Natural wonder
Mauresmo's coach downplays physique
Posted: Friday January 29, 1999 01:26 AM
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Give the lady a hand: Amelie Mauresmo gestures to the crowd after her three set victory over Lindsay Davenport AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Too much is being made of Amelie Mauresmo's shoulders, says her coach Christophe Fournerie.
The unseeded Frenchwoman won a place in the final by blasting No.1 Lindsay Davenport off the court, prompting comments about her muscular physique and the time she spends in the gym.
"Her muscles on her shoulders are natural," Fournerie said.
"If all you have to do is go lift heavy weights and build up your shoulders to be No.1 in the world, then everybody would be doing it,"
Fournerie said he noticed Mauresmo had broad shoulders five years ago, but making them bigger was not part of her game plan.
"She's strong. If she hits the ball hard, its not all coming from the shoulder, its part of everything -- how she hits the ball, her technique.
"Amelie doesn't just spend her time in the gym, it's a lot more than just lifting weights."
Shoulder aside
Martina Hingis, who Mauresmo will meet in the final, initially played down the Frenchwoman's size, denying there was anything to be intimidated by.
"Her shoulders or what? Serena has got bigger ones," said Hingis, a reference to Serena Williams.
Seeds rarity
Mauresmo's appearance is only the eighth time since the Open era began in 1968 that an unseeded woman will play in a Grand Slam singles final.
She is the first woman since Venus Williams at the 1997 U.S. Open to reach a Slam final as an unseeded player.
Just one of the seven previous unseeded finalists went on the win a Slam title as an unseeded player -- Australia's Chris O'Neil, whose 1978 win was her only Slam title.
Big climber
Nicolas Lapentti has assured himself of a giant climb up the tennis rankings by reaching the Australian Open semifinals, where he lost to Sweden's Thomas Enqvist.
The 22-year-old Ecuadorian was ranked 91st coming into this tournament, but now will be in the top 40 when the new rankings come out next week.
Enqvist, who was ranked as high as No. 6 in 1996, reached his first grand slam final by beating Lapentti, assuring himself of climbing from his present 21st rank to at least No. 11.
He will be eighth or ninth if he wins here.
No. 1 Pete Sampras skipped this tournament, citing fatigue, but the players with a chance to overtake him either withdrew or lost in the early rounds.
No. 2 Marcelo Rios withdrew with a back injury on the eve of the first round, and will fall to No. 5 or 6. Alex Corretja will be No. 2. U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter will be either No. 3 or 4.
Court clown
After being beaten in the doubles final, former Wimbledon semifinalist Natasha Zvereva joked that she may retire this year.
After Martin Hingis and Anna Kournikova beat Zvereva and partner Lindsay Davenport 7-5, 6-3, Zvereva said she would be back next year, "unless I retire."
Zvereva, who won the 1997 doubles title with Martina Hingis, said later she was only joking.
"Don't take me seriously, I'm just a big clown. What I said doesn't mean anything," Zvereva said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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