Mauresmo struggling to reach peak

SYDNEY – Amelie Mauresmo has admitted she has her work cut out winning a second Australian Open title after tumbling out of the last major warm-up event yesterday.

Mauresmo’s hopes of some valuable match practice hit a major stumble when he was knocked out of the Sydney International by in-form Serb Jelena Jankovic. Mauresmo had started the quarter-final match as a overwhelming favourite but crashed to a 7-5 6-0 defeat in just over an hour.Mauresmo went on to capture her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne last year after being eliminated in the second round in Sydney but said she was more concerned about her form this time.”I’m disappointed at the way I feel,” she told a news conference.”I think there is a lot of work to do in my game, and also physically.”So that’s more concerning to me than being out of the tournament “I would have loved of course to play one or two more matches but I know there’s still work to do.”Mauresmo was playing only her second match for 2007 against one of the hottest players on the circuit this year but was still clearly below her best.The 27-year-old Frenchwoman, who is likely to be seeded number two for Melbourne, made a flying start against Jankovic by breaking her opening service game but struggled during the remainder of the match.She dropped serve six times in the match and committed 38 unforced errors and said she had some fine-tuning to do if she wanted to challenge for the title in Melbourne.”I think I still need to work on my quickness around the court and my reaction,” she said.”It’s the final part, the finer details that are important that I have to work on “I have a few days to get it right.I know it’s not big but it’s important so it makes a big difference in my game.”Nampa-ReutersMauresmo had started the quarter-final match as a overwhelming favourite but crashed to a 7-5 6-0 defeat in just over an hour.Mauresmo went on to capture her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne last year after being eliminated in the second round in Sydney but said she was more concerned about her form this time.”I’m disappointed at the way I feel,” she told a news conference.”I think there is a lot of work to do in my game, and also physically.”So that’s more concerning to me than being out of the tournament “I would have loved of course to play one or two more matches but I know there’s still work to do.”Mauresmo was playing only her second match for 2007 against one of the hottest players on the circuit this year but was still clearly below her best.The 27-year-old Frenchwoman, who is likely to be seeded number two for Melbourne, made a flying start against Jankovic by breaking her opening service game but struggled during the remainder of the match.She dropped serve six times in the match and committed 38 unforced errors and said she had some fine-tuning to do if she wanted to challenge for the title in Melbourne.”I think I still need to work on my quickness around the court and my reaction,” she said.”It’s the final part, the finer details that are important that I have to work on “I have a few days to get it right.I know it’s not big but it’s important so it makes a big difference in my game.”Nampa-Reuters