The real key came in Martina's own serve. In even starker contrast to her previous match, Martina made only 8 unforced errors in the entire match, compared to 38 from Venus. Still sticking to her guns, Venus refused to attribute her shocking defeat to her lack of match preparation, and instead said that she would have preferred to work harder during the break. The only problem is that you can't play tennis and design clothes at the same time. You have to choose.
Education is, of course, very important.
And hence Martina will go into her fifth consecutive Australian Open final against a fifth different opponent. She had beaten Mary Pierce, Conchita Martinez and Amelie Mauresmo, fallen to Lindsay Davenport last year, and will look to make it 4 out of 5 against Jennifer Capriati. Jennifer had also worked hard during the break, and in fact, had been seen by Martina on the practice courts every day in Saddlebrook. Just like Martina, Jennifer had to beat a player her same age in her semifinal. Unlike Martina, though, there was never a fierce rivalry between Jennifer and Lindsay Davenport.