Handing the Masters Cup flag over the the Shanghai delegation was probably Jim McIngvale's (in light gray sweatshirt) most difficult task at the 2004 Masters Cup.

As the four-year run for the WTA Championships comes to an end this week in Los Angeles, there is no such sense of loss, only a sense that this event has failed and that next year in Madrid will be a new beginning and a chance for a better event. Asked about the situation in a post-match press conference, Lindsay Davenport noted, "You know, I'm not really sure what the answer is to that because obviously Southern California and Los Angeles in particular is a huge tennis town. But I do believe it is time to change. We have had four years here. I think Madrid has proven with their Masters series event there with the men they held a great event. They are very excited about having us there. So I don't know why it didn't work out here. But hopefully Madrid is a fantastic showcase for us."

In stark contract to the Masters Cup event in Houston, the event in Los Angeles seems sterile and utterly lacking in soul. The huge Staples Center makes an outstanding basketball court for the Lakers, but for a tennis match, the rubbery surface is extremely fast, the bright spotlights are blinding, the court area is too narrow in width, and the lack of a backdrop around the court makes it hard to see the ball. Last year, a big marketing push in Los Angeles featuring Sharapova and Serena Williams was at least moderately successful at driving fans into the stadium. This year Sharapova seems to be the lone player drawing in any significant fan base, there is no marketing push for the event, and attendance is dismal, with only 5,107 attending on Tuesday, and 3,911 at the Sharapova-less Wednesday sessions. At this rate, the press will outnumber the fans by the time we reach the finals on Sunday.

Mary Pierce and Elena Dementieva played to a largely empty Staples Center on Wednesday.

The players seem fairly consistent in their opinion of the event... not only noting the fastness of the surface and the difficulty in seeing the ball, but also complaining that the matches, which start at 6:00 pm and continue until around midnight, are unusually late, particularly for jet-lagged players normally based in Europe. And nearly without exception, the players complain about being tired and burnt out due to an overly lengthy season, and are very much looking forward to brief vacations over the next couple of weeks before they begin their training anew in preparation for the Australian Open.

After the completion of three days of play in Los Angeles, the field has narrowed and the semifinalists are now determined, with Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, and Amelie Mauresmo earning certain slots in the semifinals on Saturday regardless of the outcome of tonight's matches. The big surprise here has been Kim Clijsters's losses to both Pierce and Mauresmo. Pierce has played exceedingly strong tennis and took advantage of Clijsters fatigue and jet lag. Clijsters's match with Mauresmo was quite close, with Amelie nearly finding a way to choke it away at the end but saved by a service return error by Clijsters at match point. Because of these losses, Kim has failed to qualify for the semifinals and Lindsay Davenport has now clinched the year end number one ranking for the second year in a row.

What can the pros teach us about "Mental Toughness?"
by Dr. Robert Heller

The answer may surprise you. As you watch them play, you will observe both "mental giants" and "mental midgets." While pros spend thousands of hours working on their strokes, physical conditioning, strategy and the like, relatively few work much on "mental conditioning." You may be just as likely to find mentally tough players at the local park tournaments as on the professional tour. The least mentally fit players may not be able to compensate with other skills to survive for long in the pros. The most talented may do well in spite of this limitation in their game but they seldom reach their full potential.

Among the well known women, Jennifer Caprietti gets my vote for being among the mentally weakest of the well known women players on the tour. In one match, some months back, following a disagreement on a call, she proceeded to lose 12 of the next 13 points and lost game, set and match!

I would rank Maria Sharapova as among the mentally toughest on the women's tour. She has that competitive "fire in the belly," uses her time between points and at the changeovers to recover very effectively and makes good use of slow, deep breathing to calm down and prevent her from getting overly anxious or excited. Although it's obvious she hates losing, she never appears afraid to go for her shots and seems to accept occasional loses as "coming with the territory."

Dr. Robert Heller is a sports psychology consultant based in Boca Raton, Florida and author of TENNISMIND and MANAGING YOUR STRESS.

Here's ONE THING You Can Do To IMMEDIATELY IMPROVE Your Tennis Game...

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Here are the results and photographs of those matches completed through November 10, the third day of the round robin competition. The Petrova v. Schnyder and Sharapova v. Davenport photos in this report are by Pablo Sanfrancisco, while the rest of the photos are by Cliff Kurtzman.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

(5) Mary Pierce (FRA) d. (2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 61 46 76(2)

 

(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (6) Patty Schnyder (SUI) 61 36 63

(1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) d. (7) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 62 76(1)

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

(5) Mary Pierce (FRA) d. (8) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 62 63

(1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) d. (6) Patty Schnyder (SUI) 63 75

(4) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) d. (2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 63 76(4)

Thursday, November 10, 2005

(6) Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. (7) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 60 57 64

(3) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) 63 57 64

(4) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) d. (8) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 62 63

To Part 2: November 11 Round Robin and November 12 Singles Semi-Finals

To Part 3: November 13 Singles Finals and November 12-13 Doubles Semi-Finals and Finals