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by Christopher Gerby For every dramatic moment captured by TV cameras during the early rounds of the US Open, there are dozens only seen by the fans in attendance. Day One of the 2001 tournament was no exception. Over at Court 7, there was the look of rapturous joy on qualifier Barbara Schwartz's face as she realized she'd just defeated # 13 seed Amanda Coetzer. There was a vociferous throng of Chileans stomping on Court 10's metal stands as they rooted Nicolas Massu to a win over Francisco Clavet. There was Jonas Bjorkman's verbal sparring with umpire Andreas Egli on Court 8...and there was Juan Balcells on the other side of the net, sporting the world's largest sideburns. The following reports will aspire to convey some of the other sights and sounds from Week One's outer court action. Cristina Torrens-Valero (31) vs. Miroslava Vavrinec Women's Singles: First Round Court 17 Monday morning's play got off to an awkward start for Switzerland's Miroslava Vavrinec. Just as her first round match was about to begin, chair umpire Cristina Olausson informed her that she'd have to remove the Sanex WTA Tour patch on her headband. The WTA patches are acceptable on players' shirts, but there is apparently an obscure Grand Slam rule prohibiting them on headwear. Vavrinec was annoyed, but quickly complied, using a little pair of scissors handed to her by Olausson. That effort was more successful than Miroslava's tennis in the early going, as she lost nine of the first ten points. Cristina Torrens-Valero (who joined the list of seeds when Anna Kournikova withdrew) is a classic clay courter. She'll occasionally take a big swing on a forehand, but is generally content to just keep the ball in play. That was good enough for a 4-0 lead and an eventual 6-2 win of the first set. Vavrinec kicked the air at one point, frustrated by her erratic play. I departed after the first set, since it had been less than inspiring tennis. While I was away, the match did a complete 180. Suddenly it was Vavrinec who took complete control, winning the second set 6-1 and holding at love for a 3-1 lead in the third. Torrens-Valero was yelling at her self, being called for foot faults, and basically coming apart at the seams. Ignoring the leaves which had been blown onto the court by some nearby trees, Miroslava Vavrinec struck a pair of aces in holding for 5-1 and closed out the minor upset one game later. Undone by a surprising torrent of forehand errors and double faults, 31st-seeded Cristina Torrens-Valero fell 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. For a relatively low quality match on a little side court, it drew a fair bit of attention at the end, as Torrens-Valero was interviewed by a Spanish TV crew and Vavrinec signed numerous autographs. Lina Krasnoroutskaya vs. Jill Craybas Women's Singles: First Round Court 7 If you read any of my World Team Tennis reports this summer, you'll recognize the name of former NCAA star Jill Craybas. She was up an early break in her first round encounter with up-and-coming Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya, but dropped the set 7-5. While Craybas had the bulk of the crowd support, Krasnoroutskaya had the more fired-up demeanor. Lina's incessant fist pumping bothered Jennifer Capriati so much that she refused to shake the Russian teen's hand after their match in Zurich last fall. Krasnoroutskaya was at it again here, pumping her fist and/or shouting "come on!" after every point she won. Playing steady baseline tennis in the early stages of the second set, Craybas broke for a 3-2 lead. However, she gave the lead away by double faulting three times in Game 6 (after surviving two doubles in Game 4). Craybas just seemed to be going for too much on her second serves, afraid a more cautious delivery would be pounded by the French Open quarterfinalist. Indeed, it was Krasnoroutskaya's power which dominated the rest of this first round showdown. She held for 4-3, broke for 5-3, and held at love to finish up a 7-5, 6-3 win. Craybas was despondent about having blown her chances, but a friend consoled her afterwards, saying it was a "tough, tough match." Elena Likhovtseva (21) vs. Tatiana Perebiynis Women's Singles: First Round Court 8 18-year-old Tatiana Perebiynis -- a juniors finalist at last year's US Open -- is definitely a young player to keep an eye on. After a successful run through qualifying, she drew an experienced opponent with a similar game. Like Perebiynis, Elena Likhovtseva is a baseliner who hits the ball hard and flat. They engaged each other in some challenging rallies in the first set. Likhovtseva rallied from a 1-3 deficit to get back on serve, but played a loose game at 4-5 to surrender the set. Elena's forehand was letting her down and Tatiana was playing with palpable confidence. After an early exchange of breaks, the second set settled into an evenly matched battle of service holds. Perebiynis (who bears a facial resemblance to Thora Birch from American Beauty) shouted "come on!" after ripping a forehand winner for a 6-5 lead. She was within two points of victory five times in the set's long twelfth game, but every time she got to deuce, Likhovtseva found an answer. Elena finally knocked off a high forehand volley to send the second set into a critical tiebreak...
(20) Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario vs. Petra Mandula Women's Singles: First Round Court 11 Former world # 1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario looked certain to send her fans home happy when she took a 6-3, 3-6, 5-2 lead over Hungary's Petra Mandula. However, Arantxa shrieked as Mandula fought off a break point in holding for 3-5. Sanchez-Vicario seemed safe again when she went up 40-0 in the following game, but Mandula (who beat Jelena Dokic this year at Roland Garros) bravely kept staving off elimination. The scene turned almost biblical, with the skies darkening and thunder rumbling in the background. Mandula fought off a total of seven match points before crushing a return to break for 4-5. The drama continued to build as the players made their way to third set tiebreak. Moving the aging star around with heavy groundstrokes, Mandula took a 5-2 lead and pumped her fist. Just minutes before rain began falling around the grounds, Sanchez-Vicario came back to life. A thunder clap followed her forehand winner for 4-5. Lighting could be seen in the distance as Mandula was sending a backhand long for 5-5. Two more backhand errors from Mandula ended it. An incredible hour-long third set culminated in a 7-5 tiebreak win by Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Mandula's collapse at the very end was unfortunate, but both players richly deserved the loud ovation they received after match point. Bianka Lamade vs. Evgenia Koulikovskaya Women's Singles: First Round Court 9 After barely escaping the last two rounds of qualifying, Evgenia Koulikovskaya found herself in the US Open's main draw for the first time since 1998. You've probably heard by now about her highly unorthodox game. Refusing to hit any backhands, the ambidextrous Koulikovskaya switches her racquet back and forth from one hand to the other. And the forehands she hits aren't exactly textbook. Koulikovskaya chokes up and uses all kinds of up-and-down circular motion -- it looks like she's swinging a machete. Further adding to her mystique as a tennis eccentric was Evgenia's almost obsessive drying of her grip on Monday evening. She frequently wiped the racquet handle on her powder blue dress and dipped into the courtside box of wood chips after every changeover. Even her win in the coin toss was unusual. Rather than choose to serve or receive, the Moscow native chose the side of the court she'd rather start on. Along with all those quirks, Koulikovskaya is a pretty feisty little player. Bianka Lamade (soon to replace retirement-bound Anke Huber as the best hope for women's tennis in Germany) took a 3-0 lead, but Evgenia battled back. She won the last four games of the opening set, taking it 6-4 under a reddish-purple sunset. Set 2 went with serve all the way to 5-4 and Lamade looked like she was about to steal it late, earning set point in Game 10. However, Bianka netted a forehand to lose a rally she was controlling and Koulikovskaya wound up holding for 5-5. Lamade (who broke through with a title in Tashkent earlier this summer) let out a victorious shout after a winning drop shot gave her a 6-5 lead, but Koulikovskaya held to force a tiebreak. The 'breaker was a see-saw battle. Mini-breaks flew back and forth as the Russian squeaked out a 6-4 advantage. Facing match point, Lamade hit a winning overhead from the baseline to get back on serve at 5-6. Just as quickly as she got the momentum, though, Bianka gave it away with a match-ending double fault. There were a few seconds of stunned silence before the fans applauded Evegenia Koulikovskaya, whose 6-4, 7-6 win set up a dream meeting with Monica Seles. Stefan Koubek vs. Andrew Ilie Men's Singles: First Round Court 11 Arriving at this match just as Stefan Koubek took a 5-2 first set lead, I could tell I was in for an unusual experience. Start with Koubek's attire -- flourescent yellow shorts and the same garish red shirt Lleyton Hewitt's been modeling this week. Throw in the mysterious clouds of dust (or something) exploding off Koubek's racquet after some of his serves. Add the interesting rapport Ilie had struck up with one particular ball girl, whose main job was to dip towels in cold water and place them on Ilie's neck (and sometimes dab his face) during the changeovers. Then factor in a remarkably boisterous fan (let's call him "the Mad Austrian") screaming his support to Koubek before, after, and sometimes during the points. This was not your average spectator. He chanted, called out during rallies, chided fans seated around him, babbled recurring mantras about Thomas Muster and "the Austrian mind," and managed to annoy and/or amuse everyone within earshot. Koubek won the first set 6-2, but wouldn't even look in the direction of his inappropriately exuberant supporter. "You have to tell him to be quiet during the point," Andrew Ilie told chair umpire Steve Ullrich early in the second set. Ullrich agreed, saying "one more time and you'll have to leave" to the Mad Austrian. No longer being distracted before his shots, Ilie stormed out to a 4-1 lead in the set, playing his usual high-power, low-percentage baseline game. The Mad Austrian cheered wildly after Ilie missed a return of a routine Koubek serve in Game 5, causing the Aussie to chuckle. The fan was getting out of hand again and Ullrich resorted to talking to him like a child. "It's quiet time," he informed the Mad Austrian after Ilie took a 5-2 lead. Two games later, an errant backhand from Koubek brought the 6-3 set to an end. The ensuing changeover was maybe the strangest in the history of tennis. Ilie grabbed a pair of shorts from someone in his entourage and asked for some space so he could change his clothes. Steve Ullrich intervened, asking Andrew not to remove his shorts on court. He was about to complain when he noticed his towel-dipping assistant. "Oh yeah, I've got the girl here," Ilie remarked, causing the ball girl to burst out laughing. Meanwhile, the Mad Austrian began swearing and harrassing another spectator. Ullrich said "security to the court" into his microphone and immediately waved over a couple volunteers walking nearby. "How many chances do we give you? No more," Ullrich told the troublesome Austrian. Rather than remove him from the stands, though, the volunteers simply sat next to him, one on each side. Soaking up the attention, the Mad Austrian grinned from ear to ear and resumed his trademark "let's go Stefan, ay-oh-ay" chant. A decisive service break helped Koubek to a 3-0 lead in the third set. After holding for 1-3, Andrew jokingly tried to start up a "let's go Ilie" chant. "Only Austrian fan on this court!" you-know-who bragged while his left-handed favorite played some imposing baseline tennis to win the set 6-1. The Mad Austrian was interviewed during the break between sets. Or, to put it more accurately, someone put a very official looking microphone in front of his face while he ranted at length. His bravado growing, the Austrian shouted "Don't worry, you're much better than him" to Koubek after Ilie held to open Set 4. That was the last straw for umpire Ullrich. "He's been insulting. It's time to go." One of the volunteers actually disagreed, but a security guard said it was the umpire's call to make and led the Mad Austrian out of Court 11. He went quietly, but another fan stood up for him, declaring "He didn't do anything against the rules. This is America." After holding for a 2-1 lead in the fourth set, Ilie walked up to Steve Ullrich and announced, "Toilet break. I can't help it. I have to change my shorts." However, Ullrich wouldn't let him leave after an odd-numbered game, so the Aussie had to wait until Koubek evened the set at 2-2. "Play will continue after an emergency bathroom break," Ullrich then announced, possibly getting in a subtle dig at Ilie. The unpredictable fireplug returned to the court with his new shorts on and slowly took control of the set with his massive one-handed backhands. Koubek sent a forehand long to drop serve for 3-5 and lost the set one game later. The only match still taking place around the National Tennis Center grounds headed into a fifth set. Koubek fought off a break point in the final set's opening game and inspired another complaint. "Excuse me, this ball is wet," Ilie told Ullrich, implying that Koubek had wiped it on his sweaty clothes. "Every time he's in trouble, he throws a wet ball." That would explain those little cloud bursts coming off Koubek's racquet. They mysteriously disappeared for the next several games, with the players holding to 2-2. Ilie squandred two more break points in Game 5 and received a leg massage from trainer Doug Spreen. Game 6 was an eight-deuce marathon, with a hobbled Ilie gamely holding his hungry opponent at bay. Andrew finally held for 3-3 and carried that momentum into the next game, breaking Stefan at 15 and pumping his fist. Spreen attended to Ilie again before he went back out to try and finish off Koubek. Ilie held for 5-3 and took a 0-30 lead by jumping off the ground while crushing a forehand winner. The crowd (still large and enthusiastic at 11:30 PM) went wild as Ilie bent down low and pumped his fist again. A backhand error by Koubek brought up triple match point, but the dogged baseliner came up with three big first serves, getting back to deuce. Koubek's forehand was a weak link for much of the match, though, and two consecutive errors off that wing closed out Andrew Ilie's 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win. After three scintillating hours of play, Ilie shook hands with Koubek and treated the fans to his traditional shirt-ripping celebration. Andrew needed some more treatment from the trainer, but was gracious enough to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and chat with the loyal fans who stuck around. "It got a little quiet after that guy left," he said with a smile as he finally departed. |