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| January 14, 2002 | Monday | Shawwal 29, 1422 |
Walking wounded chase titles
MELBOURNE, Jan 13: Lleyton Hewitt, Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams, Goran Ivanisevic – going into Monday’s start of the $8.25 million Australian Open, the list of walking wounded is gold-plated.
With the start of the first Grand Slam of the season, fitness is a top topic around the grounds of Melbourne Park.
Already, lingering niggles from the end of the 2001 season just a month or so ago and a round of new problems which have already cropped up in a fortnight of 2002 play are threatening to dull the glow of competition.
Atop the list of human question marks is men’s top seed Hewitt. The 20-year-old, first Australian in a quarter-of-a-century to earn the top-seeded spot at the home Open, is hoping that the case of chicken pox which was discovered last week in Perth has run it s course enough for him to get onto court.
A testy and short-tempered Hewitt, surrounded by bodyguards, may not have spoken in public - by choice - for ten days or more - but rivals are not fooled that he’s in with a chance.
“People keep saying Agassi and Sampras have gone to sleep, but they keep winning titles and proving everyone wrong,” said American Andy Roddick, a rising young gun just a level below Hewitt in his tennis development.
“But on form you can’t go past Lleyton - he’s been winning everything under the sun since the U.S. Open. He’s got to be the favourite.”
Jennifer Capriati is defending the first Grand Slam title she ever won, here a year ago over Martina Hingis. But she pulled up with a right hip flexor injury in her quarter-final last week in Sydney.
However Capriati has been hitting without visible pain at Melbourne Park over the weekend and insists she’ll come right on the night when it counts.
“It’s really tight, but it should be OK,” said the top seed. “I had a problem with the left one in Hong Kong and it took a day or two with treatment.” The American opens against Silvija Talaja of Croatia.
Fifth seed Serena Williams had to quit a Sydney semi-final as she rolled over on her right ankle. Despite hobbling around on a cast Saturday, the American also painted an optimistic picture of here chances.
But she added with her own unique wording that she’d not compromise her fitness for a tournament start: “I’m not the type of player who would regress (compromise) my career for a match. The injury was pretty painful.” Officials said she had no more swelling, a positive sign.
Martina Hingis won the Sydney title for a third time a day after pulling out of the doubles final due to heat exhaustion. The diminutive Swiss will need all of her fitness in the later stages of the even as she meets up with some of the heavy hitters who have managed to get her number on court in recent years.
Hingis, with five grand Slam crowns, has not lifted a fresh one since Melbourne in 1999.
Ivanisevic, the Wimbledon winner, is experiencing a flare-up up his chronically inflamed left shoulder.
The Croatian has repeatedly putsurgery in fear that at age 30 it could mean the end of his career. He’s trying to hold on with pain pills as his ally for another or season or so.
The AceMaker is off one of his poorest serving efforts against Greg Rusedski at the weekend in Auck problem for me to serve 30 aces, but the next day it’s a problem,” said the tenth seed. “My arm is sore. I have a tear like Pat rafter plus my nerve is jammed.”
He’ll have to put his serve to a stern test in the first round against Czech Martin Dds who appear to be on welcome full form are Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. The pair of over-30 icons showed off their games at the weekend in the final at Kooyong, which Sampras won in three sets in swirling wind.
Agassi is aiming for a third strle Sampras, holder of a record 13 Grand Slam titles, is searching for his first trophy in more than 18 months.—dpa
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