Tennis
SUMMER CIRCUIT 2002
HOPMAN CUP (Dec 29-Jan 5) - Perth, Western Australia
AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S HARDCOURT CHAMPIONSHIP (Dec 30-Jan 5) - Gold Coast, Queensland
AAPT TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP (Dec 31-Jan 6) - Adelaide, South Australia
ADIDAS INTERNATIONAL (6-12 Jan) - Sydney, New South Wales
TASMANIAN INTERNATIONAL (Jan 7-13) - Hobart, Tasmania
CANBERRA WOMEN'S CLASSIC (Jan 9-12) - Canberra, Australian Captial Territory
COMMONWEALTH BANK INTERNATIONAL (Jan 9-12) - Kooyong, Victoria
PETER'S DRUMSTICK TENNIS CHALLENGE (Jan 9-11) -
2002 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
January 14 - 27
Day 1 - Monday 14th January 2002
Julien Boutter (51) (FRA) def. Gustavo Kuerten (2) (BRA):
Night 1
Martina Hingis (3)(SWITZ) def. Virginie Razzano (89) (FRA): 6-2, 6-2.
Day 2 - Tuesday 15th January 2002
Writer's Commentary
Day 1 - Monday 14th January
The 2002 Australian Open commenced with a bang and proved to be the beginning of
a memorable and unpredictable tennis tournament.
American number three seed
Andre Agassi called in the earlymorning to back out of the tournament with a
shock injury. Other defaulting injuries include Serena Willimas, Lindsey Davenport
and wildcard Mary Pierce.
Match-wise, it was a fantastic first day. For some. Number 2 men's seed Gustavo Kuerten
was again knocked out in the early rounds, following suit in his previous Australian
Open results - in the yesars of 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, he only made it to the
second rounds. Brazillian groundstroke champ Kuerten was smashed by the French
wildcard Julien Boutter in 5 sets. Kuerten took out the first 2 sets, but the
Frenchman stole the last 3 sets and won his way to the second round.
Lucky Boutter. Others weren't as lucky. Another French
wildcard, 18-year-old former Junior Champion, Virginie Razzano had her first and
last taste of the 2002 Australian Open last night. The 89th ranked, up-and-coming
new tennis talent was drawn up to face Swiss Miss Martina Hingis in the first
round of play. Razzano was in superb form and although she gave the No.4 seed a run
for her money (and the match), it was not enough to beat out the 21-year-old 1999
Australian Open champion. The match concluded 6-2, 6-2 in favour of the former
world number one Martina Hingis. Still, it is obvious that with her killer shots and
determination, we WILL see more of the French mademoiselle in matches and tournaments to come.
Virginie Razzano is definitely the new young face of Tennis to watch out for.
