Doubles Matches Dominate Day Three
by Christopher Gerby
Dokic/Hopmans vs. Pullin/Yoshida
Women's Doubles: First Round
Court 17
Aussie phenom Jelena Dokic has tried a few doubles partners this
season, playing several events with Jennifer Capriati and hooking up
with Rennae Stubbs two weeks ago in Montreal. Amanda Hopmans of the
Netherlands was her partner on Wednesday, with British lefty Julie
Pullin and Japan's Yuka Yoshida on the other side of the net. The first
point suggested that this might not be a traditional doubles match --
a long baseline exchange between Dokic and Yoshida finally ended with
Dokic netting a forehand. Other early impressions: Jelena looks
taller in person than she does on TV and that unflattering birthmark
which was once so prominent on her face has magically disappeared.
Pullin/Yoshida looked like the much more competent doubles team early
on, snaring a 4-0 lead. Hopmans was missing most of her volleys and
Dokic was essentially trying to play singles, whacking away from her
baseline perch. Pullin managed to win a point with a broken string
in Game 5, which ended on another Hopmans volley error. Hopmans did
strike a forehand winner to save a set point on Pullin's serve.
However, Yoshida then put away a winning volley to wrap up a 6-0 win
of the set.
The struggles continued for Hopmans as the second set began -- she
essentially broke herself by netting an overhead and yet another
volley. However, she and Dokic then broke Pullin to get on the
board at 1-1. Holds from Dokic and Hopmans were then sandwiched
around a break of Yoshida to give the Australian/Dutch pair a 4-1 lead
in the second set. Dokic was spending more time at the net now,
showing good feel when she was up there. She was also starting to
smile quite a bit. Holds from Pullin, Hopmans, and Yoshida brought
the second set score to 5-3. Just when a third set was looking
inevitable, though, Pullin floated a topspin lob winner for a 15-40
lead against Dokic. A Yoshida error brought the score to 30-40,
but Pullin went for another lob on the second break point. Jelena
apparently misinterpreted Amanda's cry of "go go go" as "no no no,"
because neither player went after the ball. It completed its arc
over Dokic's head and fell in, breaking the Aussie for 5-4.
Yoshida held for 5-5, moving the second set closer to a tiebreak.
Winning returns from Pullin and Yoshida (playing as well now as they
had in the first set) gave them a huge break point opportunity at
30-40 against Hopmans. However, Julie and Yuka had an untimely
clash of racquets going for a volley, so the game went to deuce.
Two more break points came and went, with Dokic/Hopmans pushing the
game to four deuces. Hopmans finally held serve with a winning
backhand volley for 6-5. Game 12 was another tight battle. After
the second deuce, Pullin missed a smash to bring up set point. That
was all the opening Amanda Hopmans needed -- she put away a forehand
volley to win the set 7 games to 5.
The momentum clearly shifted now the the Dokic/Hopmans side. Playing
with renewed confidence, they stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the third
set. Game 5 was long and wild. One rally had to be stopped when a
ball came flying onto the court from a practice session next door.
By the time the game reached its sixth deuce, the chair umpire had
lost track of the score. He called out "advantage Hopmans," only to be
corrected by Dokic, who volunteered that it was really deuce. Two
points later, Jelena netted a volley to make it 4-1. Well played
holds from Dokic and Pullin advanced the score to 5-2. Yoshida
valiantly tried to keep the match going in Game 8, another see-saw
multi-deuce affair. However, after three match points went by the
boards, Dokic ripped a big backhand off Yoshida's racquet to complete
the 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
Jelena Dokic and Amanda Hopmans got off to a very dodgy start on
Wednesday morning, but were looking like a capable combination at the
end of this come-from-behind win. Unfortunately for Jelena, her
volatile father Damir made bigger news this afternoon. He became
unruly (in a dispute over allegedly poor-tasting salmon of all things)
and got himself banned from the tournament.
Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Pavlina Nola
Women's Singles: Second Round
Court 13
With Gianluca Pozzi (a straight sets winner in the first match of the
day on Court 13) still being interviewed by Italian reporters in the
stands, Meghann Shaughnessy and Pavlina Nola arrived for their second
round bout. Shaughnessy was impressive in her first round win and
came out firing on all cylinders here. She launched an ace and two
service winners in a hold for 1-0, broke at 15 for 2-0, and hit a
monster forehand pass to close out a love hold for 3-0. Nola (who
used to play under maiden name Stoyanova) is a scrappy player who
moves well, but there was little she could do against this onslaught
of Shaughnessy power. Nola snuck out a hold for 1-3, but Shaughnessy
blasted three more service winners on her way to 4-1. A series of
holds took the set to 5-3, with the Arizona native looking to serve
it out. After taking a 40-30 lead, Shaughnessy sent a rocket forehand
down the line to clinch a 6-3 win of the opening set.
Nola held to open the second set, but Shaughnessy thumped her fourth
ace of the afternoon on her way to 1-1. Game 3 featured the best
rally I've seen all week. Nola whiffed swinging at an overhead, but
scrambled back and flicked the ball over her shoulder, with her back
turned to the net. When that shot landed in, Shaughnessy ripped a
forehand right at Nola, who answered with a defensive lob. That
fell in as well! A few groundstrokes later, Shaughnessy finally
ripped a wicked backhand down the line to win the thrilling point and
take a 15-40 lead. It was an apt microcosm of the match thus far --
a resourceful Nola giving 100% but still coming up short against the
Shaughnessy power. Meghann broke for 2-1, served huge in a love hold
for 3-1, and earned another double break point situation. Nola hit a
drop shot, but Shaughnessy ran it down and flicked in a backhand.
Nola got the ball back, but her weak lob was smashed clear out of the
court by Shaughnessy, who now had a 4-1 lead in the second set.
Nola earned her first break point of the entire match in Game 6, but
squandered it by missing a backhand. The Bulgarian simply smiled and
shook her head. Shaughnessy saved a second break point with a smash
and ultimately went ahead 5-1. Nola -- who'd been bravely attacking
the net for much of this set -- made some wonderfully athletic
volleys in the seventh game. She fought off two match points
and held for 2-5. Pavlina still had not broken her tall opponent's serve,
though, and she wouldn't do it now. Leading 40-0, Meghann Shaughnessy
unleashed her eighth ace of the day to complete a 6-3, 6-2 triumph.
Expect to see plenty of big serves on Friday when the intense
young American takes on Venus Williams.
Huber/Schett vs. Labat/Tanasugarn
Women's Doubles: First Round
Court 6
7th seeded blondes Anke Huber and Barbara Schett did not get off to
the kind of start they would have hoped for in the women's doubles
competition. Florencia Labat of Argentina and Tamarine "Tammy"
Tanasugarn of Thailand were beating them by a 6-1, 1-0 count when I
arrived. Schett had lost the second and third sets of her singles
match against Chanda Rubin by that same 6-1 score, so this had not
been her day at all. However, the Austrian held for 1-1 and teamed
with Huber to break Labat's serve for 2-1. At 30-30 in the fourth
game, a lunging lob from Labat landed right in the middle of the
doubles alley but was incredibly called out. Labat and Tanasugarn
looked absolutely stunned as they argued with chair umpire Cecil
Hollins, who allowed the call (one of the worst I've ever seen) to
stand. This all just seemed to fire up the underdogs, as they rattled
off three strong points in a row to break for 2-2.
Since they don't venture to the net very much in singles, you might
think Huber and Schett an unlikely pair to be seeded so high in
doubles. They take it seriously, though, and were employing some
strategy here. Getting into the fancy Australian formation, Schett
would crouch down in front of the net on Huber's first serves, ready
to spring up and put away any weak returns. Anke and Barbara also
did quite a bit of screaming in German, chastising themselves after
every poor shot. However, the good shots started outnumber the
poor ones as Huber and Schett won four games in a row to take the
second set 6 games to 2. Their powerful returns and authoritative
volleys had turned the tide in this match, which moved into a third
set.
At 1-1 in the third, Labat played a bad service game, foot faulting
and netting a volley at 15-40 to surrender the set's first break.
Huber then held for 3-1. Anke babbled at herself in German after
missing a return in Game 5, but got a funny look from Schett and
wound up chuckling at herself. Tanasugarn was the ultimate goat in
that game, missing a couple volleys, including one on break point.
A winning Schett lob eluded Labat to make it 5-1. Huber/Schet had
won 9 of the last 10 games, completely turning the tables on the
Labat/Tanasugarn upset bid. However, Labat held for 2-5 and Huber
ominously double faulted twice in a row to open Game 8. Huber's
service game went to deuce, but Labat then put a high backhand volley
in the net. She shouted and looked absolutely furious with herself
for having set up match point. Florencia couldn't have been much
happier a few moments later -- she netted a forehand to finish the
1-6, 6-2, 6-2 Huber/Schett victory. I don't know what happened in
that first set, but Anke and Barbara looked solid the rest of the
way and are a team to reckon with.
Eagle/Florent vs. Knippschild/Tarango
Men's Doubles: First Round
Court 13
Meanwhile, another seeded team was being pushed on Court 13. 10th
seeded Australians Joshua Eagle and Andrew Florent lost a 6-3 first
set to Jens Knippschild and Jeff Tarango. Despite having a rather
sterling doubles resume (cracking the world's Top 10 last year and
reaching the French Open final), Tarango is perpetually unable to
hold together a long-term partnership. This latest experiment
seemed to be working out well. Knippschild doesn't have any more
hair than Tarango, but he does have a much bigger serve. He also has
a nice overhead -- Knippschild clobbered a smash over the back fence
to complete a Tarango hold for 4-4 in the second set.
Eagle held easily for 5-4. Knippschild spanked an ace for 30-15 and
appeared to hit another. After the big German fired a ball down the T,
the umpire announced "40-15," only to correct himself when he saw
that the linesman had called a fault. Knippschild didn't like the
call, but of course it was Tarango who did the talking. Tarango
eventually realized they weren't going to get the ace call, so he
started arguing that Knippschild should get another first serve. "You
called the score; that's a delay," Jeff reasoned. He lost that
argument, too, but Knippschild eventually won the game with a service
winner. Husky Eagle and flashy Florent then took a 6-5 lead and got
to triple set point against the Tarango serve. The firery Californian
found some first serves when he needed them, though -- he and
Knippschild won five points in a row to force a second set tiebreak.
It went as follows...
- JT hits a backhand return way wide and sarcastically mutters "just missed" -- 1-0 EAGLE/FLORENT
- Off-balance forehand winner by JT -- 1-1
- AF forehand goes wide -- 2-1 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- Forehand volley winner by JT for a mini-break -- 3-1 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- JT forehand return sails wide -- 3-2 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- JE just misses the sideline with a backhand return -- 4-2 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- Winning JK smash -- 5-2 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- JK forehand return finds the net -- 5-3 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- Nicely angled backhand return winner by JT -- 6-3 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- Lunging backhand volley by AF catches the sideline; JT acknowledges the clutch shot by nodding his head -- 6-4 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
- JK blasts a service winner -- 7-4 KNIPPSCHILD/TARANGO
"That's it, Jens," Jeff Tarango happily told his partner as Florent's
desperate return of that last Knippschild serve sailed over their
heads. So ended a 6-3, 7-6 upset win for the folically-challenged
American/German duo. After savoring the victory at their chairs for a
while, Knippschild and Tarango turned around and signed a bunch of
autographs. Jeff even got some stick-on tattoos out of his racquet
bag and handed them to each and every kid who'd waited around!
Adams/De Jager vs. Bryan/Bryan
Men's Doubles: First Round
Court 7
Our tour of seeded doubles teams now takes us to Court 7, where
South Africans David Adams and John-Laffnie de Jager were
sporting two of the ugliest shirts I've ever seen. They featured
yellow and red horizontal stripes, giving the # 6 seeds something of
a bumblebee look. Matching apparel (black shirts with black shorts)
could also be seen on the opponents, Bob and Mike Bryan. Of course,
everything matches on the Bryans, a pair of energetic young Americans
who happen to be identical twins. The only way to tell them apart:
Bob's a lefty and Mike is right-handed. They were NCAA champions together
at Stanford, but have found only moderate success since turning pro.
They always attract a crowd, though, and they opened this match with a
break of the Adams serve.
That one break kept holding up as the teams roared through mostly
one-sided service games. The shots were powerful and the rallies
were brief as the Bryan twins ran out a 5-4 lead. Bob launched a
service winner for 40-0, getting the crowd excited at triple set
point. Adams saved the first with a winning volley, but missed a
backhand return on the following point to drop the set 6 games to 4.
The run of successful service games continued in Set # 2. Some nifty,
Pete Sampras-esque overhead smashes from Bob were the main highlights
as the set went to 3-3. The Bryans did some great scrambling (and
some great celebrating), but Adams and De Jager were staying dead
even with them, making most of their first serves and virtually all
of their volleys.
The first tough service game in a long while came for De Jager in
Game 7. Raindrops began falling, but the game and set were so
dramatically poised that neither team wanted to halt play. After six
tense deuces, Adams finally put away a backhand volley winner for 4-3.
David raised his arms and exclaimed, "Yeah, baby!" The rain then
picked up in intensity, as if realizing it was allowed to do so now
that the critical seventh game was over. The players stuck around,
though, and the delay was ultimately very brief. After the court was
sufficiently dried off, Adams and the Bryans scored convincing service
holds for 5-5. When Mike bounced his racquet after a missed return in
Game 11, Bob told him "relax relax"...and then missed a return of his
own for 5-6. Another eye-popping "Air Bob" smash came along in Game
12, which the Bryans won at 15 to force a second set tiebreak. Here's
the point-by-point recap...
- JDJ forehand volley winner -- 1-0 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- DA forehand just long -- 1-1
- JDJ forehand volley off BB's racquet (mini-break) -- 2-1 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- JDJ service winner -- 3-1 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- DA puts away a smash -- 4-1 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- MB's defensive lob sails long -- 5-1 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- MB service winner -- 5-2 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- Topspin lob winner from MB -- 5-3 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- MB backhand return skims the tape and goes in for a winner; back on serve, the Bryans bump chests -- 5-4 ADAMS/DE JAGER
- MB forehand volley winner -- 5-5
- MB puts in another winning forehand volley and jumps around with his arms in a "raise the roof" gesture -- 6-5 BRYAN/BRYAN
- Defensive return from BB goes wide -- 6-6
- JDJ nets a high forehand volley -- 7-6 BRYAN/BRYAN
- BB knocks off a winning backhand volley -- 8-6 BRYAN/BRYAN
It was a truly thrilling comeback, with the less heralded
(and lower ranked in singles) Mike Bryan making most of the big shots down
the stretch. The twins started hopping around like pogo sticks before
meeting at the net for a flying chest bump. After shaking hands with
Adams and De Jager, Bob ripped off his wristbands and rifled them into
the far stands. A group of fans (mostly young women) surrounded the
Bryans like they were the Beatles. One of the brothers -- impossible to tell
which when they're not playing -- even posed for pictures with four
girls at the same time! Men's doubles is alive and well so long as the
Bryan twins can keep scoring big wins like this 6-4, 7-6 surprise.
Husarova/Novak vs. McNeil/Blake
Mixed Doubles: First Round
Court 13
I open Wednesday's last match report with great news of Czechosolavkia's
reunification. OK, not really, but it was Janette Husarova of Slovakia
playing mixed doubles with Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic. These
two weren't even supposed to be here -- only a late withdrawal by
the Wayne Arthurs/Manon Bollegraf team got Husarova/Novak into the
draw. Most of the largely African American crowd was there to see
veteran Lori McNeil and shotmaker James Blake. What they saw early
on were service holds from each player, taking the score to 2-2.
Blake and McNeil were looking very serious and determined, while
Novak and Husarova kept grinning from ear to ear. Husarova did seem
to have a problem with the tension of her racquet, though. Twice in
Game 5 she put the racquet face down on the court and stood on the
strings. Maybe that made a difference, because Husarova ripped a
forehand winner to earn a surprise break point against Blake's hard
serve. Blake then netted a forehand volley and angrily smacked the
ball right back into the net, nearly scaring the daylights out of
Husarova. The Czech-Slovak team had a 3-2 lead.
The men are supposed to have the easier time holding serve in mixed
doubles, but Novak needed five deuces to finally reach 4-2. In Game
7, McNeil missed a couple volleys and double faulted on break point.
Lori looks fitter now than she did a year ago, but the woman is closing
in on age 36 and her reflexes are waning. Blake tried to overcompensate
for her, shouting "I got it" for balls which were actually closer to
McNeil. Things were just going rapidly downhill for the Americans and
Husarova had little trouble serving out the 6-2 set. The second set
went with serve to 2-2, but James Blake then found himself facing
triple break point. Novak converted with a forehand pass that hit
McNeil. "Sorry sorry sorry," Novak said immediately. As they
approached the chairs, Jiri raised his racquet again. "No, it's OK,"
Lori assured him.
The incident really did seem to shake up Novak. He lost his serve
for 3-3 and seemed to play the rest of the match at about half-power,
going particularly easy on his returns of McNeil's serve. Husarova
was playing really well, but she couldn't do it all by herself and
was broken for 3-5. Blake failed to serve out the set, but at 5-4 he
and McNeil earned double set point against Novak. McNeil appeared
to win the set with a lob, but it was called out. On the second set
point, Blake hit a backhand in the direction of Husarova, whose
reflex volley landed in the net. Blake didn't appear to be taking
any of the sting off his one-handed strokes as he and McNeil won
the second set 6 games to 4.
At 15-30 in the final set's opening game, Blake chased a bad toss and
double faulted. Two points later, Husarova struck a winning forehand
volley to break for 1-0. The set went with serve for quite some
time after that, Husarova/Novak maintaining their lead a 4-3. Husarova
got to 40-30, but a Blake return at her feet made it deuce. Janette
put a lunging forehand wide on the next point, giving Blake/McNeil the
advantage. Husarova missed her first serve and Blake absolutely
teed off on the second, whaling a forehand return down the line to
break for 4-4. The crowd (almost filling the Court 13 stands to
capacity now) erupted. Blake's service games were far from sure things,
though. He got down break point yet again and sent a backhand volley
long, throwing his racquet. Husarova/Novak had another winning lead
at 5-4. "That's OK. Just bring it back," advised a woman in the
stands who'd been shouting support to McNeil throughout the match.
Bring it back they did. McNeil put up a winning lob for 15-30,
Husarova shanked an overhead for 15-40, and Novak netted a volley on
break point. The topsy-turvy set was even all over again at 5-all.
Blake hit one of his patented overhead smashes in McNeil's hold for
6-5. Husarova whipped a forehand winner for a 40-30 lead in Game 12,
but then sent in a relatively weak serve. Blake crushed his return,
which glanced off Novak's racquet for Deuce. The game went to a
second deuce, then a third. Husarova sent a backhand volley long to
bring up match point. The Slovakian then hit a smash at Blake, who
thought he had a winning reply lined up. However, his hard-hit
forehand found the net -- Deuce #4. Novak got the ad with a winning
volley and Blake lost the game with an errant return. This exciting,
roller-coaster mixed doubles match would be decided in a third set
tiebreak...
- JH forehand return just wide -- 1-0 McNEIL/BLAKE
- JN low forehand volley into the net -- 2-0 McNEIL/BLAKE
- LM nets a forehand return -- 2-1 McNEIL/BLAKE
- JN backhand return at LM's feet -- 2-2
- JH forehand return into the net -- 3-2 McNEIL/BLAKE
- LM backhand volley lands long -- 3-3
- JH handles a tough low volley, scooping it for a winner -- 4-3 HUSAROVA/NOVAK
- JB is long with a backhand volley -- 5-3 HUSAROVA/NOVAK
- JN backhand volley winner -- 6-3 HUSAROVA/NOVAK
- JB breaks a string on a forehand return, which sails wide -- 7-3 HUSAROVA/NOVAK
Davis Cup hero Jiri Novak and doubles specialist Janette Husarova
finally won the match they weren't even supposed to play -- 6-2, 4-6,
7-6. It was a wild, entertaining nail-biter, finishing under the
lights with great atmosphere on the intimate outer court. All four
players had their moments of shaky play, but Blake showed off a lot of
power, Husarova hit countless forehand winners, and Novak finally
picked his level back up in the climactic tiebreak.
|
|
The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine.
http://tennis-ontheline.com/00/00cguso3.htm © 125
Last updated 26 September 2015
|