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by Christopher Gerby Conchita Martinez vs. Anne Kremer Singles: Quarterfinal Centre Court The phrase "moving through the draw quietly" -- always applied to a player who wins several rounds without garnering much attention -- often hangs around the neck of Conchita Martinez. That's just how the shy, unassuming Spaniard likes it, though, and she was pleased with the run of good fortune she'd experienced here. Martinez received a first round bye, lost only one game to Annie Miller in Round Two, and didn't have to hit a ball to get past Third Round opponent Julie Halard-Decugis, who withdrew with a lower back injury. The # 3 seed then caught another break in terms of her draw, getting to face an unseeded Anne Kremer of Luxembourg in the quarterfinals. Kremer was in good form -- straight set wins over Anastasia Myskina, Nathalie Tauziat, and Silvija Talaja got her this far -- but would be making her first appearance on the expansive Centre Court. Kremer got off to a very impressive start. On each of the match's first two points, she picked just the right time to attack the net and deftly put away a winning volley. The crafty Martinez battled back to hold serve, though, and soon had a 2-1 lead. Game 4 was the first poor showing from Kremer, who netted a volley on break point to fall behind 1-3. Martinez then impressively sandwiched love holds around a Kremer hold to go up 5-2. Kremer was only down one break, but Martinez changed that in Game 8, slicing and dicing the 25-year-old all over the court and goading her into errors. Kremer put a running forehand into the net on set point to drop it 6 games to 2. It had been pretty vintage stuff from Conchita, controlling the rallies with her variety of spins and pace changes. The early stages of the second set, on the other hand, were a bit messy. The first six games were all service breaks and both players were getting frustrated -- Martinez bounced her racquet after one errant backhand and Kremer kicked a ball into the air after a missed volley. The first hold came in Game 7 and it finished with a great rally: Kremer hitting a backhand overhead, only to have Martinez anticipate it perfectly and send back a winner for 4-3. Undaunted, Kremer held at love for 4-4. Kremer had a big opportunity at 30-40 in the following game, but lost the break point by a missing a backhand return. Two points later, a line drive Martinez passing shot proved too much for Kremer to handle -- she popped a volley long to trail 4-5. Anne was still on serve, but that hadn't meant very much in this set...and it didn't mean much now. Kremer fell behind 15-30 and lost the next two points on backhand volley errors. It was a sloppy end to an up-and-down set, but Martinez gladly took the 6-2, 6-4 victory. "I thought I played a very good match and I mixed my shots a lot... I was aggressive when I needed to be and I played the important points very good." Martina Hingis vs. Sandrine Testud Singles: Quarterfinal Centre Court Martina Hingis entered Friday with a 10-0 career head-to-head mark against Sandrine Testud, but that's a fairly misleading statistic. Five of the matches had gone three sets and two of the others featured tiebreaks -- the 8th-seeded Frenchwoman is not an easy opponent for Hingis. Therefore, it wasn't terribly surprising to return from the Conchita Martinez press conference and find Testud up a break at 2-1 in the first. However, Hingis went on a sterling run from that juncture, winning 11 points in a row for a 3-2, 0-40 lead. Testud got back on track, though, rallying to hold for 3-3. Game 7 included Hingis hitting a beautiful cross-court forehand winner on the dead run, but Testud came up with a well-angled volley on break point to surge ahead 4-3. Hingis broke right back, skying a lob over Testud's head for 4-4. A service hold then gave Martina a 5-4 advantage. Testud got to 30-30 in Game 10, but picked a bad time to make two unforced errors in a row, losing the 6-4 set on a long forehand. Having struck just 4 winners (compared to 15 from Testud), Hingis was rather fortunate to get out of that set ahead. Four largely uneventful service holds took the second set to 2-2. It was Hingis who then blinked first, double faulting and netting a forehand to end a break for 2-3. Hingis was resilient, though, and challenged Testud throughout a four-deuce battle in Game 6. She finessed a very difficult forehand volley to earn break point and got to 3-3 when Testud was long with a backhand. Then it was Testud's turn to regain command, breaking Hingis at 15 with an authoritative cross-court forehand. The rallies were of a consistently high quality and hard-hitting Testud was starting to get the better of them. She kept that break advantage for the remainder of Set 2, winning it 6-4 when Hingis sent a defensive lob over the baseline on triple set point. For the sixth time, Hingis vs. Testud would be decided in a third set. Martina opened the final set with a buggy-whip forehand winner down the line and held for 1-0. A big forehand pass got Testud to 1-all. A winning backhand volley completed a Hingis hold for 2-1. It was the bigger-serving Testud who suffered the set's first break, driving a backhand just long to trail 1-3. Hingis held convincingly for 4-1 and seemed to be well on her way to the semifinals. Sandrine is not to be taken lightly, though, and she produced some of her best tennis of the day in holding for 2-4 and breaking for 3-4. She also had a good portion of the crowd on her side (as the French players usually do here in Montreal) and they were really into the match now. Testud took a 30-15 lead in Game 8, but Hingis kept patiently sending balls back to her, waiting for errors to come back. They did, as Testud missed a couple backhands to make it 30-40. Facing break point, Sandrine hit a nice drop volley, but quick-footed Hingis ran it down and whipped a backhand pass cross-court to break for 5-3. Testud stood still for a few moments in disbelief, then angrily took the extra ball out of her skirt and whacked it into the net. The cat-and-mouse game continued as Testud and Hingis each delivered winning drop shots in Game 9. When she failed to put a running backhand in play, Hingis found herself in a 15-40 deficit, still unable to shake Testud. However, she came up with some clutch first serves and got herself to match point...only to have Testud rip another big cross-court forehand winner for deuce. Testud got the very same shot in the next rally, but this time it found the net, giving the Swiss star a second match point. This time she converted it, as Testud netted a backhand to end the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 barnburner. Hingis was suitably impressed by the underdog's latest near-miss against her. "She served very well and also from the baseline, with her backhand she can do almost everything, especially the cross-court, and then she pulls you out wide and hits a down-the-line winner. Also at the net, she missed a few when it was sometimes important, but she has great touch, good feel, and I really had to play well." Hingis will probably have to play well again tomorrow in her semifinal match against Conchita Martinez, who defeated Hingis in the Berlin semifinals back in May. "I have nothing to lose to her," Martina reasoned. "I already did it this year." Serena Williams vs. Amy Frazier Singles: Quarterfinal Centre Court By the time I got back from the Hingis interview, Serena Williams had already charged out to a 6-0, 2-1 lead over a helpless looking Amy Frazier. The Michigan-born veteran took Venus Williams to a third set tiebreak a few weeks ago at Stanford, but this was a different day and a different Williams. Game 4 was close, but facing break point Frazier was pulled wide and hit a forehand into the doubles alley. Williams then uncorked a 185 km/h ace on her way to holding for 4-1. Frazier double fauled for 0-40 in Game 6 and, two points later, lost the game when Williams crunched a forehand return down the line. Finishing a match that was virtually over before it began, Serena served it out at love, prevailing when Frazier hit a forehand long. Recording 25 winners (versus just four from her opponent), Serena Williams notched a 6-0, 6-1 victory in just 50 minutes. Frazier was quite upbeat in her post-match press conference, probably glad just to be out of the line of fire. "It was so tough out there," she said of facing Serena for the first time. "I felt under pressure from the first game...she does so much with the ball and the ball and the balls were landing so deep." It's been a fine summer for Amy, though, and I asked if she feels she's been playing the best tennis of her career. "Yeah, I'm really happy with the way I've been playing. It's been fun to play so many matches this summer." Meanwhile, the notoriously self-critical Serena had to admit this was a strong performance. "I didn't make too many errors. I didn't hit the ball too hard and go too crazy. Whatever she came up with, I had an answer for it. No mater what. I was just ready. And I just really kind of did everything that I was supposed to do. It all came together today." Serena also continued to congratulate herself on working some French words into her TV interviews. "I guess they didn't know that Serena Williams speaks French. And I'm American -- no American is really learning another language... That's the truth, really. A handful of Americans are learning languages. So that's pretty impressive." Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario vs. Magdalena Maleeva Singles: Quarterfinal Centre Court If any non-Canadian can claim something of a home court advantage in Montreal, it's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. The scrappy Spaniard has reached the last four finals here -- beating Seles in '92 and Graf in '94; finishing runner-up to Seles in '96 and '98. She loves this tournament and its spectators love her. Looking to spoil the party was Magdalena Maleeva, who came through the qualifying and then lost a total of just 9 games in dispatching Sonya Jeyaseelan, Amanda Coetzer, and Lindsay Davenport. Granted, the Davenport match was abruptly ended by injury, but "Maggie" had reason to be pleased with her quarterfinal showing. Looking to make it a semifinal showing, she opened this evening match by ripping a forehand winner. Sanchez-Vicario got the next three points, though, and had an early 2-0 lead when a light rain began falling on Centre Court. After a brief delay, the players came back out, warmed up again, and Maleeva held serve for 1-2. The rest of the opening set was dominated by Sanchez-Vicario. Being run all over the court, Maleeva played impatient tennis, spraying far too many unforced errors. After just 27 minutes, Arantxa was halfway to the semis, taking the first set 6 games to 1. The second set opened comically, as Arantxa completely whiffed, swinging at a ball which had skidded off the baseline. She jokingly checked her racquet to see if perhaps there was a hole in it. Sanchez-Vicario came back to win that game; Maleeva held for 1-1 (getting an encouraging round of applause); and Sanchez-Vicario extended her lead to 2-1. The fourth game was a thriller. Maleeva pumped her fist after an ace put her up 40-30, but Sanchez-Vicario came right back with a winning drop shot (and kissed the frame of her racquet). On the third deuce point, Maleeva pumped her fist again after putting away an overhead smash. She then got to 2-2 with a winning forehand volley. Game 5, like the game before it, went to three deuces and featured some sterling rallies. With a game point in hand, Sanchez-Vicario hit a lunging drop volley which looked good enough, but Maleeva scampered in and threw up a winning lob. A couple points later, Magdalena ripped a winning backhand return to break for 3-2. Game 6 was an even more exciting battle, again lasting three deuces and including fired-up fist pumps from both players. One rally featured Maleeva running down a drop shot, a lob, and another drop shot -- beating "the Barcelona Bumblebee" at her own game! However, it was Arantxa delighting the fans with a winning backhand pass to break for 3-3. Sanchez-Vicario was back even in the set, but Maleeva was really picking on her forehand, finding a lot of success by driving balls to that wing. After the set's seventh game went to deuce, a pair of forehand errors from the # 7 seed put Maleeva back ahead at 4-3. A match which was looking like a ho-hum walk in the park early on had turned very exciting. The tension built even more in the eighth game of the second set. This one went to a whopping six deuces, with Maleeva tenaciously warding off four break points and Sanchez-Vicario refusing to let up on her. Facing break point # 5, Maleeva had a ball floating in front of her and lots of wide-open court to hit it into, but buried a swinging volley in the net. Thus broken for 4-4, Maggie doubled over in agony. She was so furious and disappointed, in fact, that she completely lost her concentration in the following game and let Sanchez-Vicario have an easy hold for 5-4. Maleeva opened the 10th game by netting a backhand and slamming her racquet. Then she sent a backhand wide for 0-30...sent a backhand long and wide for 0-40...and put one last backhand in the net on triple match point. It all fell apart in one fell swoop for Magdalena Maleeva, but she had really tested Sanchez-Vicario in that second set (which lasted nearly an hour by itself). It was ultimately a hard-earned 6-1, 6-4 victory for the two-time champion. "Maybe in the second set I make some, you know, more errors and she make some more winners as well, so it was much closer," said Arantxa, nicely summing up the obvious. Next up for the fan favorite is a semifinal meeting with Serena Williams. Arantxa won their first four head-to-head matches (including a memorable grudge match at the '98 French Open), but has since taken two lopsided losses to the younger Williams. "I know she's playing really well and it's going to be a difficult match tomorrow," said Sanchez-Vicario. "I probably have to play the way I been doing the whole week, do my game and attack when I have to and definitely take my chances. And if I do that, then I have more chance to win." Coetzer/McNeil vs. Po/Sidot Doubles: Quarterfinal Centre Court 36-year-old Lori McNeil has stopped playing singles and 28-year-old Kimberly Po has been talking retirement for the past five years, but any rumors of their tennis demise would appear to be greatly exaggerated. Here they were, playing in the stadium nightcap match. Both appear to be following the advice Martina Navratilova recently endorsed -- if you're in the twilight of your career, find a doubles partner who's faster than you. This week it's McNeil teaming with South African jackrabbit Amanda Coetzer and Po joining forces with French gazelle Anne-Gaelle Sidot. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was less than punctual in arriving at her post-match press conference, so the doubles match was already more than a set old when I returned. Po/Sidot were getting the better of it, leading by a set and a break at 6-4, 2-1. Po then had to dodge three break points, victoriously raising her arms when an errant Coetzer return finally made it 3-1. McNeil held at love for 2-3. Sidot, whose lefty forehand was misfiring badly, got into a 15-40 hole in the next game. Coetzer made two incredible gets on the first break point, but Po finally pushed a backhand past her for 30-40. Po knocked off a winning volley for deuce, put away another volley for the ad, and another Coetzer return error made it 4-2. McNeil looked very sharp at the net in Game 7, knocking off a pair of volleys in Coetzer's easy hold for 3-4. More foibles from Sidot (looking more and more like her team's weak link) keyed a Coetzer/McNeil break of Po to tie the set at 4. Another McNeil hold brought the South African/American team to a 5-4 advantage. In Game 10, Sidot served a fault, Coetzer returned it anyway, and Sidot kicked the ball back over the net on the fly. That display of soccer skill got the Frenchwoman a nice round of applause from the remaining crowd. Sidot smiled, shrugged, and went on to hold at love for 5-5. With the hour approaching 11 PM, Coetzer and Po holds carried the second set into a tiebreak, which went a little something like this...
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