Centennial Olympic Games, Stone Mountain Tennis Center: July 23-Aug. 4

Obviously, I was just as disappointed as I'm sure Amanda was to be seeded in both singles and doubles only to be knocked out in the second round. Zvereva successfully used a lot of Sabatini-like topspin to attack Amanda's short stature. In the second set, Amanda was more aggressive in coming to net, and I thought she had enough momentum to win the match. But alas, Zvereva was too tough. While Amanda could have played better, I think the unfortunate result was more attributable to Natasha playing better than I've ever seen her play.

In doubles, Coetzer and de Swardt simply overwhelmed Kim and Park in the first round. Since the match was on an outer court, I was able to talk to Amanda after the match. She remembered me from previous tournaments and gave me a friendly greeting. I told her about this web page . . . which she eventually visited! Needless to say, talking to Amanda got my weeklong Olympics trip off to a great start!

In the second round, the British team of Lake/Wood pulled off the upset. Amanda had some trouble with her serve and became visibly frustrated as the South Africans lost two very close sets. By the way, the South African tennis team wore very attractive white and green outfits -- my friend took some photos of Amanda that I should be able to upload soon.