Alexandra Fusai News

Alexandra Fusai 2001 News
Monday 1/1/01
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Alexandra is off to a great start for the '01 season already, having won 3 qualifying matches at the ASB Bank Classic in Auckland, New Zealand to get into the main singles draw. YEA!
In the 1st round, AF defeated Antonia Matic 6-4, 6-1 (YEA!), then it was AF over Selima Sfar 6-2, 6-4 in the 2nd round (YEA!). For the main draw slot, Alexandra then outfoxed Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 6-3. YEA! HOORAY!
Alexandra's 1st match in the main draw will be vs. Pavlina Nola, scheduled for tomorrow.
Although Nola is supposedly Bulgarian, apparently she lives there in Auckland and is married to a native Aucklander. So, although Alexandra has plenty of fans wherever she goes, it may be that at the start of the match tomorrow, Nola may have a few more. However, Alexandra's charm and style and spirit and grace and beauty could well have the crowd on her side before the 1st set is over.
So win, Alexandra! Show that crowd that sometimes the best and most interesting and most entertaining and most enjoyable and most memorable match is one where the "home-town girl" loses!
As expected, Alexandra is also playing doubles this week. However, although Fusai/Black won the title in Auckland a year ago, this year it will be Alexandra Fusai/Rita Grande as the #3-seeded team (with Cara Black/Sandrine Testud seeded #1). The 1st round match of Fusai/Grande vs. Francesca Schiavone/Marlene Weingartner is "after suitable rest" after Alexandra's singles match tomorrow. Schiavone/Weingartner can play very well sometimes (especially Weingartner), so this may not be an "easy" match, but Fusai/Grande have teamed together before, with some success.
So win two tomorrow, Alexandra: a singles and a doubles!
And HAVE FUN!
Tuesday 1/2/01
Well, the best info I can get out of New Zealand is mixed at worst, and that is not bad!
It looks like Alexandra didn't have much chance to get the crowd on her side in the Fusai/Nola match today - apparently Nola took it 6-2, 6-1. Oh well....
So Alexandra's singles record at Auckland this year is 3 wins 1 loss - that's not bad!
Meanwhile, it seems Fusai/Grande won their 1st round 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. YEA! It now appears that it was vs. Hiraku Inoue/Maiko Inoue instead of Schiavone/Weingartner. Regardless, a win is a win. YEA!
Next (Quarterfinals) for Fusai/Grande looks like vs. Nathalie Dechy/Emilie Loit.
Win again, Fusai/Grande, win again!
And have some FUN!
Wednesday 1/3/01
Good news continues to flow from Auckland!
My sources report that Fusai/Grande have moved from the Quarters to the Semis with a sharp win over Dechy/Loit: 6-1, 7-5. YEA!
The Semis will find Fusai/Grande facing Liezel Horn/Paola Suarez, maybe tomorrow.
Have some FUN and WIN AGAIN, FG!
Friday 1/5/01
The Auckland crowd had the privilege of seeing one of Alexandra's not-so-rare very exciting matches today! One to remember forever!
It was Fusai/Grande (seeded #3) vs. Horn/Suarez (seeded #2) in the semi's, and HS started strong, taking the 1st set 6-2. Uh-oh....
But, of course, FG were not going to go down as meekly as that, no way! The 2nd set went to a tie-break, which FG then took 7-4 to make the match even and put the decision on a 3rd set. FG then made that decision decisively with a 6-4 3rd set win! YEA!
SO: Fusai/Grande defeated Horn/Suarez in the Auckland semi's 2-6, 7-6(7-4), 6-4. YEA!
Now it's on to the Final vs. Emanuelle Gagliardi/Barbara Schett, maybe tomorrow.
Win the Final, FG! Make it two years in a row for you, Alexandra! And have some fun!
Saturday 1/6/01
Fusai/Grande are Doubles Champions in Auckland! YEA!
It was an exciting match, much like yesterday's, but without the 1st set.
Today, the tie-break set was the 1st set, with the nod going to FG, again 7-4. Then FG put the match away with a 6-3 2nd set. SO: Fusai/Grande win Auckland Doubles Final 7-6(7-4), 6-3 over Gagliardi/Schett. YEA!
That's two years in a row for Alexandra! (Last year was with Cara Black, who teamed with Sandrine Testud this year as the #1 seeded team, then lost to Gagliardi/Schett in the semi's.)
Very well done, girls! Alexandra: you are a doubles MONSTER!
Now show the Aussies some of that doubles MONSTROSITY and some singles MONSTROSITY as well, OK?!
(Aussie Open qualifying starts this Thursday, the 11th.)
And take care, be good, have fun, etc., etc..... And CONGRATULATIONS!
Thursday 1/11/01
Alexandra is in Melbourne, Australia at the Australian Open qualifying today - and there is GOOD NEWS!
Alexandra has defeated Vanessa Henke in 1st round Aussie Open qualifying by a "no foolin' around" score of 6-3, 6-1. YEA!
This may imply a major march through the Aussie singles this year, which would be nice!
But, as always, it is one match at a time - and tomorrow is vs. Petra Mandula in 2nd round.
Have a good, fun, day tomorrow, Alexandra. And WIN AGAIN!
Friday 1/12/01
Alexandra continued her Aussie March (in January!) today with another win with a perhaps "I shouldn't have to qualify!" attitude. (Although I think that may be an entirely appropriate attitude, I also think that having to qualify is a GOOD THING, in this context, and at this time.....)
For a while, it looked like this 2nd round win would pit Alexandra against the #1 qualifying seed, Alison Bradshaw, who was apparently very impressive in Auckland, but, hopefully fortuitously, Bradsaw was beaten by Nirupama Vaidyanathan today.
SO: today Alexandra Fusai defeated Petra Mandula in 2nd round qualifying: 6-3, 6-3. YEA!
Tomorrow, in final (3rd) round Aussie qualifying, it will be AF vs. Nirupama Vaidyanathan of India. NV is coming off that win over Bradshaw, and will likely fight like hell, but AF has 10 times the career earnings and a hugely higher career-high ranking. So the crowd may see that AF is a full level of play above NV.
Even so, it could be a real battle - but there are battlers like Joan of Arc and Alexandra, and there are lesser battlers!
Another FUN WIN tomorrow, Alexandra, OK?!
Saturday 1/13/01
Finally I was able to see an Alexandra Aussie qualifying match live on the web - and it was a DUESY!
(Circumstances had prevented me from seeing the first 2 rounds live on the web....)
End Of Suspense: ALEXANDRA WON! YEAAAAAA!
It was Alexandra vs. Nirupama Vaidyanathan of India in the final (3rd) round of Aussie Open qualifying. As expected, it was a battle, and as (I) expected, Alexandra showed herself to be at least a full class above her opponent. And it was typically Alexandra-style exciting and dramatic - very much a show to remember forever for the crowd. (Sometimes I wish Alexandra wouldn't do that, but mostly I'm glad she does - I don't know at all if she does it "consciously" or "deliberately".)
Alexandra is the MASTER (or MISTRESS?) of DRAMA, and EXCITING, and SPIRIT and MEMORABLE. If Alexandra is playing, other matches may be more "important", but Alexandra's is the one to watch!
ANYWAY: Alexandra defeated Nirupama Vaidyanathan in final round Aussie Open qualifying: 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. YEA! YEA! YEA!
Alexandra is in the Aussie Open Main Draw Singles! YEA!
It went like this (NV served 1st): 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5, 7-5, 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 6-2. YEA!
In more detail: NV held at 30, then AF held through a deuce on her 3rd chance, then NV held through a deuce on her 2nd chance: 1-2. In the 4th game AF held through 3 deuces on her 4th chance (NV had no break chances), then AF got the break at 15 to go up 3-2. AF then held through a deuce (fighting off a break chance) for 4-2. NV then held through a deuce (also fighting off a break chance), and broke back through 2 deuces (AF had one hold chance): 4-4, back on serve. NV then held through a deuce on her 2nd chance for a game lead, but AF held at 30, broke at 15, and held at 15 for the set: 7-5 (it took an hour). YEA!
In the 2nd set (NV again served 1st) there were holds at 30, 30, 30, 15, and 30 to put AF down 2-3. Then AF was broken at 15, NV held at love, and AF was broken again, this time at 30: 2-6. Uh-oh! (It took 28 minutes.)
In the 3rd set (NV once again serving 1st), NV was broken at 30 (3rd chance), then AF held at love for a 2-0 lead. But NV then held at 15 and broke back at 15 to make 2-2: back on serve. AF then broke back at 15, held through 2 deuces on her 2nd chance (fighting off 1 break chance), then broke again through a deuce on her 3rd chance (NV had no hold chances). A hold at 15 gave the set, and match, to AF: 6-2. (It took 31 minutes - about 2 hours for the whole match.) YEA! HOORAY! Well done, Alexandra!
Now it is Alexandra vs. (unknown) in the Aussie Open Main Draw Singles, maybe Monday. This much, however, is known: whoever faces Alexandra will wish she were facing someone else, Alexandra will greatly "test" her opponent, and the crowd will see a GREAT match!
Win some more Singles, Alexandra! You're on a roll!
And win some Doubles, too!
And ENJOY!
Monday 1/15/01
Well, Melissa Dowse defeated Alexandra Fusai in 1st round Aussie Open Main Draw Singles today: 4-6, 7-5, 6-0. Oh well....
Due to "circumstances", I was unable to "see" the match in detail, but from what I can gather, it appears that Alexandra had 3 chances (3 match points) to take the match 6-4, 6-4 - but didn't (couldn't?). She then lost nine games in a row. OOPS!
This may have been one of those cases (fortunately rare for Alexandra) where the loser lost rather than the winner won. This is not to diminish the effort of Dowse, who may well have played very good tennis, but it may well also be the case that Alexandra "should" have won this one. Oh well.....
Maybe there were some bad calls, or a rude crowd (Dowse is Australian)? Alexandra can put up with a lot of that stuff, but sometimes too much is too much....
Perhaps the US Supreme Court got involved somehow???
At least the crowd got to see 2 sets of a good match, and to see an Aussie win, and both players seem to have been nicely tested, for 2 sets, at least.
Stuff happens, Alexandra: now get over it and move on! It's no biggie.....
NOW LET'S PLAY SOME DOUBLES!!!
THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN!!!
Coming off their Title victory in Auckland, the team of Alexandra Fusai/Rita Grande are seeded #9 and face unseeded Lubomira Bacheva/Cristina Torrens-Valero in 1st round, maybe Wednesday.
That looks to me to be winnable for FG! And FUN!
So DO IT!
Remember: Joan of Arc may have lost some battles - but she WON THE WAR! (My French history is a bit limited, but I think that is fair to say....)
Wednesday 1/17/01
Fusai/Grande have won their 1st round vs. Lubomira Bacheva/Cristina Torrens-Valero: 6-4, 6-2. That's a nice win! Well done, gals! YEA!
I was unable to get a reliable connection until the score was 4-4 in the 1st set. At that point FG held for 5-4, then broke at love for the set: 6-4. YEA!
In the 2nd set, FG held at 30, then had a break chance but BTV held through a deuce: 1-1. A hold at 15, a break at love, a hold at 15, and a break at 15 put FG up 5-1. Then FG went down 0-40, but BTV needed 5 chances to finally get the break through 2 deuces (FG had no hold chances): 5-2. The match ended with a break by FG at 30: 6-2. YEA!
So this is what I saw: 4-4, 5-4, 6-4, 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 5-2, 6-2. YEA!
Next is vs. either Janet Lee/Wynne Prakusya or Alina Jidkova/Tatiana Poutchek, maybe Friday.
Win again, FG! Win another FUN ONE!
Alexandra is also playing Mixed, teaming with Tom Verhoudt of Belgium. First round for FV is vs. Lleyton Hewitt (of Australia)/Kim Clijsters (of Belgium), maybe Friday. That looks to me like it could be a nicely challenging 1st match for FV. And LOTS OF FUN!
SO: Win it, FV!
Friday 1/19/01
Some bizarre shenanigans in Melbourne today, fer shure! Some good, some not so, much quite strange!
It started around noon (Melbourne time) with Alexandra Fusai/Rita Grande facing Janet Lee/Wynne Prakusya in 2nd round Women's Doubles. LP served 1st, and were promptly broken at 30. Nice! But then FG were broken at love - uhoh... LP then held at 30 and FG had 2 chances to hold, but were broken through a deuce: 1-3. LP then held at love, got a break at love, and held at 30 (after being down 0-30): 1-6. WHAT IS THIS?!?
In the 2nd set, FG held at love, then LP held at 15, and FG held again at love, then LP was broken at 15: 3-1. Then FG held through a deuce (on 3rd chance, though - LP had no break chance), LP was broken at 30, and FG held at 15: 6-1. THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!!!
In the 3rd set FG got a break through two deuces on their 3rd chance (LP had one hold chance), then FG fought off a break chance and held through a deuce, then LP held at love. A break at 15, a hold at 15, a break at love, and a hold at love gave the 3rd set to FG: 6-1. YEA!
SO: it went like this (LP served 1st): 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1. YEA!
Next for #9 seeded Fusai/Grande is vs. either the #6 seeded team of Cara Black/Elena Likhovtseva or the (unseeded but Aussie) team of Rachel McQuillan/Lisa McShea, maybe Sunday. Either matchup looks VERY interesting!
Win again, FG! Win yet another FUN ONE!
After the 2nd round Women's Doubles victory over Lee/Prakusya, Alexandra had about 3 hours off before her 1st round Mixed Doubles match, teamed with Tom Verhoudt. It had seemed that this was going to be vs. Kim Clijsters/Lleyton Hewitt but it turned out to be vs. Rachel McQuillan/Peter Tramacci (for some reason). That was just the beginning of the strangeness of this match, which, unfortunately, lacked the happy ending for Alexandra of the earlier one.
The victory went to McQuillan/Tramacci by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7-4) (oh well...), but therein lies a tale, to put it mildly!
In the 1st set, Fusai/Verhoudt served first and held at 15, then McQuillan/Tramacci held at love. Holds at 15, love, love, and 15 put the set, still on serve, at 3-3. FV then went down 30-40, but held through 2 deuces on their 2nd chance (MT only had that 1 break chance), then MT held at 30, FV went down 30-40 again, but held through a deuce, and FV finally got the break, at 30, for the set: 6-4. YEA!
The 2nd set began with Fusai/Verhoudt as hot as Hilton Head in July (and that's HOT!) with a hold at 15, a break at love, and a hold at love: 3-0. Nice! Then FV had another break chance at 30-40, but MT held through a deuce, then FV held at 30, MT held at 15, and FV were broken at 15: back on serve - 4-3. MT then held through 2 deuces on their 2nd chance, although FV had a break chance after the 1st deuce. Then FV held through a deuce (MT had no break chance), and MT held at love: 5-5. But then FV was broken at 30, and MT held at 30, so the 2nd set went to MT: 7-5. Oh well....
So I thought, "OK, 1 set all - this 3rd set will decide it - this is now, still, typically Fusai exciting!" and I settled in for an expected wild 3rd set. But it was not to be....
To my stunned amazement, the 3rd set went immediately to 6-6 and a tie-break began! At first I thought this was a 2nd set tie-break, and the 2nd set had actually gone to 6-6 instead of 7-5, but then it dawned on me that this was a 3rd set tie-break, after a NONEXISTANT 3rd set! Assuming this is standard procedure for Mixed, tonight I actually agree with everyone who knows me that I am both STUPID and IGNORANT! Oh well...
ANYWAY: FV served the 1st point of the tie-break, and lost the mini-break, then MT held two points, FV held two points, and MT held one. Then FV got the mini-break back: 3-4. But then FV lost the mini-break again, then held, then MT held twice, for the tie-break, and the match (somehow...): 7-4.
SO: it went like this (kindof - FV served 1st): 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 5-7, 0-0, 6-6, (0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 1-3, 2-3, 2-4, 3-4, 3-5, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7) 6-7. Oh well....
Thence a final (in my opinion misleading and phony) score of 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7-4) - victory for MT. Oh well....
Alexandra (and FV) played well, clearly. Mixed seems to be treated like a sideshow - I think this is wrong. At least I hope Alexandra had FUN, and I suspect she did.
Alexandra: the upside of this Mixed loss is that you can now concentrate on the "real" Doubles, the Women's Doubles, which is your specialty lately (you can co-specialize in Singles later this year).
Anyway, any 3rd round, anywhere, is sure to be considerably intense (and likely a huge opportunity for FUN!), including the Aussie Open.
SO: Win again, Fusai/Grande!
Sunday 1/21/01
Today was Fusai/Grande giving it to the Aussie Open crowd TO THE MAX! And in a VERY NICE way!
For 3rd round, Fusai/Grande (seeded #9) faced the unseeded Aussie upstarts of Lisa McShea/Rachel McQuillan, who had defeated the seeded #6 team of Cara Black/Elena Likhotseva to get to this 3rd round. For added drama, McQuillan had been 1/2 of the Mixed team that had taken that BIZARRE match from Alexandra 2 days ago. This match had POTENTIAL CLASSIC written all over it before anyone took the court.
And I suspect it exceeded even ANYONE'S expectations (even mine!). This was Alexandra Fusai playing with the heads of all the citizens OF THE WORLD! Bless her heart! Speaking on behalf of THE WORLD, I say this: THANK YOU, ALEXANDRA! You are so very talented at PLAYING WITH OUR HEADS!
MM served the first game, went down 30-40, then deuce, then add-FG, then deuce, then add-MM, then deuce, then add-FG, then deuce, then add-MM, then hold-MM: 1-0. Then FG held at love (Alexandra serving): 1-1. In the 3rd game, MM went down 0-40, came back to an add after a deuce, then were broken after a 2nd deuce: FG up a break: 2-1. YEA!
But then FG were broken at 15: back on serve. MM then went down 15-40, came back to deuce, then add-FG, then deuce, then add-MM, then deuce, then add-MM, then hold MM: 2-3.
Then Alexandra, serving, held at 15, FG got the break at 30, and Rita held at love: 5-3. YEA!
The 9th game, incredibly dramatic, went 0-30, then 40-30, then through 5 deuces, with FG having a break chance in the middle of the deuces - MM held: 5-4. Then Alexandra, serving, was broken at love: 5-5. But then FG got the break back at 15, and came back from 15-40 to hold through a break and take the 1st set: 7-5. YEA!
The 2nd set went somewhat more quickly, but not much more simply. MM served 1st, and holds at 30, 15, 30, and 30, kept the set on serve: 2-2. Then MM were broken at 15, and Alexandra, serving, despite going down 30-40, held through a deuce: 4-2. Then MM, also going down 30-40, also held through a deuce: 4-3. Then Rita, serving, was broken at 30: back on serve - 4-4. MM then held at 30 (on their 2nd chance), and Alexandra, serving, went down 0-40, came back to 30-40, but was broken, so the 2nd set went to MM: 6-4. Oh well....
In the 3rd set, MM held at 15, then Rita, serving, led 40-0, but MM came back to get the add, then FG got the add, then MM got the add again, then FG finally held (4 deuces): 1-1. Then holds at 15 and 30, and a break at love, gave the lead to FG: 3-2. Holds at 15 and 15 produced 4-3. But then, with Alexandra serving, despite going up 40-30, FG was broken: back on serve 4-4. Then MM, serving, goes down 15-40, but it takes through a deuce for FG to get the break: 5-4. FG then took the set, and match, with Rita holding at 15: 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. YEA! Almost 3 hours of FUN!
And yet another remember-forever Fusai match for the Aussie crowd, even though the Aussie team lost. The world's heads love and thank you, Alexandra! You're the greatest!
SO: it went like this (MM served 1st): 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 6-5, 7-5, 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4. YEA!
Now: there is 4th round, also known as the Quarterfinals. FG (seeded #9) face the #2 seeded team of Nicole Arendt/Ai Sugiyama (the #1 seeded team is out already). Alexandra has beaten Sugiyama in singles - and Fusai/Grande are clearly very hot! This could be VERY INTERESTING!
So win again, FG! WIN AGAIN!
And HAVE FUN!
Tuesday 1/23/01
Quarterfinal Women's Doubles at the Aussie Open today: #2 seeded Ai Sugiyama/Nicole Arendt vs. #9 seeded Alexandra Fusai/Rita Grande.
Each team was 3 wins away from the title, 1 win away from the semi's. This was a SERIOUS match. And, indeed, it was!
Sugiyama/Arendt served first, and held at 15, then Fusai/Grande was broken at 30 (2nd chance). SA then held at 30 to go up 3-0, but FG then held at love, broke at 30 (2nd chance), and held at love again to make it 3-3. Two more love holds made 4-4, then SA held through 2 deuces on their 3rd chance (FG had no break chance): 4-5. A pair of holds at 30 produced 5-6 with FG then serving.
Then came a game which had to be absolutely incredible to see in person: FG went down 15-40, came back to deuce, then SA got the add. Then FG got the next 5 adds, then SA got another add, and the game, and the set: 7-5 (7 deuces!). Oh well...
Although it seems Alexandra sometimes has difficulty "bottling it", this was probably more a case of SA "tasting it", and knowing that FG would not go down 1 set up. This was not, in my opinion, FG "losing", but instead SA KNOWING that this game (and set) was CRITICAL to their survival.
That said, I really would have liked to see a 1st set tie-break, and FG had 5 chances to force one. Oh well....
In the 2nd set, SA held at love, then FG was broken at 15: 0-2. But then FG broke back at love, but then were broken at 15: 1-3. SA then went down 30-40, but held through a deuce, then got a break at 15: 1-5. But then FG got a break back at 15, and held on their 1st chance, through 2 deuces, fighting off 2 match points: 3-5. SA took the set, and match, with a hold at 15: 7-5, 6-3. Oh well....
This was, in my opinion, a very good and honorable performance by Fusai/Grande today, and a very good show for the spectators, by the way (and that is not really a "by the way" consideration, again "in my opinion", being an occasional spectator myself). Fusai/Grande: YA DONE GOOD TODAY! FACT!
So now the Aussie '01 is over for Alexandra: it was 9 GREAT matches - 6 wins, 3 losses - and 9 GREAT shows for the watchers! Thank you, Alexandra!
As for what's next for Alexandra, well, I don't know! Grande is mentioned in the singles in Tokyo next week, and both Tauziat and Grande are mentioned in the singles in Paris the following week. Then Tauziat and Grande again show up in the singles commitments in Nice after that, but Alexandra seems committed to the singles qualifying in Doha (wherever that is!) that week. And there is the true truth that Alexandra is a very valuable doubles partner for ANYONE - not just Tauziat or Grande (I suspect Cara Black wishes this year was a Fusai/Black year again, for instance!).
I do, however, feel safe in saying this: Alexandra Fusai will be playing some incredible tennis, in public, again, soon. If you have a chance to see it then YOU'RE A FOOL if you don't!
This gal can play FUN tennis VERY WELL!
It's SOMETHING TO SEE!
It's SOMETHING YOU'LL NEVER FORGET!
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