Alexandra Fusai News

Alexandra Fusai 2001 News
Monday 8/27/01
Alexandra played 1st round Main Draw Singles at the US Open near New York, New York today. Alexandra, the Qualifier, currently WTA ranked #143, faced unseeded Nadia Petrova, WTA ranked #38. The match started around 2pm and finished close to 8pm - 6 hours. Huh?
Alexandra played VERY WELL! But it was ultimately Petrova who advanced: 6-4, 6-7(3-7), 6-2. Oh well....
It went like this (NP served 1st): 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5, 6-6 (0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 5-3, 6-3, 7-3), 7-6, 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 1-4, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6. Oh well....
In more detail: Alexandra got the break at love(!), then fought off a break chance to hold through a deuce: 2-0. Then ND held at love, and AF went up 40-15, but NP got the break back through 2 deuces on her 2nd chance: 2-2. Then Alexandra went up a break, again, this time at 15 on her 1st chance, then held at 15 on her 2nd chance: 4-2. Then NP held at 30 (1st chance), and broke at 30 (2nd chance): 4-4 - back on serve. Then AF went up 0-30, but NP held there (1st chance), then NP got the break, and set, at 30 (also 1st chance): 4-6. Oh well....
In the 2nd set, NP held at love, then got the break at 15 on her 2nd chance: 0-2. But then Alexandra broke back through 2 deuces (NP had 1 hold chance), then AF held through 2 deuces on her 3rd chance (NP had no break chance): 2-2 - back on serve. Holds at 15 (1st chance) and 15 (2nd chance) brought 3-3. Then NP held through a deuce (2nd chance), and AF held through 2 deuces (3rd chance): 4-4. Then NP held through a deuce (AF had 1 break chance), and AF held at 15 (1st chance): 5-5. Then AF got the break through 3 deuces (1st chance - NP had 3 hold chances): 6-5. But NP then broke back at 15 (1st chance): 6-6 - tie-break time!
In the tie-break, NP held her point, then AF held her 2 points: 2-1. Then AF got the mini-break, and NP held: 3-2. AF then held twice for 5-2. NP then held a point, then gave a 2nd mini-break to AF: 6-3. Alexandra then served the set point: 7-6(7-3). YEA!
For probably technical reasons, details of the early 3rd set are sketchy. Alexandra was broken in the 1st game (no details at all), then NP held (possibly at 30): 0-2. Then it looked like AF had at least 2 chances to hold, but the rain came with the score ad-NP. About 3 hours later, NP got the 2nd break (unknown details): 0-3. Then NP held at 30 (2nd chance) for 0-4. But then Alexandra held through 2 deuces on her 4th chance (NP had no break chance), then got a break back at 15 (1st chance): 2-4. But then NP re-broke at 30 (1st chance) and held at 15 (1st chance) for the set and match: 2-6. Oh well....
This was another VERY GOOD singles match for Alexandra. Petrova is clearly a very good player, 19-years-old, who seems to be quite maybe in a march to the top-20, maybe top-10. And if she'd lost, the Russkies probably would have killed her kid brother (just kidding!!!!). Maybe Alexandra played at a #38 level, but Nadia played at a #15 level? At least I think Alexandra played at a #50 level! I hope Nadia thanked her very much for a great 1st round workout.
Alexandra's 3 EXCELLENT qualifying wins, and today's match, provide yet more considerable evidence that Alexandra is playing VERY GOOD singles lately. The prospect of a major move up the singles ranking before the end of this year seems not at all unlikely to me.
VERY WELL DONE in US Open Singles this year, Alexandra!!
So now it's on to Doubles. I suspect the 1st round Fusai/Grande vs. Callens/Rubin match (maybe tomorrow) will be a good workout for FG - but FG will win because FG is a GREAT team! And I suspect Alexandra will enter the Mixed, because the Mixed is FUN!
(Now I feel a need to say some things not particularly AF-related, but related to today's play on other courts. 1st: USA Network should be greatly ashamed of their disparaging the efforts made today by Anca Barna and Rita Grande: Anca and Rita: YOU ROCK! 2nd: on behalf of Detroit: Corina: YOU ROCK! 3rd: now (after Alexandra's loss today) there is only 1 truly and clearly all-time GREAT player left in the main draw: Monica: YOU ROCK!)
(OK, Jelena may be all-time GREAT - we'll see..... Jelena: YOU ROCK! Maybe..... And actually I think you do, if you really want to.....)
(Also: WELL DONE to Ansley Cargill - GOOD EFFORT!)
Wednesday 8/29/01
Alexandra played 1st round Mixed Doubles at the US Open near New York, New York today. Alexandra teamed with Kevin Ullyet, and they faced the team of Ana Maria Medina Garrigues/Jeff Tarango.
Statistically, this looked like it would be a close match, and it turned out that it was.
Alexandra is ranked #20 in doubles, and is currently, and recently, ranked much higher in doubles than singles (although Alexandra is playing very good singles lately!). Kevin (from ZIM!) is likewise, and about Alexandra's age, with career earnings just a bit less than Alexandra's, currently ranked #25 in doubles. Ana is 19-years-old, playing the best tennis of her young life, with good earnings for a 19-year-old, but much less than the other 3 in this group-of-4, currently ranked #39 in doubles (and #59 in singles). Jeff is 33-years-old, with 3.5M(!) in career earnings, who seems to be a doubles-only player these days - his ranking is #14.
Not intending to offend anyone in any way, I will give these 2 teams the abbreviations FU and MT, respectively.
So FU has a higher combined doubles ranking of 45, compared to MT's combined doubles ranking of 53. MT has higher combined career earnings, mostly (actually entirely) because of Jeff's awesome total. So it looked like it would be a close match, and it was.
According to the US Open website, MT defeated FU 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6). That score is wrong - in my opinion, that score is VERY wrong.
Yes, FU took the 1st set 6-4, and MT took the 2nd set 6-2, but there was no 3rd set. Instead there was some sort of tie-break which was, near as I can tell, "first to 10, win by 2".
I strongly suspect that most people are even more ignorant than I am of these sorts of things, and they will see that score and think, "Wow! A very close 3rd set, then an 8-6 tie-break decided it!". They will be wrong to think that. There was no 3rd set at all, and it looked like it was a 10-6 "tie-break" (if it makes any sense to call it that) score. Even the Java Scoreboard was confused: it showed "Match Point" with the score 6-5.
This is just my opinion, but I think Mixed is "real" tennis, and there should be a real 3rd set. Furthermore, I think 3rd sets involving women (singles, doubles, and mixed) should not go to tie-break - they should be "win by two games". And men's singles and doubles should be likewise, in the 3rd or 5th sets. Just my opinion......
Anyway: it went like this (FU served 1st): 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4, 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 2-5, 2-6, "6-6" (0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4, 4-5, 5-5, 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, 5-9, 6-9, 6-10), "6-7". Oh well....
In more detail: in the 1st set, FU held (unknown details), then MT held through 3 deuces on their 2nd chance (FU had 2 break chances): 1-1. FU then held at 30 (1st chance) and MT held through a deuce (2nd chance): 2-2. Then FU held at 15 (2nd chance) and MT held through a deuce (2nd chance): 3-3. Then FU held at love, and MT held at 15 (1st chance): 4-4. Then FU held through a deuce (2nd chance) and broke at love for the set: 6-4. YEA!
In the 2nd set, FU held at 30 (1st chance), and MT did identically: 1-1. Then FU were broken at love, and MT went down 15-40, but MT held through a deuce on their 1st chance: 1-3. Then FU were again broken, this time at 30 (1st chance), and MT held at love: 1-5. Then FU held at 15 (1st chance), but MT took the 2nd set with a hold at 30 (2nd chance): 2-6.
So now it's 1-set-all and a 3rd set decides, right? NOT!
Suddenly, the score is 6-6, and FU were mini-broke: 0-1. Then MT held 2 points: 0-3. Then FU held 2: 2-3. Then FU got the mini-break back, and MT held a point: 3-4 - back on serve. Then FU held, then were mini-broke again: 4-5. Then MT were mini-broke, and held: 5-6 - back on serve. Then FU were mini-broke, twice: 5-8. Then MT held, and were mini-broke: 6-9. Then MT mini-broke, again, and took the match: 6-10. Oh well....
I just have to say, again, that this is not the right way to decide a match which is 1-set-all!
At the very, very, least I hope Alexandra had some very real, good, FUN today!
Anyway: if there is a "silver-lining" to this, it is that Alexandra can now "concentrate" on Fusai/Grande. FG are seeded #8, and face unseeded Els Callens/Chanda Rubin in 1st round, probably tomorrow. This looks to be a very "real" match, as both Callens and Rubin are very good players. Even so, I hope most of all, that this is a FUN match for FG! And for CR!
That said, I want to add this, with at least an equal hope: WIN, FG, WIN!!!!!
Friday 8/31/01
The Fusai/Grande match yesterday was, well, strange.....
It was Alexandra Fusai/Rita Grande (seeded #8) vs. Els Callens/Chanda Rubin (unseeded) in 1st round Main Draw Women's Doubles. Well, Callens/Rubin got the win: 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Oh well.....
It looked like both teams played well, with CR playing a bit better, as the score indicates. Callens and Rubin are both good players, and Rubin has been quite hot lately. I suspect some very good serves by Rubin were a real factor in the result. Even so, I still feel FG is the better team, although they were not quite yesterday. It was a strange match.
Due to "technical difficulties", I missed most of the 1st 4 games, so this is what I saw (CR served 1st): ?-?, ?-?, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 6-4, 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 3-6. Oh well....
In more detail, at 1-2 in the 1st set, FG held, possibly at love: 2-2. Then FG went up 0-30, but CR held through 2 deuces on their 3rd chance: 2-3. Then FG went up 40-15, but CR got the break through a deuce: 2-4. Then CR held at 30 and broke at 30 (both 1st chance) for the set: 2-6. Oh well.....
In the 2nd set, FG got the break at 30 (2nd chance), then CR broke back through 2 deuces on their 1st chance: 1-1. CR then held through a deuce on their 2nd chance, FG held at 30 (3rd chance), and CR held at love: 2-3. Then FG held through a deuce on their 2nd chance, and went up a break again through 2 deuces on their 3rd chance: 4-3. Then FG held at 15 (1st chance), CR held at love, and FG, serving for the set, fought off 2 break chances and finally held for the set after 2 deuces on their 1st chance: 6-4. YEA!
The 3rd set started very nicely for FG, with a love break and a 40-0 lead, but CR got the break back through 5(!) deuces on their 2nd chance (FG had 6 hold chances): 1-1. A hold at 30 and a break at 30 (both 1st chance) produced 1-3. Then CR went down 15-40, but came back to hold through 4 deuces on their 3rd chance (FG had 3 break chances): 1-4. Then FG were broken at 30 (1st chance) to go down 1-5. Some teams would now fold, with CR serving for the match, but not our FG! FG got a break back at 30, and a hold at 30 (both 1st chance) brought 3-5. But CR took the set, and match, with a hold at 15 (1st chance): 3-6. Oh well....
It looked like FG played quite well - better than the score indicates - but I suspect the difference was that Chanda was serving VERY well, and CR were better at capitalizing on chances than FG was.
So FG remains mere inches from showing to the world their GREATNESS as a team. My hunch is that very soon this "potential" will become "actual", and it will become clear to everyone that FG is a MAJOR team. Well, we'll see.....
All in all, this was a VERY GOOD US Open for Alexandra! The 3 Qualifying wins were EXCELLENT, and the 3 Main Draw losses were NOT BAD, actually QUITE GOOD!
Next for Alexandra (and Fusai/Grande) is probably the Brazil Open in Bahia, Brazil, South America, in about a week.
Play well, Alexandra! And HAVE FUN!
And if you want to stop by Hilton Head on your way, then dinner's on me, ok? And let's go sailing! Sailing is FUN!
Monday 9/17/01
This week, Alexandra is at the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, Japan, Asia. (It turns out that Alexandra, and Rita also, skipped the Brazil Open last week.)
In Tokyo, Alexandra has advanced to the 3rd (and final) round of qualifying with victories over Ryoko Takemura (in 1st round - YEA!) and Satomi Kinjo (in 2nd round - YEA!). (At this time, I am unable to discover scores of these 2 Alexandra victories.)
In 3rd (final) round qualifying, Alexandra faces Miho Saeki. In the 1st two rounds, Alexandra, seeded #3, defeated unseeded players. Saeki is seeded #7, and will probably play at the best of her ability, and will have that portion of the crowd rooting for her who did not become FusaiFans in Alexandra's earlier victories this week, at least in the beginning of the match. But Alexandra can get the crowd on her side in this match with a demonstration of her incredible SPIRIT.
Regardless, I suspect it will be a very hard-fought match, with qualifying a major prize, and Saeki having a chance to score an "upset".
So this is my humble advice to you, Alexandra: HAVE FUN, TAKE CARE, and PLAY WELL!
And WIN!
Meanwhile, Fusai/Grande are in the main-draw doubles (probably seeded, but I have no number at this time). In 1st round, FG face Alicia Molik/Nicole Pratt.
This is yet another tough 1st round for FG - Molik and Pratt are both very good, talented, creative players. But, again, I firmly believe that FG are the better team.
So WIN, FG, WIN! And HAVE FUN!
By the way, I recently came across some words about (and perhaps from) Alexandra on the FFT (French Federation of Tennis) site. Because my French is poor (my 2nd language is Spanish), I used "Babelfish" to translate, and it produced it's usual humorous gobbledygook. Still, it seemed that while Alexandra is indeed playing very good singles lately, and she knows it, and will try hard to break back into the top 100 before the end of this year, she is even more focused on getting Fusai/Grande into the top 8 of teams so they can be in the Munich championships. Both goals are attainable - theoretically both are even attainable this week. FG are currently ranked #10 and a very good run, or some quite good runs, could very well get them into the top 8 before Munich. And Alexandra seems to be clearly playing at a better than top 100 singles level lately, but getting there will require at least several more victories, maybe both before and after Munich. This too can happen, and the crowds who see it happen will enjoy every minute!
SO: Alexandra: please take care, be happy, and have fun. And I suspect winning is more fun that not winning. So WIN, OK?
Saturday 9/22/01
Alexandra had a good week at the Toyota in Tokyo, but she won't be playing in it tomorrow. Oh well to that - but playing on Saturday is a GOOD THING!
About a week ago, Alexandra, seeded #3 in Qualifying, got a nice 1st-round win over unseeded Ryoko Takemura: 6-3, 6-1. YEA! Perhaps not very exciting for the crowd, but watching Alexandra play well is always very nice!
In 2nd-round Qualifying, Alexandra got another very impressive win - this time over unseeded Satomi Kinjo: 6-1, 6-1. YEA! Again, probably not very exciting - just a GOOD SHOW!
In 3rd (Final) round Qualifying, Alexandra faced a seeded player, Miho Saeki, seeded #7. Well, this time the crowd got to see an exciting match (probably rooting loudly for the local, Saeki), and likely got a good look at Alexandra's amazing SPIRIT, but Saeki got the win: 6-2, 7-6(9-7). Oh well....
Even so, two very good wins, and a very close loss, provide yet more evidence that Alexandra is playing very good singles these days. That's a GOOD THING!
So it was then on to Main Draw Doubles with Fusai/Grande seeded #3.
In 1st round it was FG vs. Alicia Molik/Nicole Pratt, both good players, although unseeded (there were only 4 seeded teams). FG got the win, nicely: 7-5, 6-2! YEA!
In 2nd round (Quarterfinals) it was FG vs. Evie Dominikovic/Marlene Weingartner, also both good players, although also unseeded. FG got the win again, perhaps even more nicely: 6-2, 7-5. YEA!
In the Semi's, today, it was #3 seeded FG vs. #1 seeded Kim Clijsters/Ai Sugiyama. Sugiyama probably had the crowd with her very much, and is a consistently good player, probably not as good as Alexandra, but good. And Clijsters is, well, shall we say, "better than good". Clijsters/Anyone would probably be a powerful team, and Clijsters/Sugiyama is something more than that. Yet, even so, I think FG is the better team, and the crowd saw a close match, but it will be #1 seeded CS in the Finals tomorrow with a win today: 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Oh well....
But playing on Saturday is a GOOD THING! And two good Singles wins, and a close Singles loss, is GOOD! And two good Doubles wins, and a close Doubles loss, is also GOOD!
SO: it was a GOOD week for Alexandra: 4 wins, 2 losses, and both losses were close. And it was a GOOD week for Fusai/Grande: 2 wins and a close loss to the #1 seeded team. A GOOD week!
And, hopefully, much FUN!
Next for Alexandra is probably the Wismilak International in Bali, Indonesia, Asia. It may be "doubles-only" for Alexandra (Fusai/Grande, of course!), or perhaps Alexandra can get into Qualifying late, tomorrow, or even a Main-Draw slot. That would be nice, but I suspect that Alexandra knows that her good singles playing can continue unaffected after a week off, or even more, and I agree with her apparent priority in getting Fusai/Grande into the top 8 teams which will get into the Munich Championships. It will not be "easy" though, of course, as those currently in the top 8 will try hard to stay there, and those others close will also try hard to get there. Fusai/Grande are currently #10. But FG BELONG there!
This week's FG matches were a good step forward to Munich. And the Singles wins will be good for some points for Alexandra, at least. And 6 lucky crowds got to see Alexandra play - at least 4 of those matches were probably quite exciting. A GOOD week!
SO: Alexandra: please take care, be happy, and have fun, OK? Wherever you are, and whatever you do.....
Tuesday 9/25/01
Alexandra got a win today, but (maybe?) also a loss, at the Wismilak International in Bali, Indonesia, Asia.
In 1st-round Main Draw Singles Alexandra faced local wild-card Romana Tedjakusuma. It looks like Alexandra won this handily, 6-0, 6-2, to advance to the 2nd-round. YEA! Well done, Alexandra!
But there is then evidence on the web that Fusai/Grande (seeded #1) played their 1st-round match vs. Evie Dominikovic/Tamarine Tanasugarn - it looks like FG took the first set in a tie-break, 7-6(7-4), but DT took the next 2 sets: 7-5, 6-1. Oh well (if it's true).....
Last week's good play by FG took them from #10 to a #6 tie in the Munich numbers - if today was a real loss, then this is a setback. But there are still many weeks left for these Munich numbers to bounce around.....
In 2nd-round singles, Alexandra faces #2 seed Tamarine Tanasugarn - a bit of a rematch from doubles, perhaps. Tamarine is a bit of a "local hero" (she is Thai), and is currently, and rightly, ranked 30ish WTA. She is apparently a quite good, and consistently good, player.
Alexandra can win this! Alexandra has the talent and ability of any 30ish! And the SPIRIT of any top-10! Alexandra can win this! And it will be good, and appropriate!
Alexandra: HAVE FUN! And WIN!
Friday 9/28/01
Well, this turned out to be not a great week for Alexandra at the Wismilak International in Bali, Indonesia, Asia, but not really a bad week either.
Although there was only one win, and two losses, the win was (sort-of) quite good, and the losses were (sort-of) close. And Bali may be not a particularly bad place to spend some days off......
The win was a very nice 6-0, 6-2 victory in 1st-round main-draw over local wild card Romana Tedjakusuma. Granted, RT is not particularly high-ranked (#280), but this is still an impressive win, especially considering the circumstances and the score!
In 2nd round, Alexandra faced the #2 seed Tamarine Tanasugarn (ranked #29). TT served 1st, and Alexandra got the break, then 3 holds put Alexandra up 3-1. But then TT took 5 games in a row to take the 1st set: 6-3. Oh well.... The 2nd set was on serve at 2-2, but then TT swept 4 to take the set 6-2. Oh well... At least it looks like Alexandra gave TT a bit of a workout! That's good!
In between these 2 singles matches, it was 1st-round for #1 seeded Fusai/Grande. As "luck" would have it, this was vs. the unseeded team of Tamarine Tanasugarn (yes, the TT mentioned above) and Evie Dominikovic (who is rumored to be a fairly good and clever player, and had the experience of losing to Fusai/Grande last week). Well, FG took the 1st set in a tiebreak: 7-6(7-4). YEA! Then the 2nd set went to 5-5, but TD took it 7-5, then the match with a 6-1 3rd set. Oh well....
So that was it for FG this week. A (sort-of) close loss to a team probably well deserving of respect. That's ok. Not great, but ok....
So now for Alexandra (and, probably, Rita) it is back to Japan for the AIG Japan Open. FG will probably be seeded, again, and will hopefully have a better week this time.
Meanwhile, although Alexandra has apparently said that she is concentrating more on her Doubles than Singles, at least until Munich, I strongly suspect that Alexandra will still put her whole, incredible, SPIRIT into her Singles play - mostly because she just can't not!
Alexandra is seeded #4 in Qualifying and faces unseeded local Akiko Morigami (ranked #254) in 1st-round, maybe tomorrow.
Alexandra: WIN! And HAVE FUN!
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