THE SCOOP: FRIDAY, JULY 25

Former convict Fisher appears at Stanford
Dokic on why she canned Gunhardt: 'He was trying to change my game too much;'
A new Swiss miss: Mikaelian mauls Meghann

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC IN STANFORD – Dr. Pete Fisher, who was released from a Southern California jail in the spring of 2002 after serving three and half years in jail for molesting boy patients, traveled to a WTA tournament for the first time, invited as a guest of Alexandra Stevenson, whom he privately coaches in Los Angeles.

Fisher's appearance here this week is his first at a WTA tournament since he was recently released from his house arrest.

Fisher was also 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras' junior coach and also works with Vince Spadea, as well as a number of junior players in Los Angeles.

Stevenson lost 6-3, 6-2 to in the first round on Wednesday to fifth-seed Jelena Dokic.

The WTA Tour has a code of conduct, but no rules in regards to who gets guest or coaches badges.

He's our guest," Stevenson's full-time coach and mother Samantha, told tennisreporters.net. "He'll always be a consultant for Alexandra's tennis. He's not traveling as her coach, he's coming as a friend."

The 22-year-old Alexandra added, "On the road my mom's coach. We're not giving up our friendship with Pete. He'll always be my childhood coach. I'll just say that he's now available to watch me play in California events."

In late 1997, Fisher, a Rolling Hills, Calif.-based pediatrician, plead guilty to two felony counts of sexual molestation brought by four former patients at a hospital in Downey, Calif.

"I don't believe he's what they say he is," Stevenson once said. "My opinion is that he shouldn't have gone to jail. There's a lot that I don't know and everybody doesn't know. He could have gone to jail for life. I just have to trust him. I think he's a good human being and he's always been moral to me and he's always going to be my friend."

After pleading guilty, the now 60-year-old Fisher lost his physician's license. At the time, his lawyer said that he decided not to stand trial because he was facing 11 felony counts and the risk of a longer jail sentence was too great.

Spadea said this earlier this year that he's not concerned with Fisher's past. "It's not difficult to deal with," Spadea said. "I go to him for his expertise the same way you go to a doctor or a lawyer, for their expertise in their work. You're not really concerned or concentrating on their personal life or the outside-the-office life. We have a professional relationship, and after we go our separate ways and continue to live. To me it's been very easy. It's a business approach."

Dokic on why she canned Gunhardt: 'He was trying to change my game too much;'
Few players have been more enthusiastic about hiring a new coach than Jelena Dokic was when she hired Heinz Gunhardt, Steffi Graf's former coach, back in February. But Dokic ended the relationship just before Wimbledon and has hired Borna Bikic as her new tutor.

Dokic partially attributes her six-month slump to she and Gunhardt's failed relationship.

"Having what I had the first six months didn't help," said Dokic, who has dropped from No. 4 to No. 12 in the rankings. "It wasn't the right work or what I wanted to do. It wasn't the right thing for me. [Borna and I] communicate much better on and off the court. Some people can't work with other people. Right now I feel a lot more comfortable and better. Borna pushes me a lot to get my confidence up. I really like the way he works."

The aggressive baseliner – who's about a pure a grip-and-rip player as they come – said that when Gunhardt simply fiddled too much with her straightforward game.

"He was trying to change my game too much and we weren't communicating very well. The way he was working wasn't right for me and the kind of tennis I play, plus the amount of work he was doing."

When she first hired Gunhardt, Dokic said that she was happy with a part-time coach. Gunhardt has no desire to travel full-time after all those years on tour both as a player and with Graf, but Dokic ended up feeling that she needed a more full-time presence.

"It's difficult to see not see someone for two months – every match and practice I didn't see him," she said. "That's too much. Even off the court you need to talk and I didn't have that. It was very difficult. I couldn't work that way."

A new Swiss miss: Mikaelian mauls Meghann

© Mark Lyons

Swiss teenager Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian showed a lot of poise and power in whipping Meghann Shaughnessy 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the second round.

The 19-year-old showed a lot of spunk late in the third set, placed her serve nicely, controlled the court with her forehand and showed the top-20 potential that she's talking about. She played a terrific last game to win the contest, elbowing off two break points with a huge forehand winner and an ace. Despite committing two "go-for-it" unforced errors on her first two match points, on her third match point, she went all out and crushed a forehand crosscourt winner.

"I played so well the whole match that I didn't want to give it away," said Mikaelian. "My game is to be aggressive."

That's what a lot of young players say, but they don't always back it up. Mikaelian has already reached No. 37 in the rankings and even though she isn't particularly fast, has weapons all over the place.

She admired Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi growing up and, with Myriam Casanova, is part of a solid young Swiss contingent that hopes to replace Martina Hingis.

"Martina is responsible for a lot of popularity of tennis in Switzerland," said Mikaelian, who on Thursday was sporting a black Head T-shirt with Agassi's likeness on the back. "I like Andre's personality."

She had a terrific start to the year, reaching the Gold Coast final, but has fallen prey to a bunch of injuries. But now she's healthy, says her serve and mental approach have improved and she's raring to go.

In the quarterfinals, she'll likely face second-ranked Kim Clijsters. Then she'll really know where her game is. "I like these kind of tests," Mikaelian said. "Then I can see how much I need to work and learn."