Monday, 8/4/97 Top seeds serve it up at Classic TENNIS:
Defending champion Davenport to play; rising star Williams aims for
redemption
By Steve Kim Daily Bruin Contributor Just weeks after the men’s
Infinity Open, the top women’s players will get their turn at a
highly competetive tennis competition under the southern California
sun for the Acura Classic. The Acura Classic is a $450,000 total
prize, Tier IIA event on the Corel WTA Tour that will be held at
Manhattan Country Club from August 4 to 10. Top-seeded players such
as number one ranked and Wimbeldon champion Martina Hingis and
third- seeded Monica Seles are just two of the 28 singles and 16
doubles teams entered to compete. Defending Acura Classic champion
Linsay Davenport, who currently stands at the seventh seed, will
have to work overdrive in order to fend off numerous capable
challengers to her title. Hingis, the youngest everWimbldon
Champion, has deeb dominating the women’s tour all year. She has
lost only one match so far. At such a young age, she can look
forward to many more winning years ahead. Hingis is one of the
favorites to sweep the Acura Classic. Venus Williams, Southern
California’s 17 year old rising star, recently lost to Hingis at
the Toshiba Classic after having caused a media stir, saying that
her match against Hingis would be "nothing special." When asked in
a pre-match press conference about her feelings about playing
Hingis, Williams casually stated that it was just another game,
meaning that she had to focus and play hard in this tennis match
just like she should in every other match. Apparently, some members
of the media found her comment to be arrogant and disrespectful.
After the media hype and her disappointing loss, Williams seeks to
redeem herself against Hingis this time around. One of the players
who criticized Williams’ comment was Germany’s Anke Huber. Huber,
ranked number nine, called Williams’ comment a "joke." Should Huber
and Williams clash, it will be an interesting match. Huber, 22, is
doing quite well for herself. This year, she was a finalist at the
Paris indoor and semifinalist at the Pan Pacific in Japan and at
Rosmalen. South African Amanda Coetzer, ranked number seven, is
another one to watch. Coetzer defeated then number one Steffi Graf,
who was seeking her 46th Grand Slam match winning streak, on her
way to the semifinals at the Australian Open. She has also won
against Jana Novotna, Mary Joe Fernandez, and Arantxa
Sanchez-Vicario. Sanchez-Vicario will also be appearing at the
Acura Classic as the eighth seed. Also expect to see former UCLA
sensation Kimberly Po at the Acura Classic. Po is ranked number 15
in the world and is continuing her climb. Po was a semifinalist at
Tokyo and Oklahoma City. She has defeated Davenport previously, on
her way to reaching the quarterfianals at the Australian Open.
Should Po and Davenport end up on the same court , there is going
to be an exciting match. Other top seeded women entered in the
tennis tournament are Romania’s Irina Spirlea (No. 12) and Ruxandra
Dragomir (No. 17), Russian Anna Kournikova (No. 26) and Americans
Jennifer Capriati (No. 27) and Chanda Rubin (No. 30). Aside from
the high profile tennis matches, the Acura Classic has a fundraiser
planned for a special organization. There will be an auction and
dinner Wednesday evening, August 13, for a charitable benefit. The
proceeds from this event, which will auction away previously owned
items of famous tennis players, is to benefit Andrea Jaeger Kids’
Stuff Foundation. The Kids’ Stuff Foundation has a camp site in
Aspen, Colorado, where children with cancer or other serious
illnesses can enjoy camp activities such as white-water rafting and
horseback riding. Ticket prices for the Acura Classic range from
$10 to $60 per game. Parking can be purchased for about $5 outside
the Manhattan Country Club. Related Link: WTA Tennis Scorecard