During the 2002 Kremlin Cup semi-finals, I made positive and negative observations for the match between Lindsay Davenport and Amanda Coetzer. The first thing I noticed about the two players was their height. Coetzer at 5'2 is more than a foot shorter than her 6'2 ½ opponent, Davenport. I think this greatly affected each player's technique. Coetzer stayed close to the ground, and was able to quickly move around the court to meet the ball. Her foot work was excellent, and she was hardly ever out of position. Being taller than Coetzer, Davenport had to rely more on her power and depth of shots.
Davenport was consistent in getting most of her first serves in during the first set. She really put the pressure on Coetzer, making her move around the court and pushing her back. However, a negative observation I made was that sometimes Davenport would hit the ball too hard making it fly long.
I found Coetzer to be a fighter. She tried hard not to let Davenport's returns push her back. She had to stay close to the net, because making drop shots was a way to make up for her lack of power. Coetzer also tried to make low shots, so Davenport would literally have to bend to get it. But despite Coetzer's efforts, Davenport took the victory. Playing best of three, Davenport won 6-3 and 6-4. Clearly, Davenport's power was too much for Coetzer.
I was not surprised by the outcome of the match. Even though Coetzer played to the best of her abilities, I thought Davenport outplayed her.