Amanda was dealt yet another unlucky break when the draw for the Australian Open was released. She was placed in the second half of the draw, undoubtedly the most difficult half of the women's tournament. She was seeded to meet Martina Hingis in the fourth round, and if she got through, could have meet opponents like Mary Pierce, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Anna Kournikova and Serena Williams. Even though she was to play Martina Hingis, the world number two and two-time defending Australian Open champion, I thought that Amanda had a winnable fourth round. Hingis had just come off a thrashing by Lindsay Davenport in Sydney, and Coetzer was the last person to ever beat Martina at Flinders' Park, in the quarter-finals in 1996. But even if she managed to beat her, Amanda was drawn to then meet Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, players whom she has had a history of difficulty with. Coetzer also had a potentially difficult second round match, possibly against the dangerous floater, Julie Halard Decugis who is ranked only three positions below her.
On the first day, we arrived before the gates opened to try to catch a glimspe of the players practicing on the backcourts. However, the first that I saw of Amanda was at a practice session, in the middle of the day. She was hitting with Martina Hingis. I was surprised to see that they were practicing together, considering that they were likely to be opponents. But they seemed to get on well together; Martina shook hands with Amanda before they left the court and made some remark, I got the impression, in relation to their possible meeting in the fourth round.
