25 May 2002
Arantxa played bridesmaid again in the doubles final as she and Rossana fell 2-6 3-6 to the unseeded pariing of former No. 1 doubles players, Navratilova and Zevereva. While it is frustarting for Arantxa not to win her 63th doubles title, it is very heartwarming to see Navratilova finally win a title after she came out of retirement in 2000 to compete in the doubles events. It gets even better as she did it with good 'ol Natasha Zvereva. Natasha is a damn fine doubles player and I will always remember the classic 1995 Wimbledon Doubles Final between Arantxa/Jana and Natasha/Gigi. A most wonderful display of doubles tennis on showcase. That said, this may be one of the last opportunites to see these legends share centerstage on a tennis court. I hope Natasha and Martina can win a lot more titles and qualify for the season-ending WTA Championships, and since Arantxa will most probably qualify with Daniela, these two teams can meet in the finals, doesn't matter to me who wins.
23 May 2002
Another early round exit for Arantxa as she fell 6-7(6) 3-6. A very devastating loss as this means that Arantxa loses more than 190 points from last year, which may see her fall straight out of the Top 20. This is very sad as after seeing Conchita and Amanda fall out of the Top 20 last year and earlier this year respectively, Arantxa becomes the latest former Top 5 player to lose her Top 20 stauts. A good thing that the Roland Garros seedings for next week do not take into consideration the latest rankings, else, Arantxa may not get a Top 16 seed. Hopefully, this loss does not affect her preparation for Roland Garros.
22 May 2002
Arantxa plays Chanda Rubin today for a place in the quarterfinals. The last meeting between Arantxa and Rubin dates back to the 1996 quarterfinal thriller at the Australian Open, won by Rubin 16-14 in the third set. In fact, Rubin has won the last three encounters, but Rubin has been plagued by injuries these few years, so hopefully Arantxa can register her first victory over the American since the 1995 French Open.
20 May 2002
Arantxa prepares to defend the Spanish Open which starts today. This is one of the final tune-up events to Roland Garros next week. Arantxa is seeded second after top seed Monica Seles. Both players get a bye into the second round. Arantxa is playng doubles with Rossana Neffa-Da Los Rios since Daniela is not playing this week. Arantxa and Rossana reached the semifinals in Sarasota and are seeded second here.
