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Kournikova Suffers Shock Loss to Dragomir
Courtesy of Annak.org AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (Saturday, April 10, 1999) - Earlier in the week, Russian tennis officials expressed their displeasure with Anna Kournikova, who gave no reason for her decision not to play for her country in the upcoming Fed Cup matches. On Saturday, it was clear why Kournikova decided to skip the chance to play for her country. Fighting a strained hip abductor, the 17-year old Russian lost to Ruxandra Dragomir, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships. Kournikova dropped out of the doubles competition Friday with the injury, and said that, plus her heavy schedule - 11 matches over 13 days - had taken their toll. "I probably tried to finish points too quickly to avoid running too much," she said. "But I don't want to find excuses. I think she played well." Dragomir engineered the win by playing aggressively, going to the net often on the slow, green clay of Amelia Island Plantation, and mixing spin with power that kept Kournikova off balance. "She likes when you give her rhythm, and she likes the pace very much," Dragomir said. "I knew I would have to mix it up, play her with a lot of spin and sometimes come to the net. I did and it seemed like every shot worked for me." Tied 3-3 in the second set, the players exchanged service breaks five straight times until Dragomir took a 6-5 lead with a chance to serve out the match. Then, she went to a power game, with a pair of serve-and-volley winners followed by two service winners on serves she hit at 102 and 96 mph. She celebrated with her hands held high, playing to a crowd that had to hunt for her most of the week, with her early round matches against other unseeded opponents relegated to the outside courts. Monica Seles, the No. 2 seed, advanced to Sunday's final with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 7 Conchita Martinez, her 15th victory in 16 lifetime meetings between the two. |