The Scoop: wednesday, july 14

Lindsay: Seles is finished
Also: Kostanic on rowdy Brazilians, Schiavone on losing to France

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Ron Cioffi/tr.net

Monica hasn't shown good form in recent WTT play.

FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC – Lindsay Davenport says that nine-times Monica Seles is finished as competitor on the WTA Tour.

"I think she’s done," Davenport said. "I think she’s loved her last year and won’t go out there and play unless she’s the good Monica that’s everyone’s used to. I’d put it [a comeback] at five percent."

Playing singles for the World TeamTennis New York Sporttimes over the past week, Seles was blitzed 5-0 by the NY Buzz’s Viktoriya Kutuzova and then 5-1 by Newport Beach’s Anniko Kapros.

"She’s not winning games," Davenport said. "I know she’s been enjoying her life the last year and not practicing at all. I know she didn’t’ enjoy her last two TeamTennis matches because she’s so proud of her tennis. Monica would never lose like that [at the top of her game]. She’s so good."

She’ll be sorely missed. "The fans loved her more the last few years that she played than when she was dominating," Davenport said. Seles hasn’t played since the '03 Roland Garros due to multiple foot injuries.

Kostanic on rowdy Brazilians
While Karolina Sprem is the Croatian flavor of the month due to her impressive run at Wimbledon, countrywoman Jelena Kostanic should be given props for heading to Sao Paolo, Brazil last weekend and notching two singles victories in her nation’s 4-1 win.

The lefty will play the seriously slumping American qualifier Ashley Harkleroad in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic on Wednesday and is looking to show that she can be an elite player. "When I play well, I belong," said Kostanic, who is ranked a career high No. 38. "But tennis is about being consistent throughout the year."

The hard-hitting all-courter has the unenviable task of facing down a hostile Brazilian crowd in what she called a poorly organized tie, which went indoors after rains soaked the outdoor court. Sprem was a no show, so Kostanic became the team leader. After Ivana Abramovic went down to quickly Maria Fernanda-Alves, she knew it was time to step up. "The first day after Abramovic hit three double faults the Brazilian team was jumping up and down and clapping and shouting. I was really surprised. It’s not close to sportmanslike."

Ron Cioffi/ tr.net

Jelena K. is at a career high.

But Kostanic wasn’t fazed and blew out Bruna Colosio. The next day, she wasted Alves.

"I was above the crowd and above it all," she said. "It’s in the head how you deal with it. I felt good on court. I played well because now I have experience and know how to react and cope with the situations."

The 23-year-old never considered skipping the tie. She’s been a true Fed Cup warrior, playing 20 matches over her five-year career. You don’t find a lot of players doing that. "I had no choice. I was only one and I like playing team events," she said.

Kostanic is better than she’ll publicly say she is. She’s a former Aussie Open junior titlist, won four ITF titles and last year reached the Helinski final. With Iva Majoli having retired last month, all eyes in her tennis rich nation are on she and Sprem.

"The press always put pressure on me as to when I was going to get into Top 50 and that I belong there," she said. "I put too much pressure on myself in the past and then I didn’t play well. Plus I was playing injured and then losing and then lost confidence. It’s hard because there are so many players wanting to do the same thing. The level is going up every day. I can improve many things. Last year at this time I was ranked 130 with no confidence. So much of it’s in your head. But mentally I’m better now."

Schiavone on losing to France
Italy’s animated Francesca Schiavone also stopped by after the Fed Cup wars, but her results weren’t as impressive as Kostanic’s. Of course, it’s easier to face down Colosia than it is Mary Pierce and Amelie Mauresmo. But, Italy was playing at home and with Top-20 player Silvia Farina-Elia as her teammate, they gave themselves a good chance going into the tie against defending champs.
But no go, as Schiavone – who has been dealing with a right shoulder injury – lost both her matches to Pierce on Saturday and then to Mauresmo 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 on Sunday. Mauresmo took care of Farina-Elia on Saturday. "The pressure was difficult," Schiavone said. "I played Amelie tough, but she played better on the big points. I would have had to have played great to beat her."

The 17th-tanked Schiavone is the fourth seed here and is hoping to match her fine results on hard courts last summer. She’s says that she’s healthy again and should be able to crank it up on her serve and forehand. "Hard courts are my favorite surface," she said. "If I can organize my game well, maybe I can do something important this summer."

Andre’s 800th Victory
Congrats to Andre Agassi on his 800th win, a 6-3, 6-1 stomping of Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-3, 6-1 at the Mercedes-Benz-Cup in LA on Tuesday. Contrary to the CW that this is his last year, Agassi told tennisreporters.net friend Paul "Costanza" Levine of the SportsTicker and DPA that he won’t call it quits after the US Open.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Andre takes No 800.