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by Christopher Gerby Sabine Appelmans vs. Maria Alejandra Vento Women's Singles: First Round Court 7 An endless parking debacle caused me to miss the first set of Monday's opening matches...and a rain delay once I did get in held up outer court play for two hours. All in all, not an auspicious way to start the Open. Things had not started particularly well for Sabine Appelmans, either. The winsome Belgian found herself trailing 6-4, 1-0 -- a set and a break -- against Maria Alejandra Vento, the only female player of note from Venezuela. Appelmans has long been floating the notion that she would retire after next month's Olympic Games, so this had the potential to be her final Grand Slam singles match. Play finally resumed at 2:21 PM, with Appelmans aiming to extend her U.S. Open life. Vento was unyieleding. She took the first three points after the delay and held for a 2-0 second set lead. Appelmans looked better in the following game, closing it out with an ace for 1-2. The pattern continued in the next two games. Appelmans had to do a lot of lunging as Vento's pinpoint groundstrokes made it 3-1, but the lefty countered with another game-ending ace for 2-3. Appelmans is the more well known of the two and seemed to have the majority of the crowd support, but a group of Vento fans (proudly displaying the flag of Venezuela) spurred their woman on to a love hold for 4-2. Vento does not have the height of a Venus Williams or the build of a Mary Pierce, but she can hit her groundies with a good deal of power. Enough power to keep Appelmans completely off-balance in Game 7. Facing double break point, the lefty put a forehand in the net for 2-5. A relatively kind draw gave Appelmans fans reason to hope the 28-year-old could make an inspired run at the Open, but here she was looking helpless against a player ranked 80 places below her on the WTA Tour computer. Sabine valiantly fought off a pair of match points in Game 8, but the third time was the charm for Maria Alejandra Vento. Appelmans buried a backhand return in the bottom of the net, ending the 6-4, 6-2 upset. To say the least, this was not what Sabine Appelmans would have planned as her Grand Slam swan song. If this is indeed her final U.S. Open, hopefully she'll get a more fitting exit in the doubles. (She and fellow old-timer Linda Wild will take on older-timer Martina Navratilova and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the first round.) As for Vento, who happily posed for a picture alongside the Venezuelan flag, her next hurdle will be 8th-seeded Nathalie Tauziat. Coincidentally, Tauziat is calling it a career at the end of the season. Can Vento send a second consecutive opponent into Grand Slam retirement? Justin Gimelstob vs. Christophe Rochus Men's Singles: First Round Grandstand New Jersey native Justin Gimelstob has already played his share of memorable U.S. Open matches in front of his home area fans. Last year's diving, screaming, fist-pumping, four set effort against Andre Agassi was no exception. The big guy's been trying to control his boundless energy, though, and would hope for a quieter win over Belgium's Christophe Rochus. Unlike his compatriot Sabine Appelmans, Rochus was off to a good start -- he led 6-3, 3-6, 2-1 when I arrived. However, Gimelstob immediately scored a love hold and a love break to take command of the third set. A second serve ace got Gimelstob to 4-2 and he had a break point in Game 8. Rochus came up with some clutch volleys when he needed, them, though, and held for 3-4. Gimelstob, towering over his opponent at 6 foot 5, blasted two aces in a love hold for 5-3. Christophe is taller than his brother Olivier (the mighty mite who ousted Magnus Norman at Wimbledon), but he was clearly the quicker, less powerful player in this match. He had to overcome a pair of double faults to hold for 4-5. Rochus earned an important break point in Game 10, but that's when Justin turned up the heat. An unreturnable 121 MPH ace got him to deuce, an overhead smash gave him set point, and a deep second serve forced a Rochus error to end it. Gimelstob pumped his fist, having secured the third set 6 games to 4. He carried that momentum into Set 4, breaking easily for 1-0 and powering home two more aces (the latter a 127 MPH bomb) on the way to 2-0. Justin's power and Christophe's touch keyed three more service holds, leaving Gimelstob with a 3-2 lead in the set. At deuce in Game 6, Gimelstob hit a would-be ace down the T, only to have it ruled a fault. Intense as ever, he went ballistic. "No way! No way! No way, man!" shouted Gimelstob. "Call the referee out," he demanded, returning to his chair and refusing to continue. I didn't have a good angle on the service line in question, but a kid who'd been waiting on the top step of an entrance right behind the court scurried out and announced, "That was so in!" Gimelstob eventually had a long, animated talk with the tournament referee, but of course the call stood. Gimelstob finally returned to the service line, amid hooting and hollaring from the impatient fans. Rochus ripped a winning forehand pass to earn break point and the crowd virtually erupted. They'd switched allegiances from the American to the Belgian! The game went three deuces, but it was Rochus who finally prevailed with another forehand winner. Rochus then secured a hold for 4-3 and pumped his first, leading in the set for the first time. As if he hadn't delayed matters enough already, Gimelstob then elected to take a bathroom break. Mary Joe Fernandez (seated in a VIP box right below the Rackets restaurant) was among the spectators waiting to see what would happen next in this increasingly wild first round bout. The break apparently helped Gimelstob regain his composure. He closed out a love hold with his latest ace for 4-4. Rochus held for 5-4 and got himself a set point in Game 10, but Gimelstob once again stepped it up -- a winning volley, smash, and ace got him to 5-5. Rochus hit an ace (only his second of the day) in a hold for 6-5 and Gimelstob countered with two aces of his own to force the tiebreak. It unfolded as follows...
Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Karina Habsudova Women's Singles: First Round Court 7 Former Top 10 player Karina Habsudova, whose dismal 2000 season has seen her fall out of the Top 100, entered Monday as a slight underdog against 21-year-old workaholic Meghann Shaughnessy. Habsudova looked good in holding for an early 1-0 lead, but Shaughnessy answered with two eye-popping aces in a hold for 1-1. The enigmatic Slovakian then played a terrible service game: two double faults and two wild forehand errors in a break for 1-2. Still serving big, Shaughnessy held for 3-1, 4-2, and 5-3. Yes, Habsudova was winning games in between, but she really had to struggle for her points, whereas Shaughnessy was getting a lot of free points off her big serve. Meghann seemed to lose concentration in Game 9, making some dodgy returns in a Habsudova hold for 4-5. She had that monster serve to fall back on, though. A service winner got her to 15-0, an ace made it 30-0, and Shaughnessy's sixth ace of the match nailed shut a love hold. First set to the young American, 6-4. All Habsudova could do was smile ruefully. Forehand errors flew off the Habsudova racquet as she dropped serve to open the second set. Shaughnessy's seventh and eighth aces keyed a hold for 2-0. The set continued with serve to 4-3 Shaughnessy. At that point, one of Habsudova's friends in the stands said something which cracked her up. Karina was still trying to wipe the smile off her face as she readied herself to return the imposing Shaughnessy serve. The loosened up Habsudova actually won the first point of that game, but Shaughnessy battled back and got the benefit of the doubt on a couple line calls. "This far out, the ball is good?" Habsudova inquired about one non-call on the baseline, indicating a big space with her hands. Shaughnessy fought off Habsudova's first break point of the day with an ace and held two points later for a 5-3 lead. More Habsudova errors put her down double match point at 15-40 in Game 9. However, she rallied with a service winner and a backhand winner, staying alive at deuce. Two errant backhands from Shaughnessy then narrowed the second set lead to 5-4. Was the Arizona native about to let this match get away from her? The answer came quickly. Shaughnessy blasted two service winners in a row, celebrating each with a positive-looking clenched fist. Habsudova netted a forehand for 40-0. Holding match point again, Shaughnessy took a low ball and ripped an impressive backhand winner down the line to clinch a 6-4, 6-4 win. For the first time in four tries, Meghann Shaughnessy won a U.S. Open singles match. And -- in a sharp break from her usually dour, intense on-court demeanor -- the lanky American smiled! Shaughnessy's game has come a long way in the past year. Her backhand has improved and so has her footwork. Meghann may never possess Hingis-esque anticipation, but she's gotten much better about setting herself up for the next shot and forcing her opponent to hit that extra ball. Of course, having that rocket serve (good for 10 aces on Monday) doesn't hurt. Anne Kremer vs. Olga Barabanschikova Women's Singles: First Round Court 18 Olga Barabanschikova arrived for her first round match as only "The Belarussian Bombshell" would -- wearing blue eyeshadow, red lipstick, and her familiar yellow headphones. Barabanschikova kept right on bobbing her head to the tune of whatever she was listening to, obliviously dallying at her chair while Anne Kremer waited at the net for the coin toss. What 39th-ranked Kremer lacks in pizazz she makes up for with solid play. Early losses in Grand Slam events have been the one glaring blight on her 2000 record, so no doubt she was eager to notch a first round win here. Things went Kremer's way early on, as she sprinted to a 3-1 lead over Barabanschikova, who was looking more than a little out of sorts. Game 5 featured Olga's best (a lovely touch volley winner), her worst (a double fault), and her charisma (smiling and sticking her tongue out after a winning Kremer forehand sailed past her). Kremer laced a strong forehand into the corner to break again for 4-1. Barabanschikova slammed her racquet and shook her head in Game 6, a love hold for Kremer. Then she had to contend with a foot fault call to open the seventh game. "Are you kidding me?", Olga inquired of the lineswoman, before asking which foot was responsible for the infraction. Barabanschikova came up with an ace and another deft volley in holding for 2-5, but it was too late to salvage the opening set. A mis-hit return ended another love Kremer hold, as the woman from Luxembourg claimed a 6-2 win of the first set. Kremer and Barabanschikova have each played some of their best tennis on grass. Anne reached the semifinals at Eastbourne this year and Olga had a fine Round of 16 showing at Wimbledon. However, don't go thinking this match was a race to the net. Kremer was doing so well in the groundstroke exchanges, she was in no hurry to chip and charge. Barabanschikova, meanwhile, made nice volleys when she attempted them but didn't go forward very often. When Kremer broke at love to open the second set, it looked as if her steady performance would be good enough for an easy win. Barabanschikova finally got into a groove off the ground, though, and broke right back for 1-1. A foot fault call on a second serve in Game 3 rattled the Belarussian. "Can you keep an eye on her? I never foot fault," Olga declared to the chair umpire. She then went back and made an amusingly annoyed face at the lineswoman in question. As if to show her that a couple dubious foot fault calls couldn't disrupt her, Barabanschikova held for 2-1, broke for 3-1, and held for 4-1. Kremer's forehand was getting iffy and the momentum had shifted. Kremer was down just one break in the set, though, and quickly got it back. In fact, she reeled off three games in a row, evening the set at 4 with her challenging, well-placed groundstrokes. Game 9 featured some good rallies, the majority of them won by Kremer. On break point, Anne guided a forehand winner down the line for 5-4. Serving for the match, Kremer uncorked an ace for 40-15. She missed a forehand on the first match point, but put away an easy smash on the second. Steady nerves and steady play had carried Anne Kremer to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the flashy-but-spotty Olga Barabanschikova. Kremer's next mission, should she choose to accept it, is a second round encounter with #6 seed Monica Seles. Jeff Tarango vs. Hyung-Taik Lee Men's Singles: First Round Court 7 Still crazy after all these years, 31-year-old Jeff Tarango has had an interesting summer. He caused another stir at Wimbledon, refusing to shake hands with renowned class act Paul Goldstein after losing their five-set epic battle, and surprisingly got himself named to the U.S. Olympic squad. Would Tarango let his racquet do the talking this week at the Open? Apparently it wasn't talking loud enough on Monday evening. Little-known qualifier Hyung-Taik Lee had a two sets to one lead when I arrived, with the score 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 1-2. As for doing the talking, Tarango chastised himself ("Why would you even think of that shot?") and chair umpire Wayne McKewen (over a questionable line call) in Game 4, a Lee hold for 2-2. Tarango was not in a good mood and the low, hard, laser beam groundstrokes flying off Lee's racquet surely had something to do with it. Tarango badly shanked an overhead (sending the ball clear over the back fence) to bring up break point in Game 5, but rallied for 3-2. He had a break point of his own in Game 6, but finally ended it with a forehand error for 3-3. The myth about the importance of a set's seventh game actually looked true this time around. Tarango fell into a 0-40 hole, but climbed out with three serves Lee failed to get back over the net. The game continued on for a tense, enthralling eight deuces. Lee was coming up with the highlight reel shots -- often pumping his fist after brilliantly struck passes -- but Tarango kept delivering good first serves when he needed them. The Korean finally sent a backhand wide to end the game in Tarango's favor. Tarango got agitated again in Game 8, directing a big tirade at a very passive Umpire McKewen. "Then call it!" he finally screamed before heading back to return Lee's serve. Tarango was long with a backhand (the wing which was betraying him time and time again) for 4-4. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Tarango blurted out "Could the U.S. Open employ another ball kid please?" before settling in for Game 9. It was yet another difficult hold, but the tenacious Tarango grabbed a 5-4 lead. A few untimely Lee errors brought up double set point in Game 10. Tarango got a second serve to look at, but his backhand return was wide for 30-40. On set point #2, Lee snuck in behind a good approach shot and knocked off a winning backhand volley for deuce. The qualifier once again pumped his fist and two points later was all square at 5-5. An exchange of service holds then sent the fourth set into a tiebreak. The pro-Tarango and anti-Tarango groups (each well represented in the stands) were whipped into a virtual frenzy now, as the controversial Californian tried to force a fifth set...
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