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Less rain and more Anna Kournikova made for a much improved day at the Citadel Group championships at the Palisades.
Kournikova was a hit Saturday, playing two mixed-doubles exhibition sets, but then any tennis would have been an improvement. Torrential rain Friday forced matches indoors, with no spectators, to keep the round-robin schedule from backing up.
Indoors, outdoors, wet, dry – it doesn't make much difference when you're talking about Jim Courier's huge forehand. He advanced to today's final against Todd Martin without dropping a set after beating Goran Ivanisevic 6-4, 6-1.
Martin had it a bit tougher, having to beat Wayne Ferreira in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (5) to reach the final. Courier accomplished more on the main tour, but Martin has been great as a senior. He's 5-2 head-to-head against Courier on the Outback Champions Series. (Today's session starts at 2:30 with a third-place match between Ferriera and Aaron Krickstein, followed by the final.)
This tournament was played on clay the first two years, a slower surface that would favor Courier. Now it's on a hard court, which Courier says makes today's final a pick 'em.
“The times that I beat him, I return (serve) really well,” Courier said. “He just manages his game so well. He can serve himself right out of any trouble.”
