breaks and 3 love holds. WOW! And of the 5 games that went to deuce, Alexandra won 4. WOW!
Perhaps the best thing that I saw today is a very strong indication that Alexandra is lately serving very, very well. Good serving is a GOOD THING! YEAH!
2nd round will be vs. 20 year-old Anastassia Rodionova of Russia. Rodionova (unseeded), ranked #220, got an impressive upset 1st round win over (unseeded) 25 year-old Nirupama Vaidyanathan of India, ranked #180: 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Their career earnings, respectively: 35k and 170k.
My prediction: Alexandra WILL WIN AGAIN!
Thursday 8/23/01
Alexandra got another VERY GOOD and nice win in New York today! YEA!
Today's victory for Alexandra was over Anastassia Rodionova in 2nd round US Open Qualifying: 6-4, 6-2. YEA!
And there was yet more evidence that Alexandra is playing very well lately, with good serving and much SPIRIT! For instance, Alexandra got 2 love holds and 2 love breaks, and won 5 of the 8 games that went through deuce. Impressive!
It went like this (AR served 1st): 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 6-4, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 5-2, 6-2. YEA!
In the 1st set, AR went up 40-0, then finally held at 30. Then AF went down 15-40, but finally held after 2 deuces on her 2nd chance: 1-1. AR then held after 2 deuces on her 1st chance (AF had 2 break chances), then AF held at love(!): 2-2. Then Alexandra got a break through deuce on her 2nd chance, but AR got the break back, at 15: 3-3. Then Alexandra, again, went up a break, but this time at love(!): 4-3. A pair of holds at 15 (2nd chance for AF, 1st chance for AR), and a love hold(!), gave set #1 to Alexandra: 6-4. YEA!
In the 2nd set, Alexandra got the break through a deuce on her 2nd chance, then held at 30 for a 2-0 lead. AR then held through a deuce on her 2nd chance, and AF did likewise: 3-1. Alexandra then got a 2nd break, this time at love(!), and held at 30 on her 1st chance: 5-1. AR then went up 40-15, and finally held through a deuce on her 3rd chance: 5-2. Then Alexandra did likewise, for the match: 6-2. YEA!
This win today is at least as impressive as Tuesday's, and is additional convincing evidence that Alexandra is doing VERY GOOD THINGS in New York this week. YEA!
Next (3rd round) is vs. unseeded Samantha Reeves, probably tomorrow. Reeves is a 22 year-old American, ranked #195, with $261k in career earnings (not bad for a 22 year-old, actually). Her career high rank is #100, and she has earned only about $17k in singles so far this year, about half of Alexandra's current singles earnings for 2001. All this is in no way to minimize the abilities of Samantha Reeves. Reeves is a talented and dangerous player, who has demonstrated that convincingly in her own march to 3rd round.
SO: regarding Fusai vs. Reeves, I believe, and suspect, and expect, that both will play well, have fun, and ALEXANDRA WILL WIN!
Friday 8/24/01
Regarding Alexandra's 3rd (and Final) Round Qualifying match at the US open in New York today, this is appropriate to say: WOW, WOW, and a 1000 times WOW! Also: YEA, YEA, and a 1000 times YEA!
Alexandra has Qualified! YEA!
This was yet another "once-in-a-lifetime" Alexandra match (have there been hundreds now?!). Although her serve seemed not so awesome as it seemed in this week's previous 2 matches, Alexandra's SPIRIT seemed larger than the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty combined! This was yet another AF match which everyone watching will never forget, ever!
Today, in New York, at the 3rd and Final round of US Open Qualifying, Alexandra Fusai defeated Samantha Reeves: 6-3, 7-5. YEA!
Therein lies a tale, to put it mildly!
I suspect, before the players arrived, about 1/3rd of those taking seats were Fusai fans, maybe 1/2 having become so just this week from having seen her victories in the 2 rounds preceding, and 1/2 being fans from having seen her play prior to this week. Likewise, 1/3rd were Reeves fans, for basically the same reasons. The final 1/3rd were just looking for a place to sit somewhere, or maybe heard that this would be a likely very good place to sit for a while.
When the players arrived, all saw that Reeves is plenty cute, but Alexandra is truly beautiful. While beauty has nothing whatsoever to do with winning matches, it is not in any way a thing for Alexandra to feel bad about. For some reason, I'm reminded of a Bill Cosby line from the 60's (when he was basically unknown): "It's no shame to be poor, but it's no great honor either!".
If only 30%, or so, in those grandstand seats were FusaiFans before the players appeared, I suspect 90%+ were FusaiFans when the players left after the match. And I suspect many Reeves fans became also Fusai fans, and vice versa. And I suspect many fans of neither became fans of both after seeing today's INCREDIBLE match.
ANYWAY: this is how it went (SR served 1st): 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5, 7-5. YEA!
For complicated reasons, I have no details of the 1st game, except that Alexandra went up a break. Then SR got the break back at 30 on her 1st chance: 1-1. Then Alexandra regained the 1 break lead with a break at 15 on her 2nd chance, then held at love for 3-1. But then SR also held at love, then got the break back through 2 deuces on her 2nd chance (AF had 1 hold chance): 3-3 - back on serve. Then SR went up 40-15, but AF again(!) went up a break after 4(!) deuces on her 3rd chance (SR had 3 hold chances): 4-3. A hold at 15 (1st chance) and a break at 15 (2nd chance) gave the 1st set to Alexandra: 6-3. YEA!
About this set, it is interesting that 6 of the 9 games were breaks - neither player seemed to be serving well. Yet each player had a love hold (games 4 and 5). Each player took a deuce game - both were breaks. Then there were the last 2 games of the set: the hold at 15 (1st chance) and the break at 15 (2nd chance) which gave set #1, very impressively, to AF. Also, AF won the last 3 games of this set break-hold-break. IMPRESSIVE!
So the 1st set was plenty dramatic, but then there was the 2nd set!
In the 2nd set, Alexandra held the 1st game through a deuce on her 2nd chance, then had a break chance, but Reeves also held through a deuce: 1-1. Then Alexandra went up 40-15, finally holding through 2 deuces on her 3rd chance (SR had a break chance). SR then held at 30 and broke Alexandra at 15 on her 1st chance: 2-3. But AF broke back through 2 deuces on her 4th chance: 3-3 - back on serve. But then SR went up a break, again, (at 15, 1st chance) and held at love: 3-5. Uh-oh. Then Alexandra went down 0-40, giving SR triple set point, but 5 straight points from AF brought the hold through a deuce: 4-5. Then SR, serving for the set, went up 40-15 (double set point), but AF came back to deuce, then SR got another set point, but AF put the set back on serve with a break after deuce #2 (1st chance): 5-5. Alexandra then went down 15-40, but held through 2 deuces on her 2nd chance: 6-5. A break at 30 (2nd chance) gave the set, and match to AF: 7-5. YEA and WOWIE-ZOWIE!
I hope there were sufficient defibillators available to restart all the stopped hearts in the stands during this match!
In this 2nd set, 7 of the 12 games passed through deuce at least once. There were 5 breaks. SR saw 6 set points (AF saw 2). And Alexandra, down 3-5, took the match by winning 4 straight games, hold-break-hold-break. WOW!
I suspect that, after the match, as the players shook hands across the net, the roar of the crowd could be clearly heard in middle New Jersey, and in Connecticut, too!
I can imagine Nathalie Tauziat, sitting outside in New Haven, hearing the roar, and thinking, "Oh good, Alexandra qualified!".
And I am basically 100% certain that this occurred: Alexandra, sitting in her chair, looked at some fan, with that wonderful little grin of hers, and telepathically asked two simple rhetorical questions: "Did you enjoy that? Was that exciting enough for you?".
At this time, I don't know who Alexandra will face in 1st round Main Draw. But whoever it is, Alexandra, WIN AGAIN, ok? Winning is FUN, eh?
By the way: regarding the Main Draw: I very much like the idea of 32 seeds, but I think qualifiers should be similarly "protected", at least in the 1st round. Instead, qualifiers will face the likes of Capriati, Dementieva, and V. Williams in 1st round. I think this is bad for the fans, bad for the game, and bad for the players, even the seeded players. Just my opinion.....
In Doubles, Fusai/Grande are seeded #8 and face unseeded Els Callens/Chanda Rubin in 1st round. Callens and Rubin are both very good players, but FG is a GREAT team! Win, FG, WIN!
Congratulations, Alexandra! YOU DA BOMB!
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