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Women's semifinals picks
Posted: Friday September 10, 1999 01:51 PM By Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated SI's Jon Wertheim (men) and Richard Deitsch (women) will pick the outcome of every singles match during the Open. Deitsch's tally with three matches left: 102-22.
The semifinals Serena Williams, United States (7) vs. Lindsay Davenport, United States (2) The skinny: First, a moment of praise for yours truly, who picked these semifinal matchups back at the start of this fortnight. With that gratuitous but well-deserving plug out of the way, let's move on to what is shaping up to be among the most exciting days for women's tennis this decade. Davenport is the tour's standard-bearer when it comes to stopping Venus Williams; the Big L is 8-3 lifetime against her. Surprisingly, though, Serena has had Lindsay's number in their last two meetings. She won in a breezy 6-4, 6-2 at Indian Wells this March and overcame a bad first set in Sydney in January 1998 to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. Davenport's only victory came on the carpet in Chicago two years ago. How Serena deals with the moment is the key to the match. Reaching the quarters is one thing. Just ask Mary Pierce. Again, Serena is treading in waters she's never been in and you have to wonder if she's going to feel the pressure of the moment one of these days. So far she's handled her draw like a 10-year pro, including an escape worthy of David Copperfield against Kim Clijsters in the third round -- the first of three straight three-set matches. Davenport had barely broken a sweat until the second set of her quarterfinal match against Pierce. That's when we learned what she was made of. She saved two match points in a thrilling third set, including a backhand winner that ranks among the biggest shots of her career. The old Lindsay would have lost to Pierce. She would have given in to her jangled nerves and left us Wednesday. But winning here last year and at Wimbledon three months ago has changed her forever. She believes she's the best player in the world. And she may be. Serena says the same thing but I still think it's a bit of her own hype. Her time is coming. Maybe as soon as next year's Australian Open. But Davenport's time is now. Davenport in three. Martina Hingis, Switzerland (1) vs. Venus Williams, United States (3) The skinny: The game plan is simple. Hingis said it herself to pal
Barbara Schett prior to the quarters. Attack the Venus forehand. That's what
this battle -- and I do mean battle, between these two camps -- will come
down to today. Hingis is the smartest, most tactically sound tennis player in
the world. She makes match-by-match, point-by-point decisions better than anyone
in the game. When Venus starts playing poorly, it's the forehand that breaks
down first. Hingis knows this so expect plenty of balls heading in that
direction. These two have played 10 times (Hingis leads 7-3), including last
month on hard courts at San Diego, where Hingis won easily 6-4, 6-0. But I put
little stock in that match now. They've taken different paths to arrive at the
same point here. Hingis has rolled through her opponents with Swiss precision,
and her quarterfinal match against Anke Huber was shorter than Lamar Alexander's
candidacy. She has yet to drop a set. Venus struggled against Mary Joe Fernandez
in the fourth round and survived a couple of tense moments in a straight-setter
over Schett. What impresses me most about Venus is something away from the
court: During every press conference she's had ample opportunities to verbally
smack Hingis around. Each time she's demurred. There's something different here
about her. She's more business-like. She sees the big picture. Everything points
to a breakthrough here: Williams beats Hingis and Davenport and conquers the
Open dragon for her first Grand Slam title. It's a nice script. There's just
one problem: Hingis is playing with something to prove after her lost summer in
Europe. I think this will be the best women's match in some time. Personally,
I'd like to see Davenport vs. Williams. But my gut says Hingis in three.
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