french open ladies' final 2006
8- svetlana kuznetsova vs.
10- anastasia myskina
Women's draw: the luck of the draw favours Amelie
By Benjamin Waldbaum and David Spratt
Friday, May 26, 2006
While the draw for the 2006 women's singles title was very kind to world n°1 Amélie Mauresmo, there will be a battle royal going on in the bottom half of the draw.
Rafael Nadal's left hand definitely brought Amélie Mauresmo some luck, not that she particularly needs it. While the main draw at the Tenniseum tennis museum at Roland Garros was done by computer, the Spanish title-holder had the pleasant task of drawing the 32 seeds by hand. And Amélie, who for the first time will be both seeded and ranked n°1 in the world going into a Grand Slam tournament, can be very grateful to Rafa for giving her a clear path to the final - providing she gets through a tough-looking tie in the first round.
Mauresmo's opening match will be against American Meghann Shaughnessy, world n°11 in 2001 and winner of the recent Rabat tournament. The French favourite has won the past three meetings between the two women, however, without so much as dropping a set. After that, she is on course to avoid all of her least favourite opponents, and instead face n°25 seed Marion Bartoli in the third round and Czech Nicole Vaidisova (n°16) in the Round of 16, as was the case when she won the Australian Open.
Big names congregating at the bottom
Things will start hotting up by the quarter finals, when she should face n°7 seed Patty Schnyder, unless Venus Williams (n°11) has already dealt with the Swiss Miss. Come the semi-finals, then Amélie is scheduled to meet Maria Sharapova (n°4), or perhaps Svetlana Kuznetsova (n°8) for a place in the final. Kuznetsova overcame Mauresmo in the semis at Miami this year before going on to win the tournament, but has failed to make it past the Round of 16 the last two years at the French Open (though on both occasions she had match points against the woman who would eventually go on to win the tournament…)
Should the world n°1 make it all the way through to the final on Saturday 10 June, whom she will end up facing is anyone's guess. In theory, it should be n°2 seed Kim Clijsters, who reached the final in 2001 and 2003.
Past winners and world number ones abound
To get that far, however, Clijsters will have to get through a potential quarter final against 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva (n°6), provided that the Russian has already got past Martina Hingis (n°12)… The Swiss former world n°1 has been amazing since making her comeback in January, topping it all off with a recent win in Rome.
The other quarter final is also wide open. N°3 seed Nadia Petrova is widely tipped after her recent wins on clay at Amelia Island, Charleston et Berlin, and is scheduled to meet the women she beat in Germany, last year's French open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne (n°5).
Amélie, Ana or Anastasia?
That the Belgian makes it through to the last eight is by no means a certainty, since she is on course to face the 2004 winner Anastasia Myskina (n°10) in the last 16, unless, of course, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic (n°19) provides a few shocks, as she did in last year's tournament when she ousted none other than… Mauresmo in the third round.
The ones to watch in the first round
Mauresmo (n°1) - Shaughnessy
Sugiyama (n°22) - Daniilidou
Domachowska - Vaidisova (n°16)
Krajicek - Schnyder (n°7)
Zvonareva - Safina (n°14)
Mirza - Myskina (n°10)
Golovin (n°23) - Zheng
Razzano - Clijsters (n°2)
Possible Round of 16
Top half of the draw
Mauresmo (n°1) - Vaidisova (n°16)
V. Williams (n°11) - Schnyder (n°7)
Good outside bets: Jelena Jankovic, Elena Likhovtseva (n°18).
Sharapova (n°4) - Safina (n°14)
Schiavone (n°9) - Kuznetsova (n°8)
Good outside bets: Benesova, Srebotnik (n°24), Smashnova, Zvonareva, Pennetta (n°17), Chakvetadze (n°27).
Bottom half of the draw
Henin-Hardenne (n°5) - Myskina (n°10)
Grönefeld (n°13) - Petrova (n°3)
Good outside bets: Ivanovic (n°19), Kirilenko (n°20), Dulko (n°32).
Dementieva (n°6) - Hingis (n°12)
Hantuchova (n°15) - Clijsters (n°2)
Good outside bets: Kutuzova, Golovin (n°23), Zheng, Medina Garrigues (n°26).
10- anastasia myskina
Women's draw: the luck of the draw favours Amelie
By Benjamin Waldbaum and David Spratt
Friday, May 26, 2006
While the draw for the 2006 women's singles title was very kind to world n°1 Amélie Mauresmo, there will be a battle royal going on in the bottom half of the draw.
Rafael Nadal's left hand definitely brought Amélie Mauresmo some luck, not that she particularly needs it. While the main draw at the Tenniseum tennis museum at Roland Garros was done by computer, the Spanish title-holder had the pleasant task of drawing the 32 seeds by hand. And Amélie, who for the first time will be both seeded and ranked n°1 in the world going into a Grand Slam tournament, can be very grateful to Rafa for giving her a clear path to the final - providing she gets through a tough-looking tie in the first round.
Mauresmo's opening match will be against American Meghann Shaughnessy, world n°11 in 2001 and winner of the recent Rabat tournament. The French favourite has won the past three meetings between the two women, however, without so much as dropping a set. After that, she is on course to avoid all of her least favourite opponents, and instead face n°25 seed Marion Bartoli in the third round and Czech Nicole Vaidisova (n°16) in the Round of 16, as was the case when she won the Australian Open.
Big names congregating at the bottom
Things will start hotting up by the quarter finals, when she should face n°7 seed Patty Schnyder, unless Venus Williams (n°11) has already dealt with the Swiss Miss. Come the semi-finals, then Amélie is scheduled to meet Maria Sharapova (n°4), or perhaps Svetlana Kuznetsova (n°8) for a place in the final. Kuznetsova overcame Mauresmo in the semis at Miami this year before going on to win the tournament, but has failed to make it past the Round of 16 the last two years at the French Open (though on both occasions she had match points against the woman who would eventually go on to win the tournament…)
Should the world n°1 make it all the way through to the final on Saturday 10 June, whom she will end up facing is anyone's guess. In theory, it should be n°2 seed Kim Clijsters, who reached the final in 2001 and 2003.
Past winners and world number ones abound
To get that far, however, Clijsters will have to get through a potential quarter final against 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva (n°6), provided that the Russian has already got past Martina Hingis (n°12)… The Swiss former world n°1 has been amazing since making her comeback in January, topping it all off with a recent win in Rome.
The other quarter final is also wide open. N°3 seed Nadia Petrova is widely tipped after her recent wins on clay at Amelia Island, Charleston et Berlin, and is scheduled to meet the women she beat in Germany, last year's French open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne (n°5).
Amélie, Ana or Anastasia?
That the Belgian makes it through to the last eight is by no means a certainty, since she is on course to face the 2004 winner Anastasia Myskina (n°10) in the last 16, unless, of course, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic (n°19) provides a few shocks, as she did in last year's tournament when she ousted none other than… Mauresmo in the third round.
The ones to watch in the first round
Mauresmo (n°1) - Shaughnessy
Sugiyama (n°22) - Daniilidou
Domachowska - Vaidisova (n°16)
Krajicek - Schnyder (n°7)
Zvonareva - Safina (n°14)
Mirza - Myskina (n°10)
Golovin (n°23) - Zheng
Razzano - Clijsters (n°2)
Possible Round of 16
Top half of the draw
Mauresmo (n°1) - Vaidisova (n°16)
V. Williams (n°11) - Schnyder (n°7)
Good outside bets: Jelena Jankovic, Elena Likhovtseva (n°18).
Sharapova (n°4) - Safina (n°14)
Schiavone (n°9) - Kuznetsova (n°8)
Good outside bets: Benesova, Srebotnik (n°24), Smashnova, Zvonareva, Pennetta (n°17), Chakvetadze (n°27).
Bottom half of the draw
Henin-Hardenne (n°5) - Myskina (n°10)
Grönefeld (n°13) - Petrova (n°3)
Good outside bets: Ivanovic (n°19), Kirilenko (n°20), Dulko (n°32).
Dementieva (n°6) - Hingis (n°12)
Hantuchova (n°15) - Clijsters (n°2)
Good outside bets: Kutuzova, Golovin (n°23), Zheng, Medina Garrigues (n°26).