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by Christopher Gerby Dominik Hrbaty vs. Goran Ivanisevic Men's Singles: First Round Court 11 A rotator cuff injury and an almost pathological lack of confidence made three-time Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic a bigger underdog than ever coming into this year's U.S. Open. Despite having fallen to 75th in the world rankings, though, "Ivo" can still put butts in the seats. The traditionally late-arriving New York crowd made an exception here. The rather plentiful Court 11 stands were almost completely full when Ivanisevic and first round opponent Dominik Hrbaty arrived at 11 A.M. Goran won the toss, chose to serve, and made an early statement. Service winner, ace, service winner, and a big first serve setting up a backhand winner -- a love hold in virtually no time flat. Ivanisevic had come out hot and Hrbaty did not. He sprayed some errors in being broken for 0-2. Ivanisevic then closed out another easy hold with an ace. Lindsay Davenport's match on Centre Court (showing on the new jumbo screen, visible from the Court 11 stands) hadn't even started yet and Ivanisevic already had a 3-0 lead! Like his Davis Cup teammate Karol Kucera, Hrbaty is bedeviled by a very high ball toss. It gave him some trouble in the fourth game, as Ivanisevic broke again. A non-call on the baseline bugged Ivanisevic in Game 5, but the very next point ended with Hrbaty sending a ball long and the lineswoman making the call this time. A grateful Goran bowed to her and proceeded to run out the game at 30. Trailing 5 games to 0, Hrbaty finally got his game in gear. Dominik served three aces (one clocking 128 MPH) in a hold for 1-5 and fought off two set points in a break for 2-5. The mild breeze which had been blowing early in the set disappeared, which was good news for Hrbaty's serve. He delivered two aces and two service winners in another impressive love hold for 3-5. Now in a groove on his groundstrokes as well, Hrbaty ripped a backhand winner for a 15-40 lead in Game 9. Could he turn things all the way around with another break of Ivanisevic's vaunted serve? In a word, no. Ivanisevic came through with three consecutive service winners and a 130 MPH ace to wrap up the 6-3 set. The big servers had managed to play 9 games in just 24 minutes! The opening game of Set 2 almost seemed longer all by itself. It went to five deuces and featured some of grueling rallies. Hrbaty finally held serve with an ace. All the effort sunk into an unsuccessful break attempt seemed to sap Ivanisevic's spirits. He double faulted twice as Hrbaty broke for 2-0 and squandered two more break points as Hrbaty held for 3-0. The Slovakian had won six of the last seven games and was building serious momentum. Hrbaty broke for 4-0 and blasted his latest ace for 5-0. Ivanisevic was losing all of the baseline rallies and having no luck returning Hrbaty's surprisingly big serve. He battled for three deuces in Game 6, but double faulted to end the second set. Hrbaty's roll continued as he snared a 3-6, 6-0, 3-0 lead. He nearly got the set's long fourth game, but Ivanisevic came up with some big serves and held for 1-3. Having finally snapped his losing streak at 9 games, Ivanisevic raised his arms and smiled. The Croatian sensation was back on the board and showing signs of life. However, a fired-up Hrbaty held at love and broke at love, extending his third set lead to 5-1. Ivanisevic's effort level -- which had been OK even in that second set bagel -- dropped off dramatically. He barely flinched as four consecutive Hrbaty aces flew past him to end the third set 6-1. The crowd tried to spur Ivanisevic on as the fourth set got underway, but Hrbaty broke at 15 and held at 30. The bizarre scoreline now read 3-6, 6-0, 6-1, 2-0 in favor of Dominik Hrbaty. There's no way to sugercoat the rest of this match. Ivanisevic simply tanked, pushing returns into the net and casually launching forehands over the baseline. Hrbaty broke at love, held at love, and broke at love, taking a 5-0 lead as Ivanisevic needlessly tried to hit a between-the-legs. That's not in the textbook, folks. Ivansevic got one point (only his fifth in the entire set) in Game 6, but a forehand winner from Hrbaty mercifully brought the 3-6, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 match to a close. The last two sets combined took just 34 minutes to play. Ivanisevic gave his racquets away to kids in the crowd, then climbed up into the stands and walked out through the fan entrance. Go Go Goran was gone gone gone...and his bizarre post-match behavior seemed to suggest that he might not be back. Ivanisevic's admitted lack of motivation made it hard to judge Dominik Hrbaty's performance, but Dominik did strike 19 aces and some impressive groundstrokes. He'll try to match those feats against second round opponent Karim Alami (who outlasted Younes El Aynaoui in Tuesday's five-set "Battle of Morroco"). Nadejda Petrova vs. Daja Bedanova Women's Singles: First Round Court 15 This one goes out to the WTA Tour message board gang. There's been some ongoing discussion there about which newcomers to the women's tour will make the greatest impact. Two who've been highly touted are 18-year-old Russian Nadejda Petrova and 17-year-old Czech Daja Bedanova. Petrova's big serve and forehand carried her to the third round of his year's Australian Open; Bedanova stormed through last week's qualifying event as its # 1 seed. Both youngsters have that "future star" look about them -- they're relatively tall and slim, with a lot of pop on their shots. Petrova appears to have the power edge at the moment, though, and she pulled out a few tough games on her way to an early 4-1 lead. Bedanova dropped her racquet in disgust at one point. Actually, neither player looked happy; Petrova was disputing some line calls and grimacing every time she made a poor shot. Bedanova missed a forehand to fall behind 1-5. She responded by shaking her head and whacking a ball against the back fence. Petrova closed out a 6-1 set by breaking at 15, Bedanova helping her with a double fault and a netted backhand. The tight, agitated young Czech then took off for a bathroom break. After waiting around for a while, Petrova put a towel on her shoulders and walked to the back of the court, where she jogged and stretched to stay loose. Bedanova finally returned and was looking a bit sharper, but Petrova was her equal in the second set's long opening game. After six deuces, Petrova imposed her will with a running forehand winner for 1-0. As the battle raged on, Petrova's fellow Russian players started coming out of the woodwork. Lina Krasnoroutskaya (flanked by coach Larisa Neiland) checked in briefly while getting ready to practice on neighboring Court 16. Anastasia Myskina watched the second set avidly and Elena Likhovtseva was seated near her. Iroda Tulyaganova (a first round winner from the ex-Soviet republic of Uzbekistan) even sat down next to me and watched several games while sucking on a lollipop. Game 2 of the second set was another grind-it-out affair, Bedanova finally crumbling after five deuces. Daja broke back for 1-2 (inspiring Petrova to throw her racquet at her bag on the change of ends), Petrova broke for 3-1, and Bedanova broke at love for 2-3. Both players were showing some skills from the baseline, but many of the rallies were culminating in unforced errors. If either player could step up her play, she'd be liable to run away with the set. That's just what Nadejda Petrova did. Whacking some big winners off both wings, she ran out the last three games for a 6-1, 6-2 victory. It had been much closer than it looked on the scoreboard, though, and Petrova will need to be much more consistent if she hopes to truly challenge defending champion Serena Williams in the second round. Amanda Hopmans vs. Gloria Pizzichini Women's Singles: First Round Court 6 Gloria Pizzichini stands just five feet tall, but she towered over the competition in last week's Open qualifying. The Italian veteran managed to win 36 of 42 games in absolutely rolling through her three opponents. Dutch blonde Amanda Hopmans was the one rolling early in this match -- she took a 4-0 lead. It soon evaporated, though, and Pizzichini was up 7-6, 1-0 when I arrived. Hopmans gets to the net more than your average female player, but she blew a backhand volley to drop serve for 0-2. Pizzichini hit a nifty drop volley in a hold for 3-0. Hopmans viciously slammed her racquet in frustration midway through Game 4, another break for 0-4. Miriam Oremans (who upset 16th-seeded Julie Halard-Decugis a couple hours earlier) could only look on helplessly as her floudering compatriot missed one shot after another. Pizzichini, placing her shots well throughout the set, held at 30 and broke at love for a 7-6, 6-0 win. In an interesting fluke, the Italian qualifier will next meet...an Italian qualifier! Pizzichini will look to extend her four-match winning streak against Francesca Schiavone on Thursday. Magdalena Maleeva vs. Jing-Qian Yi Women's Singles: First Round Court 6 "Maggie Maleeva is still playing?" I heard several variations on that comment today, as passers-by noticed that the youngest of the Maleeva sisters has not retired. The former Top 5 player has been scarce for the past few years, mainly thanks to some serious injuries, but a recent win over Amanda Coetzer suggested that she's back in a big way. Her opponent, Jing Qian-Yi, is also in the midst of a comeback. Yi reached a career high ranking of 69th back in 1996 before dropping off the tennis radar -- she didn't play another main draw match in a Grand Slam until this year. In fact, Yi is actually a year older than Maleeva. She clearly has some ability, as she proved in a pretty competitive match against Martina Hingis at Wimbledon. A winning backhand return allowed Maleeva to break for a 1-0 lead. An exchange of holds followed for 2-1. Game 4 ended with a cute rally -- Maleeva trying a drop shot, Yi responding with one of her own, and Maleeva sending a forehand winner down the line for 3-1. Yi lost the next two games at love, finding herself in a 1-5 hole. Maleeva was playing like the veteran she now is, serving well and employing a creative variety of shots. However, after taking a 5-2, 40-0 lead, the Bulgarian suddenly became incapable of closing out the set. Four set points eluded her and Yi's confidence seemed to be on the rise. Jing-Qian laced a backhand return winner down the line to break for 3-5 and a thoroughly frustrated Maleeva slammed her racquet. The underachieving Magdalena of old might have let the set slip away from here. However, she gathered herself and broke right back to win the set 6-3. It was Yi who performed a racquet toss in the early stages of Set 2. The Chinese veteran was making too many errors on important points and was now on the wrong end of a 6-3, 3-1 score. A Yi error made it 4-1 and Maleeva shouted "ai!" while raising a clenched fist. Yi held for 2-4, but Maleeva got seriously pumped up again in Game 7. After closing out a love hold, Magdalena bellowed, "ai-AI!" Yi got a love hold for 3-5, but would still need a break of Maleeva to survive. That would be easier said than done -- Maggie launched a service winner for 40-0 and enthusiastically pumped her fist. Another big first serve followed on match point, with Yi's defensive reply sailing over the baseline. Magdalena Maleeva advances by a 6-3, 6-3 count. It's been a strange, up-and-down career for the younger sister of Manuela and Katerina, but her competitive fire seems to be burning stronger than ever. Don't be surprised if she gives Mary Pierce a run for her money in the second round. Dominique van Roost vs. Angelika Bachmann Women's Singles: First Round Court 7 German qualifier Angelika Bachmann opened her first round match by breaking 14th-seeded Dominique van Roost. The Belgian's hard, flat groundstrokes started finding their targets, though, and Van Roost quickly opened up a 5-2 lead. Bachmann served well in a hold for 3-5 and got a couple points in Game 9, but an unreturnable Van Roost serve ended the 6-3 frame. Van Roost's inconsistent, attackable serve has long been the weak link in her game, but it looked better two weeks ago in Montreal and was coming along nicely here. Van Roost went up 2-1 in the second set and was at her most impressive in Game 4. Van Roost whipped a winning forehand off a tough deep ball for 30-0, almost knocked Bachmann down with a huge forehand for 40-0, and notched a service winner for a 3-1 lead. The next few games went with serve, Van Roost going ahead 5-3. Bachmann was displaying the kind of game you'd expect from a young 21-year-old qualifer. She has a pretty good serve and power on her groundstrokes, but is erratic and doesn't seem to put much thought into constructing points. Bachmann is a pretty gritty competitor, though, judging by the way she saved three match poitns in Game 9. However, she double faulted twice in a row to set up match point # 4. This time she succumbed, sending a forehand wide to hand Dominique van Roost a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was a solid performance and she had to be encouraged by the free points she got off her serve. Dominique certainly looked happy as she signed a couple dozen autographs for the fans. Next up for her: a second round match against former NCAA singles champion Lilia Osterloh. Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo vs. Petra Mandula Women's Singles: First Round Court 14 The appearance of Spanish knockout Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo brought out some of the usual suspects. The barabanschikova.com webmasters were courtside, as was an older, heavyset man I've seen carrying around a briefcase full of women's tennis photos. All the cameras clicking throughout Sanchez Lorenzo's opening service game may have been a distraction -- Hungarian qualifier Petra Mandula got the early 2-0 lead. Sanchez Lorenzo recovered, though, whacking a pair of aces in a hold for 1-2. Mandula got to 3-1, but the rest of the first set belonged to Sanchez Lorenzo. Besides serving big, she was controlling the rallies with her deep, two-handed strokes. Mandula netted a forehand to end Sanchez Lorenzo's 6-3 win of the first set. With a clean slate to work with in Set 2, Mandula got back on song and took a 2-0 lead. Just as she had in the first set, though, Sanchez Lorenzo turned things around, breaking for 1-2 and holding for 2-2. There was nary a break point in the next six games -- Maria's serve was getting better and better, while Petra was looking quite poised in her own service games. It was Sanchez Lorenzo who finally broke through -- her big return of a second serve was too much for a lunging Mandula, broken for 5-6. Sanchez Lorenzo got to match point at 40-30 in Game 12, but Mandula came up with a shocking drop shot for deuce. Facing a second match point, the Hungarian calmly ripped a cross-court backhand winner. When a third match point came along, Mandula was equal to the task, belting a forehand winner. Sanchez Lorenzo then double faulted to face a break point. However, the Spaniard let out a jubilant shout as she hit a lunging backhand down the line for deuce. Two good rallies followed and both ended on Mandula errors. The qualifier had put up a very good fight, but Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo finally notched a 6-3, 7-5 win. Her reward: a second round match versus 7th-seeded countrywoman Conchita Martinez. Justine Henin vs. Florencia Labat Women's Singles: First Round Court 10 18-year-old Justine Henin, who showed so much promise two weeks ago in Montreal, opened her U.S. Open effort against crafty veteran Florencia Labat. It was a real throwback match in a way -- how often do you see two women with one-handed backhands going at it? That's where the similarity in their games ends, however. Henin is aggressive and very powerful, whereas Labat relies more on varying her pace and keeping the ball in play. Henin got the first set 6-2, but her 29-year-old opponent had clawed her way to a 3-1 lead in the second set when I arrived. Henin committed three errors to fall behind 40-15 in Game 5 and looked like she'd struck a fourth when a forehand of hers was called out. The linesman immediately corrected his call, though, much to Labat's dismay. Florencia tried pointing out a mark to chair umpire Anne Lasserre-Ulrich, but of course you'll never win that argument on a hard court. Fortunately for Labat, Henin then misfired on a backhand to make it 1-4. Henin struck right back, holding easily for 2-4. The seventh game was an emotional thriller. Henin was following almost every winning point with a pumped fist, but Labat was staying right with her. Labat used an absolutely towering lob (it just about scraped the moon before landing near the baseline) to befuddle Henin on one point, but she missed a backhand on break point. The second set was back on serve at 4-3 and the fans were into it -- alternating cries of "Allez Ju!" and "Vamos Florencia!" regularly emanated from the stands. Henin served up a 96 MPH ace in Game 8 and got to 4-4 with a service winner. Justine raised a clenched fist and hissed, "allez allez!" Early in Game 9, Henin got wrong-footed by a Labat forehand and angrily swiped at the court with her racquet. However, she hit an incredibly powerful backhand winner on her way to a 15-40 lead. Labat saved the first break point with an ace, but sliced a backhand into the net at 30-40. Having won four games in a row, Henin would now serve for a place in the second round. Dramatic as the set had become, it ended anti-climactically. Henin served out the match at love, winning it 6-2, 6-4 when one last Labat backhand found the net. With her powerful one-handed strokes and intense displays of emotion, Justine Henin is almost like a female Andrew Ilie. Of course, she doesn't rip her shirt off after victories the way Ilie's been known to. In fact, Henin's celebration was very subdued; it was Florencia Labat who signed the vast majority of the post-match autographs. Dropping the last five games of a match she had gotten back into couldn't have made the Argentine feel very good, but she got several hugs and kisses on the cheek from friends and well-wishers. While Labat's relegated to doubles duty, Henin moves on to a second round singles match against Alicia Molik. The big-serving Aussie just barely got into the draw (nabbing a "lucky loser" slot when Fabiola Zuluaga dropped out), but blew Denisa Chladkova away this afternoon. They may not be household names yet, but Molik's serve versus Henin's attacking ground game should make for an intriguing match. |