1st Round
Anna Kournikova sidesteps engagement question after beating Alina Jidkova
6:2, 6:1
March 1, 2000
If Anna Kournikova is about to break millions of hearts by getting married, she's not ready to tell the world about it.
After the much-admired, 18-year-old Kournikova quickly dispatched Alina Jidkova 6-2, 6-1 Tuesday night at the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic, she was pleasant but evasive about reports that she had accepted hockey star Pavel Bure's proposal.
"I do not have any details for you right now. As soon as I will be ready, I will let you know everything."
Kournikova is an old hand at having her life under the microscope.
"Definitely, it's tough. You have to cope with that. You have to keep some things private. On the court, I'm there for the people, but sometimes it gets hard. I try not to take things too seriously."
While she wouldn't confirm her engagement, she hopes the situation will not be a distraction to her game.
"Hopefully it won't be and hopefully it isn't. I'm trying to block everything out because I'm concentrating on my tennis right now. That's why I'm here. I wouldn't be coming here if I wasn't ready. I'm here to play."
Kournikova, seeded sixth in the tournament and ranked No. 10 by the WTA, believes she is playing some of the best tennis of her career.
"I'm playing really well. Right now, I'm very fresh and physically strong."
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