 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Henin
wins, but Kournikova holds court
By JOHN BROCK
Associated Press Writer
January 14,
2002 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Substance beat style as Anna Kournikova
tumbled out of Australian Open.
Sixth-seeded Justine Henin beat Kournikova for the third consecutive time
Tuesday, advancing to the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
``It was a good and bad draw for me,'' Henin said of Kournikova, the Russian
star who missed much of last season with a foot injury.
``She didn't play a lot of matches in the last months so it was good,
but I also played against a 'personality' and the crowd loved that,''
the Belgian added.
``It's always difficult when you're in front of her to give 100 percent
because you have to stay focused just on the match and it wasn't easy
all the time.''
Kournikova had a career-best Australian Open performance last year when
she made the quarterfinals but her year went quickly downhill after that.
She had surgery for the foot injury in April and missed the final three
Grand Slam tournaments.
Now she's trying to get her career on track and her ranking back up to
where it was a year ago, a career-high No. 8. She is currently No. 64.
``I want to get to the same position and (physical) shape as before the
injury,'' the 20-year-old Kournikova said.
But try as she might the Russian, who has yet to win a tournament but
whose glamorous image has made her one of the sport's highest profile
players and biggest earners, can't escape questions on her looks and persona.
``Nobody's perfect,'' Kournikova said when asked if she was the ``perfect
athlete'' because of the combination of her appearance and tennis ability.
Kournikova's postmatch press conference attracted more than double the
number of media and lasted twice as long as Henin's.
``That's their problem'' Kournikova added when asked about people focusing
on her appearance. ``That's their decision ... I don't think about that.
``Around me there are no people that think that way. They think of me
first as a person and then everything else.''
Out on the court, Kournikova started poorly against Henin, dropping serve
in the opening game in a largely one-sided opening set. She then blew
a 3-1 lead in the second set.
``I wasn't playing well in general. I started to play better in the second
set, but she lifted her game and I didn't play well on the important points,''
Kournikova said.
Asked what she needed to do to return to the top 10, she said: ``Now I
feel good physically. (But) I have to play a lot more matches, become
a lot more comfortable on court during rallies and the important points.
``That's what you lose when you don't play for a long time, that automatic
decision-making.''