MAURESMO PEAKING FOR ROLAND GARROS
Matthew Cronin Tuesday, May 23, 2000
(www.rolandgarros.org)

After reaching the 1999 Australian Open final, France's Amelie Mauresmo came into Roland Garros carrying a nation's weighty expectations. Instead of being able to gradually work her way into the tournament, Mauresmo drew No. 1 Martina Hingis in the second round. While the sandy blonde battled gamely, she was unable to make use of her stylish, athletic game and was tripped up by Hingis 6-3, 6-3.

"My level is not so far behind her. But at the crucial moments of the match she is there and hits the shots she needs to," said Mauresmo at the time, who committed dozens of unforced errors.

Hingis, who had engaged in a war of words with Mauresmo in Australia, added, "Today was too much for her, too much pressure. Everybody in France made it very tough for her, always playing up the rivalry between me and her. It didn't work this time for her."

The 20-year-old Mauresmo then suffered a bad ankle sprain in the doubles, which effectively torpedoed her summer. In the fall, she injured her right arm, which took some of the sting out of her powerful, rolling strokes.

But in 2000, Mauresmo has again begun to show glimpses of the fiery game that encouraged many analysts to say that she had sure top-5 stuff. At the Italian Open last week, Mauresmo defeated top-10 players Mary Pierce and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario en route to her third final of the year. She claimed her second career singles title at Sydney in January and was runner-up at Bol two weeks ago.

The 1996 Roland Garros junior champ, Mauresmo, will be seeded here for the first time, entering the tournament at No. 14. That accomplishment will enable her to avoid an established elite player the first week of the event.

In the Italian Open final, Mauresmo nearly withstood a classic Monica Seles onslaught, but fell 6-2, 7-6 (4). Seles took note of her younger opponent. "I always was very impressed with Amelie's game," Seles said. "She has really heavy shots and she's very strong physically. She reminded me a touch, with the heavy spin, of [Gabriela] Sabatini, but with a lot more power than Gabby used to do in her serve and movement. In terms of her groundstrokes, it was really the only player in my career that I have played that reminded me of her."

Mauresmo said that in the past year, she has grown wiser, which is sure to help her in the nail-biting environs of a Grand Slam. "Mentally I'm a little bit stronger," she said. "I've learned a lot with all the tournaments that I've played."

Sporting a pounding forehand, sharp slice serve and thunderous one-handed backhand, Mauresmo has beaten nearly every player of note on the circuit. But the super jock isn't 100 percent satisfied with her game quite yet. "I still have some work to do on different points, and it's always good to win even though you're not completely satisfied," she said.

After her run in Rome, Mauresmo planned to rest for a couple of days, then hit the practice courts. She's exhibiting a good deal of confidence and is hoping that it spans for a good 13 days at Roland Garros. "I feel good about my game," she said. "I just hope it's going to last and I'm going to try my best to make it last."