| |
 Quite a finish Tauziat storms into Eastbourne final
Posted: Friday June 18, 1999 03:26 PM
EASTBOURNE, England (AP) -- Anna Kournikova tossed away a 5-1 lead in the third set and a place in the Eastbourne grass-court championship Friday when she lost 6-4, 4-6, 8-6 to third seed Nathalie Tauziat. It was fifth seeded Kournikova's first defeat at Eastbourne, after she had twice won the under 21 event. Last year she reached the semifinals of the main event by beating Steffi Graf, before defaulting with an injury. Tauziat will face sixth seed Natasha Zvereva, who edged past South Africa's Amanda Coetzer 6-7(5-7), 7-6(7-4), 10-8 in one of the longest matches in the tournaments history. The experienced Tauziat, last year's Wimbledon runner up, exposed flaws in Kournikova's game and suggested that the Russian, who likes to play on grass, might not have the serve and volley to be a Wimbledon winner. "She likes to play on grass, but she's not really a volley player," the 31-year-old Frenchwoman said. "I don't think she has a very good volley to play on grass and maybe that's why sometimes she didn't finish the point. "And you need to have a very good serve to play on grass. At the end of the match I broke her three times because her serve isn't very confident and I took my chance on the return." Kournikova, still seeking her first career singles title, looked nervous at the start and managed to salvage only two points in the first three games. But once she settled, the 18 year old Russian competed on equal terms and dropped just three points as she got back on level terms at 3-3. In a match where fortunes twisted and turned right to the finish, Tauziat snatched the opening set by winning the next eight points from 4-4, and she then took a 3-1 lead in the second. But a double-fault allowed Kournikova to break back for 2-3, and with the Russian beginning to look the steadier player a spectacular backhand flick earned her a break point at 4-4. Kournikova she went on to break and serve out to level the match at one set all. Third-seeded Tauziat was now struggling with her serve, and five double-faults in two games helped Kournikova to establish a commanding 5-1 lead. But in a dramatic turnaround, 31 year old Tauziat allowed her opponent just four points in the next five games as she battled back to lead 6-5. Tauziat's problems continued when she fell behind 0-40 on her serve at 6-6, but the frustrated Kournikova failed to break her and, in the next game, a fierce backhand winner drew a scream of relief and delight from Tauziat as she claimed victory. "It was up and down and at the end she was just better," Kournikova said. "I think I played very, very well and it was a great match for me to have before going to Wimbledon. "I did everything I had to do. I was coming in, serve and volleying. We were both aggressive and it was a very good match for me." Tauziat was amazed at her mid-match slump. "I was up 6-4, 3-1 and I started to serve so bad. I started to play again at 5-1 in the third. It was a little bit late, but not too late. "If she'd have won the match it wouldn't have been that I gave it to her, but that I had my chance and didn't take it." In the other semifinal, there was little to separate the two players in the three hour 28 minute battle. Coetzer, who has rarely enjoyed any success on grass, led the final set 4-1 and held three match points at 7-6, before Zvereva broke her to love to lead 9-8 and serve out for the match.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
