http://tinyurl.com/7hgohn Anne's obsessive approach Sunday 18 January 2009 By Bronwen Largier At the grand 'old' age of 25, Anne Keothavong is far from your typical first-time Australian Open main draw participant. She's the British women's No.1, a comedy-loving kick-boxer, and by her own admission, a little obsessive about her many superstitions. She's also the first British woman inside the top 100 – sitting pretty at No.53 since Samantha Smith slipped back into triple digits way back in 1999. She’s facing a tough first round match on Monday against 17th-seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia. The pair have met twice before, in 2003 and 2004, with both matches going the way of the Russian. But despite having the misfortune to draw a seeded player in the opening round, Keothavong remains optimistic. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a tough match. She’s the 17th seed, and I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve been playing good tennis the last few weeks, and I’m going into the match full of confidence.” Her recent “good tennis” saw her advance to the semifinal of the ASB Classic in Auckland and make it through to the round of 16 at the Hobart International, where she bowed out at the hands of Virginie Razzano. Planting the British flag back in the top 100 means a lot to Keothavong, but she knows she still has quite a climb ahead of her. “I’ve got to look at the bigger picture, and working on my WTA ranking is what I’m doing. This year, I’d like to improve it even more.” Despite being the only British woman with a double-digit ranking, Keothavong is quick to defend the state of women’s tennis in her country. “Our British No. 2 Melanie South is on the verge of breaking into the top 100 also, but we do have some other girls - Elena Baltacha, Katie O’Brien, Georgie Stoop - who are doing very well. I think we’re all kind of pushing one another, and they’ve seen the success I’ve had. I’m sure that spurs them on to do better things.” The one thing Keothavong is more tight-lipped about these days is her superstitious approach to her sport. Her unusual habits gained her more media attention than she was expecting when she made it to the third round of the US Open last year. “I had a few superstitions going on there ... doing certain things a certain number of times and going to the same place to eat. A few things I should never have mentioned, because now people are asking me about my superstitions. I think people think I’m a little bit odd.” So we’re not going to hear of any strange goings-on this week? “There are a few things I’m doing this week, but I’ll keep them to myself. Maybe if I win a few matches, I won’t share them. That’s when I’ll know if they’re working or not!” --

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