TENNIS: Preview Of The 2000 U.S. Open Women’s Semifinals

This year’s semifinalists include 5-time Grand Slam winner and 1997 U.S. Open champion Martina Hingis, 3-time Grand Slam winner and 1998 U.S. Open champion Lindsay Davenport, single Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, and first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Elena Dementieva.

There will be some heavy firepower coming from this group as each is determined to earn a spot in the finals.

Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis has lost recent matches to both Williams sisters, and is working on improved fitness to combat their explosive power. She is winless in her last six Grand Slam events, and is hungry to capture a second U.S. Open title. Hingis has realized that she will never join the other top players in overpowering their opponents, mostly due to her size (Hingis is 5’7” compared to Venus Williams at 6’1” and Lindsay Davenport at 6’2”), and she has focused on getting stronger to take advantage of her finesse and all-court game.

In her first five matches, Hingis has not dropped a set, losing a total of 15 games with an average of 9 unforced errors per match. She defeated her third round opponent in 37 minutes, and averaged just over 51 minutes on court through five matches, the longest being 62 minutes with #6 seed Monica Seles.

Hingis last won a Grand Slam title at the 1999 Australian Open, and reached the finals of the French and Wimbledon that same year. She won the U.S. Open title in 1997, and has lost in the finals the past two years.

Lindsay Davenport

Lindsay Davenport struggled during the summer hardcourt season leading up to the U.S. Open with the Williams sisters and with injury. She appears now to be injury-free, and gaining confidence with each match win at the Open. After dominating the California tournaments during the summer of 1999, she failed to win a title going into this year’s Open.

Davenport was tested in her second round match with Kim Clijsters, where she dropped the first set, but has gone on to dominate her remaining opponents, including defending champion and #5 seed Serena Williams. She has lost serve a total of four times in five matches, and has won an impressive 73% of points on first serve.

As the reigning Australian Open champion, Davenport is looking for her fourth Grand Slam title. She won the 1998 U.S. Open, but lost in the semifinals here last year to eventual champion Serena Williams. She also lost to Venus Williams in their last Grand Slam meeting, the finals of Wimbledon, as Williams went on to take the title and begin a 24-match win streak.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams is arguably the hottest player on the women’s tour this summer, carrying a 24-match win streak into her semifinal encounter with Martina Hingis. The streak began as Williams won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, and she has dropped only four sets since then. She exudes confidence, but at times has looked sloppy, particularly in her quarterfinal win over #8 Nathalie Tauziat 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 where she had 31 unforced errors and 10 double faults.

In her typical aggressive style, Williams steamrolled through her early round matches, but was taken to a tiebreak by American Meghann Shaughnessy in the third round, and dropped a set to Tauziat in the quarterfinals. At times her play has been erratic, but she has managed to serve 25 aces at speeds up to 117 miles per hour.

Williams reached the finals in her first U.S. Open appearance 3 years ago, but has not advanced past the semifinals the last two years. She won her first Grand Slam singles title this year at Wimbledon and hasn’t lost a match since.

Elena Dementieva

A surprise semifinalist, Russian teenager Elena Dementieva is having the best tournament of her young career. In only her second year playing Grand Slam events, she has advanced farther than her previous best showing, which was the third round. To reach the semifinals of this year’s Open, she upset #7 Conchita Martinez 6-4, 6-1 in the third round, and #10 Anke Huber 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Dementieva broke into the top 50 earlier this summer with a win over Anke Huber at Indian Wells. She also defeated Venus Williams in a 1999 Fed Cup match to earn Russia’s only win over the United States. Unfortunately for Dementieva, her run will likely come to an abrupt halt when she meets Davenport in their semifinal matchup, as Davenport has dominated their past three meetings, winning each in straight-sets.