| | | | | GAME
PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
Toray Pan Pacific Tennis
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| World No. 9 Ai Sugiyama |
For those who didn't know (or simply
can't believe it), Ai Sugiyama entered the new year
as the No. 10 women's tennis player in the world and
promptly won her first tournament of 2004, the Uncle Tobys
Hardcourts at Australia's Gold Coast. This actually
propelled her up to No. 9 in the world, a ranking that, frankly,
is amazing. Why so amazing? Well, Sugiyama has been huffing
and puffing around the world's tennis courts for over
10 years with little to show for it except a stack of doubles
titles. And at 28 you'd think she'd be running
out of puff rather than beating up the world's best
players and cracking the top 10 (she's also spent quite
a bit of time as the world's No. 1 doubles player,
which, cynics would say, is not too difficult if you choose
your partners right). But 2003 was a breakout year for a player
who is already two years older than Kimiko Date (Japan's
best-ever player) when Date retired, and you have to think
that now could be the time for her to win something big-like
a top-tier WTA tournament. Say, for example, the Toray Pan
Pacific Open (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, February 3-8).
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Jelena
Dokic
|
Sugiyama hadn't actually won a tournament
in five years before 2003, and the ones she did win were bottom-of-the-barrel
events such as the women's section of the Japan Open
(the men's event is a major tournament). Still, titles
look good on your resume and Grand Slam titles look even better,
even if they're in doubles. So picking up both the
French Open and Wimbledon women's doubles titles in
2003 also helped Sugiyama boost her profile (Sugiyama actually
won eight doubles titles in 2003, all but one of them with
Belgium's Kim Clijsters). However, the real significance
of her results came in picking up not one but two second-tier
titles (in Linz, Austria, and Scottsdale, Arizona) and also
claiming several big-name scalps throughout the year (Jelena
Dokic, Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin-Hardenne).
But let's not pretend Ai-chan is going to take over
the world. Her game still relies on huffing and puffing, and
her results in 2003 resulted from playing with greater efficiency
rather than adding a new weapon to her arsenal. Perspiration,
rather than inspiration, is still the name of her game.
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Venus
Williams
|
At the Toray tournament, she'll be
up against the likes of Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Dokic
and Venus Williams. Or, she should be. Dokic skipped the entire
Australian loop of the tennis circuit because, according to
one report, of potential tax problems; Capriati was unable
to compete in the Australian Open; Davenport's been
injured; and Venus spent most of the second half of 2003 out
of action. Still, a Sugiyama-Venus matchup in Tokyo should
drag in a few punters off the streets. Although Venus's
ranking has slipped a bit, she's still the best or
second-best tennis player in the world, along with her sister,
Serena.
The real threat to Sugiyama's title chances at the
Toray tournament should come from Davenport. It would take
a train to stop the defending champion turning up. The big
Californian has won the Toray title three times and has been
runner-up twice and, apart from a fit Venus, there isn't
really anyone in the draw who should trouble her. Davenport's
mental lapses (aka total collapses) are a thing of the past,
and her fitness and ability are, at their peak, awesome to
behold. On top of that, she's a jolly nice gal and
very popular with the local crowd.
Dark horses such as Dokic, Chanda Rubin and Elena Dementieva
all have a shot at glory, but if the script has been written
properly, Sugiyama should be facing Davenport or Williams
in the final. Of course, it could all depend on whether the
script's been written in English or Japanese.
The Toray Pan Pacific Tennis Tournament
takes place February 3-8 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
in Sendagaya. Tickets ¥2,000-12,000. Call the box office
at 03-5229-0288 or see www.toray-ppo.co.jp
Photo credits: Masaaki Kato
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