Big-match Nerves Still Mauresmo's Biggest Opponent
The Age
Thursday June 30, 2005
YOU could politely contrast the groundstrokes of Wimbledon semi-final opponents Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo. You could note their performances in previous rounds or scan their head-to-head record - 10-3 in Davenport's favour.
But if you want to cut to the chase, the answer to one harsh question will determine whether their match is a contest: will Mauresmo choke?That might not seem the most flattering thing to ask of a player seeded No. 3 and who has earned her third semi-final appearance here in four years with a succession of high-quality performances.It is, nonetheless, a query demanded by the Frenchwoman's poor record in big matches. Put politely, since reaching the final of the 1999 Australian Open the 25-year-old has failed to reap the grand slam rewards that should have come from her powerful physique and majestic single-handed backhand, largely because she does not have the temperament to match her game.Put impolitely, Mauresmo has become the game's new Jana Novotna, particularly at the French Open where the anxiety caused by her ambition to win the title and to live up to the high hopes of her French fans has led to her continually crumbling, failing to make it past the quarters in 11 attempts.The nicest spin to put on that is that, after years of anguish, Novotna finally won Wimbledon. Mauresmo again moved within two steps of the title by beating Anastasia Myskina 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. It was a performance that was impressive in the early stages, but a little disturbing towards the end when Mauresmo threw in a couple of double faults and missed an easy smash as she struggled to finish the job.Mauresmo's struggles in big matches are no secret and she even gained the sympathy of Davenport after the American had beaten Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 in her quarter-final."Besides the fact that I'm going to play her, I do believe in her, and I do believe she is good enough and strong enough to one day come through these situations," Davenport said."I hope it's not Thursday. We'll see what happens if it gets close. I'm certainly going to do my best and keep trying and hanging in there even if I'm down against her. But I will say she does seem a little more relaxed this year than I have seen her in the past."But nobody is more relaxed than Davenport, who left Wimbledon last year thinking she may have played here for the last time and has returned with the world No. 1 ranking and the chance to add to her 1999 Wimbledon title.If so, it would be her first grand slam title since the 2000 Australian Open and bring an end to a period in which it seemed injuries and the improved depth of the game seemed to have overtaken Davenport.Yet, at 29, having forsaken the practice court for the gymnasium, she believes she is playing better than when she was winning grand slams. "There's no question that, physically, I'm a better athlete and I believe a smarter player and so is everyone else," she said.
© 2005 The Age
