NOTES ON A DRAW SHEET

Raymond tries to fulfill potential
Jelena's brunt; Lindsay's fresh; Kim comes together and the Jankovic report

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Ron Cioffi tennisreporters.net

FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC – How shocking was Lisa Raymond's 6-4 6-2 wipeout of Monica Seles in the Bank of the West quarters? Very, if you consider that Raymond hadn't beaten a healthy, notable player all year and that's she's just a couple weeks from her 29th birthday. Moreover, Raymond was crushed at Wimbledon by Venus Williams and appeared to content with mediocre singles results and multiple doubles titles with her partner, Rennae Stubbs.

But the slow-moving Monica was there for the taking and Lisa sliced her up form the backhand side, powered eight aces, whipped numerous forehand winners and didn't choke, something she has been prone to in the past.

BEST WIN OF 2002
The No. 28 ranked Raymond said it was her biggest win of the year.

"Definitely," she said. "I have so much respect for Monica and to able to maintain that level of tennis shows me that all the hard work I've been putting in is paying off. In the past, I had a defeatist attitude against the top players. I went out there and didn't think I deserved to be on the same court with them. Not my tennis is starting to come out and I believe in myself."

Ten years ago, the volleying demon Raymond came out of college as a two- time NCAA singles champ and with a quick, all-around game, was tabbed by Mary Carillo to be a sure fire top-five player. Carillo was right about her game, but it's always difficult to tell how someone will fare under the big spotlight mentally. Raymond has all but melted in singles and the list of winnable big matches that she let go of would take up the rest of this column.

For the past year, she's been working with former ATP Tour player David Dilucia and, on Friday, she at least briefly looked like a top-10 threat. "It's been a long process, "Raymond said. "I've been taking a couple steps forward and one step back. I'll take a lot of of confidence form this match."

Raymond wouldn't say whether she has something to prove to Venus, who killed her in their only two meetings. But should she play her in the semis, at least pushing her hard in one set would be enough to get back some pride. "I need to prove something to myself, not to anyone else," Raymond said.

It wouldn't be fair to bury Seles for the rest of the summer after her sleep walked through the loss, but one thing is for sure: She's playing way too many tournaments for her age (28) and health (she always a little fragile). Why she doesn't cut back to 14 tournaments/events a year is beyond me. It is of no benefit to her to be grinding at this point in her career. What she should be doing is taking off three weeks after Wimbledon and playing two warm-up events going into the Open. She's looks a little burnt out.

Jelena's brunt
Speaking of someone who looks like they have been left on a short-order cook's grill for too long, Jelena Dokic looked awful in her 6-2, 6-2 loss to the happy-to-destroy-her Lindsay Davenport. As we have written before, Jelena plays way too many events and now appears to have lost her desire.

"She played pretty much at the same level she did last year," said Dokic, who has now lost to Lindsay in all seven of their meetings and says she a little physically tired. "I didn't play my best or move well, but she had a lot to do with that. She made it hard for me to get a rhythm. I haven't played a player who hits that hard for a while. She's right up there with the Williamses."

Lindsay's fresh

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

How well is Lindsay Davenport playing? About as well as she has when she won the '00 Aussie Open and ruled the tour for a few months. Davenport – who entered this tournament not having competed in a regular tour event in nine months due to a knee injury – was never pushed by Jelena and is moving with the vigor of a toddler after lapping up a super-size lollipop. She's trim, she's happy and she's overjoyed to rejoin the tour just when everyone else would rather be napping on the beach.

"I'm amazed," said Davenport. "I didn't know what to expect this weekend. Everything feels normal again, it just seems to be falling into place. There's no doubt that it's a tough sport and these girls have been playing all year," Davenport said. "This is the time you normally get tired and I feel rejuvenated. I feel really fit. I tried to strengthen everything during my time off so I'm not susceptible to the things that used to bother me. I've been putting in a lot of hours on the practice court trying to make sure that my comeback is easier."

Despite not winning a Grand Slam last year, the 26-year-old Davenport ended 2001 ranked No. 1, for the second time in her storied career. But the the three-time Grand Slam champion never considered an early retirement.

"Not really," she said. "It was nice to be at home and not to travel, and not have the pressure, but I missed playing a lot. It never crossed my mind not to come back. This is a new challenge."

Kim comes together
With the win, Davenport earned herself a rematch of last year's final against defending champion Kim Clijsters, who took out 17-year-old Yugoslav and wild card Jelena Jankovic, 7-5, 6-3. Clijsters – who played terribly and was taken out early at Roland Garros and Wimbledon – said that her sore shoulder and arm appears to have healed and that she's feels her best tennis is coming.

"I'm playing much better than I was at French and Wimbledon," said Clijsters. " Last year I wasn't expecting anything out of myself and wasn't thinking my results as much, but now that I'm a higher ranked player and have points to defend, it's tougher. But I like the challenge."

Clijsters knocked off Davenport here in last year's final. Still, Davenport has won their other six matches, including a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory in the quarters of the Sanex WTA Championships last year in Munich, Lindsay's last match before she injured her knee in the semifinals against Serena Williams.

"Kim's very fast and gets back a a lot of balls that other girls wouldn't, plus she gets them back with power," Davenport said. "She's a step up from Jelena and I'm going to have to raise my level."

Clijsters said that she'll need to crack up her serve against Davenport ("I can serve it 110 mph, you know.") and try to exploit her taller opponent's lack of movement. "She's looks fitter than she ever has and is moving great, but I still have to try to get her running," Clijsters said. "I know I have to play my best to beat her."

Moreover, Clijsters needs to compete better than she the past six weeks. She spoke of how she admired her boyfriend Lleyton's Hewitt's ability to focus like a hawk during big events. "For me to get to Lleyton's level would be very hard since most of the men can't get there," Clijsters said. The way he motivates himself, prepares for matches and fights, he's really competitive."

By the way, if Lleyton was sick enough to have to pull out of L.A. with a stomach virus, why was he sitting under an intense sun for more than an hour while Kim played? There were a few spots in shade.

Jankovic, the '001 Australian Open junior champion, gave Clijsters all she could handle with her heavy ground strokes in the first set, but the 19-year-old Belgian stepped up her level at 5-5 in the first set and then went on a tear, leaping at the ball with ferocity and powering winners to all angles of the court.

"At 5-5 I thought I could win the set but she had more power and I got tired and my concentration went down," said Jankovic, who played late in the night on Thursday in downing Daja Bedanova and the was forced to come back 14 hours later and face Clijsters. "She really hits hard and I've never had to play a night match and then come back in the day before. But that's no excuse."

The Jankovic report
Here's the scouting report on the Jankovic, who upset seventh-seeded Bedanova in the the tournament's most dramatic match: She's a good fighter, solid off both wings, moves very well and can crack her forehand. As Kim said, she needs to improve her serve, but she's a fine all-around player who has more than a decent future.

Jankovic has been in the U.S. for four years, training at Bollettieri's (she's an IMG client) and has scored some decent wins in Challengers this year. Because of the Sanex WTA Tour's Age Eligibility Rule, she can only play four more tournaments until she turns 18 in February. Let's hope she tried to qualify for the U.S. Open because he's already flashing top-40 stuff.

Plus, she's a dead ringer for Natasha Zvereva and lord knows that fans are hankering a return to the days when the Dancing Girl of Belarus would twirl about the court and strike sexy poses while she was playing well, and then gnash her teeth and give the finger to the crowd when she stunk up a joint. But oh well, Jankovic appears to be more even-keeled.