Amelie Mauresmo Fights for Spot in Sony Ericsson Championships Final
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Nov 11, 2006 | Print
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She may only be the world’s top player for a few more hours, but Amelie Mauresmo is through to the final of the most prestigious, women’s only tennis event in the world.
Mauresmo, who will lose her top ranking spot to Justine Henin-Hardenne on Monday, powered her way into the Sony Ericsson Championships final with a tough 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Kim Clijsters.
Her performance was far from perfect, especially her serve, but she fought her way through to the final in hopes of defending her first major tournament title. I’m waiting to read in her press conference transcripts if her poor service had anything to do with her injured shoulder, as six double-faults and a 53% first serve percentage is something that we’ve not seen much of from Mauresmo this season.
Her opponent on the other side of the net tomorrow in Madrid will be incoming world number, Justine Henin-Hardenne. Mauresmo scored her last win over Henin-Hardenne just yesterday in the final match of the round robin competition.
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Sapphisto | Nov 11, 2006 | Reply
I think it’s been obvious - despite Amelie’s refusal to admit it during this tournament - that the shoulder is indeed still bothering her. We don’t normally see so many double faults, and in the JHH match yesterday, her serve was just off kilter at times. Then again, she did hit a bunch of aces, including a couple on second serve….
Also, Amelie is usually one of the quietest players on tour, and in the past month or two, she’s been making a lot more noise on every stroke than she normally would. I think she’s just playing through the pain. Look at that horrendous blister on her right hand - she’s playing through that, too, which frankly must be excruciating. And not a murmer, not even a mention of it. I don’t care who’s on top of the rankings, Amelie will always be my #1.
Finals Day, here we come.
ALLEZ AMELIE!!!