I attended the Birmingham 2005 tournament from Monday to Sunday, and
now that I've uploaded to my website all the photos I took, it's
time to share my observations of the Selesian players.

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First round
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+ Anna Chakvetadze d. María Sánchez Lorenzo, 6-4 6-3

I am a demi-fan of María (my favourite Selesian player and a very
attractive lady to boot), but Chakvetadze has been a revelation for
me since I watched her match against Maria Sharapova at the French
Open on TV, and I'm now a demi-fan of Chakvetadze too.

Chakvetadze is very cute, with unique sculptured facial features,
including pretty eyes and the nicest nose I can think of. She's not
a particularly great player, although she does go for her shots, is
willing to come forward to hit overheads or drive-volleys, and is
very reliable at holding serve - except when she has to serve for
the set or the match (she needed endless deuces at 5-4 in the first
set, and was broken at 5-2 in the second).

Chakvetadze did not appear to enjoy this match very much - she
looked like she was chewing on wasps all the time; never did a smile
cross her face while she was playing and I was watching (although
she did smile once when making her way to the practice-courts). But
not smiling is just the way she is; it didn't put me off taking
loads of photos of her! :-o

Chakvetadze does look better on TV than in person, because of the
close-ups: on TV you get to see her eyes bulging as she runs for a
dropshot, or the cute little blows of her lips just before she
serves or receives.

PHILIP: This is a nice biro that they gave me at the Whirlpool booth.
ANDREW: Not as nice as Anna Chakvetadze though!
PHILIP: I don't think you can compare a biro with Anna Chakvetadze.
ANDREW: Well, they both bulge when you press them, don't they? And
have you ever seen a biro smile?


+ Arantxa Parra Santonja d. Maria Elena Camerin, 7-6 (7/4) 6-4

My preconceived idea was that I would prefer Arantxa in tennis-terms
because she is a Selesian, whilst finding Camerin more attractive
(it was my first time to see Camerin play).

But I actually found Arantxa more attractive than Camerin, and more
attractive than last year, as her tall, beautifully-toned body and
smooth, sexy legs outweighed Camerin's delicate facial features. So
Arantxa is firmly on my list of "other nice players" now.


+ Akiko Morigami d. Amanda Janes [WC], 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7/5)

I saw the end of this match on Centre Court, when Janes - who has a
beauty reminiscent of Gwyneth Paltrow - led 6-5 in the third set and
had several match-points. But it was a heroic British failure as the
Japanese Selesian player fought back with rallies that appeared to
be of a higher quality than those on the outside courts.

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Second round
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+ Arantxa Parra Santonja d. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [7],
6-4 6-7 (3/7) 7-6 (7/5)

A really strange match, and one that Daniela didn't deserve to lose
as she looked a class or two above Arantxa in talent.

Daniela started brilliantly, playing with flair and precision as she
surged to a 4-2 lead in the first set. But for some reason - whether
loss of concentration, nerves or even Daniela feeling unwell - it
all went pear-shaped after Daniela served two double faults in a row
at 4-2, and she lost four games in a row to drop the first set.

Daniela fought bravely in the second set, mixing brilliance with
elementary errors, and after she won the tiebreak to level the
match, she looked every inch the winner as she broke for 2-1 in the
third set and held for 3-1.

Arantxa played very well in the second and third sets, often forcing
errors from Daniela with her deep, aggressive two-handed
groundstrokes. Daniela was pegged back to 3-3, and also lost a 5/3
lead in the third-set tiebreak, finally losing the match with a
netted backhand after a nailbiting rally at 5/6.

I was quite calm throughout the match, only becoming nervous when
Daniela had to serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third. It
was a mouthwatering match between a nice player and a beloved one,
but I was so heartbroken for Daniela that I had tears in my eyes
when she lost.

Daniela's technical abilities are in very good nick at the moment,
and have brought her the French Open mixed doubles title and the
Birmingham doubles title. The way she's playing at the moment, she
is a joy to watch. The problem is that she just isn't a good match-
player - she needs to go away and have a long, hard think about what
she wants to happen under pressure, and what she doesn't want to
happen under pressure.

For a point-by-point description of this match, please visit my
Birmingham 2005 report for Daniela Hantuchová:
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/hantu/birmingham2005.html


- MARION BARTOLI [9] lt. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-3 6-0

I watched the first set of this match. It was very closely
contested, and I enjoyed Marion's very devout Selesian style of
play - she has a cross-handed forehand just like Monica (some
Selesians switch hands from backhand to forehand), and even hits her
volleys two-handed! And she has a nice grunt.

Tanasugarn had a nasty fall in the first set, and didn't get up
straight away. It was very touching to witness Marion's Selesian
compassion for her doubles partner as she went to Tanasugarn's side
of the net to see if she was okay.

I had to leave this match after the first set. It was quite a rude
surprise to see how lopsided the final scoreline was.


- Akiko Morigami lt. Stéphanie Foretz, 7-5 6-3

I didn't see this match.

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Third round
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- Arantxa Parra Santonja lt. Mashona Washington, 6-2 6-4

A disappointing anticlimax for the attractive Selesian player who
had conquered Daniela Hantuchová in the previous round. I didn't get
to see any of this match because I was watching Maria Sharapova on
Centre Court at the time.

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Doubles first round
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+ Marion Bartoli/Tamarine Tanasugarn d.
Maria Kirilenko/Maria Sharapova [WC], 6-4 6-0

This was scheduled as Monday's last match on Centre Court, but due
to fading light was moved to an outside court (Elena Baltacha beat
Alyona Bondarenko on Centre just ten minutes later) - that's no way
to treat the defending champions of the doubles title, or the lady
whose entry broke box-office records for this tournament! :-||

The two Marias didn't play in any matter remotely befitting the name
Super Maria Sisters. It was Big Maria's first doubles match since
September 2004, and her rustiness showed: Big Maria had neither the
power, precision nor accuracy that she would show in singles, and
the two Marias just didn't gel together as they did at Birmingham
2004 - I don't think they exchanged a single high five during the
match.

I don't think Big Maria was at all happy with being pushed onto an
outside court in cold, windy conditions (both Marias were wearing
long sleeves with pedal-pushers under their skirts), and Big Maria
looked almost disinterested as they relinquished their title tamely
after leading 3-0 in the first set - ironically by the same
scoreline by which they had upset second seeds Li,Ting and Sun,Tian
Tian in their first-round match at Birmingham 2004.

Marion and Tanasugarn played very well: Tanasugarn volleyed
brilliantly after an errant start, while Marion also hit some
stinging volleys - two-handed off both sides! The Marias were
getting outfoxed at the net every time.

For a point-by-point description of this match, please visit my
Birmingham 2005 report for Maria Sharapova:
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/birmingham2005.html

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Doubles second round
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- Marion Bartoli/Tamarine Tanasugarn lt.
BRYANNE STEWART/SAMANTHA STOSUR [4], 7-6 (7/3) 6-3

I didn't see this match.

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Photos
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I have uploaded the many photos that I took on my digital camera at
Birmingham 2005:

Maria Sharapova (75 photos)
Daniela Hantuchová (47)
Tatiana Golovin (41)
Maria Kirilenko (41)
Anna Chakvetadze (28)
Yuliana Fedak (16)
Marion Bartoli (14) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Ai Sugiyama (13)
Arantxa Parra Santonja (11) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Alina Jidkova (10)
Eleni Daniilidou (10)
Maria Elena Camerin (7)
Jelena Jankovic (7)
Jennifer Russell (6)
Samantha Stosur (6)
Tamarine Tanasugarn (6)
Rika Fujiwara (6)
María Sánchez Lorenzo (5) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Nicole Vaidišová (5)
Akiko Morigami (4) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Amanda Janes (4)
L'udmila Cervanová (3)
Tatiana Perebiynis (3)
Mashona Washington (3)
Alyona Bondarenko (2)
Anne Kremer (2)
Tatiana Panova (2)
Bryanne Stewart (2)
Shinobu Asagoe (1)
Evgenia Linetskaya (1)
Laura Granville (1)
Jamea Jackson (1)
Anne Keothavong (1)
Natalie Grandin (1)

All these photos can be found in the Photos section of my website
(subject to the image-host being up at the time you visit):
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/photos/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://www.geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/selesians/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/