EASTBOURNE 2001

    Magüi had a great performance at Eastbourne 2001, reaching the final after defeating some tough rivals. In the final she found a too strong rival, Lindsay Davenport, and she could do nothing against her.

     Here a report about her semifinals match against the Russian Elena Likhovtseva.

(Translation from La Provincia (23/06/2001))

Magüi Serna plays Lindsay Davenport

   The Gran Canarian tennis player Magüi Serna reached yesterday the final of the tournament of Eastbourne, where she’ll play the American Lindsay Davenport, after defeating the Russian Elena Likhovtseva in three sets.

    Serna displayed an aggresive game on Eastbourne’s grass that allowed her to have a close score till the 11th game (5-5), in which Likhovtseva took advantage of some mistakes in the Canarian’s serve, which allowed the Russian player to win the first set by 7-5.

    In spite of an adverse score, the Spanish player didn’t discourage, and with an excellent serve and many lobs, which surpassed always the approachs to the net of the Russian player, she won by a clear 6-1 in the second set.

    Magüi Serna went on with her good game at the beginning of the third set, in which she was leading by 3-1, but Likhovtseva reacted and draw the match at 3-3, after breaking Magüi’s serve.

    Once again, the breaks were the ‘stars’ of the match. Magüi Serna, in spite of the circumstances, didn’t give up and broke again, which allowed her to finish the match with her serve (7-5).

    The Gran Canarian’s rival, who reached the quarterfinals in Wimbledon last year, will be the world number two, Lindsay Davenport, who defeated Chanda Rubin by 6-1 and 6-1.
 

     Here a report about the final against the American Lindsay Davenport.

(Translation from Sports.com (23/06/2001))

Davenport doesn’t give chances to Magüi Serna in the final of Eastbourne

    The Spaniard Magüi Serna had no chances against the American Lindsay Davenport and lost clearly by 6-2 and 6-0 in the final of Eastbourne.

    Serna, who had displayed an aggresive tennis till today and was playing her second final of the year (she lost in Porto to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario) could do nothing against the convincing serve-volley game of Lindsay Davenport, seed number one, who played again after being away from the tour for three months due to a knee injury.

    The match couldn’t begin worse for the Canarian player, who saw that the world number two broke her in the initial game of the match.

    The Spaniard didn’t give up, but Davenport didn’t give her chances with her serve, while Magüi Serna suffered a lot to hold hers, which she lost again, so that the American won the first set by a clear 6-2.

    The second set was a real walk for the American, who needed only 21 minutes to get a 6-0 against tha player from Las Palmas, who recognised at the end of the match that “if I had served a little better, I would have had more chances”.