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by Christopher Gerby Montreal was hit with weather straight out of the Bible on Wednesday. By 11 in the morning, the temperature had already reached approximately one billion degrees. Around 4 in the afternoon, the skies suddenly opened up for a brief but incredibly powerful rain storm which all but turned Centre Court into a pool. (The linesperson chairs were actually floating across the court.) The rain left just as quickly as it came and the sauna-like conditions returned. A reasonable person would have stayed in the air conditioned confines of the press box...but of course I spent the bulk of my day frying on the outer courts. (9) Elena Dementieva vs. Amanda Coetzer Singles: Second Round Court 1 The opening match of the day on the grandstand court featured a real contrast in styles: lanky, big-hitting Elena Dementieva versus still-scrappy-after-all-these-years munchkin Amanda Coetzer. What they have in common lately is a need to regain some confidence. Dementieva came in off early losses in San Diego and Los Angeles, while "the Little Assassin" has seen her ranking plummet in 2002. The toasty conditions figured to give the South African an advantage, especially if she could lull Dementieva into extended rallies. The opening game was an incredible marathon, dragging on for nine deuces. Overcoming four double faults and saving three break points, Dementieva finally got on the board when Coetzer pushed a return wide. The side-to-side baseline death struggle continued with serve to 2 games all. Facing break point in Game 5, the Russian unwisely chose to let a Coetzer passing shot sail past her, losing the game when it landed on the baseline. Dementieva had a bit more firepower throughout the set, but Coetzer was certainly holding her own. Playing the more consistent tennis, she broke again to win the opening set 6-3. Three more double faults sank Elena early in the second set, putting her into a 0-2 hole. She immediately broke Coetzer at love, but was clearly laboring in the humidity. Dementieva opted for a medical timeout, during which the trainer took her pulse and applied ice bags to her thighs and neck. It was to her immense credit that she soldiered on, still engaging Amanda in long rallies and winning many of them. The double fault bug was biting her time and time again, though -- a total of 17 in the match. Those service woes allowed Coetzer to break for 4-2 and again for 5-3. Down 30-15 in the set's ninth game, Dementieva somehow managed to win the most extraordinary point of the match, beating Coetzer at her own game with tireless scrambling. She then rifled a forehand return, forcing a Coetzer error for 30-40. But on the verge of beating a Top 15 player for the first time all year, the veteran would not be denied. Dementieva lost the next three points, netting a forehand to end the match. A very encouraging 6-3, 6-3 win for Amanda Coetzer, whose next opponent would come from the following match... (8) Daniela Hantuchova vs. Patty Schnyder Singles: Second Round Court 1 Court 1 became a revolving door for challengers to Anna Kournikova's throne as the tour's leading sex symbol. Following the Coetzer-Dementieva tilt, Barbara Schett gutted out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Chanda Rubin. The impossibly leggy Daniela Hantuchova followed them into battle, hoping to reverse her 0-2 career record against dangerous Swiss lefty Patty Schnyder. "Dani" put the focus squarely on her tennis right away, wowing the fans with rocket serves and thundering groundstrokes en route to a 2-0 lead. Schnyder stood her ground, though, and got even at 2-2 when Hantuchova sent an off-balance forehand long on break point. The Slovakian continued smoking the ball, getting great depth on her shots, but Schnyder kept her on her toes with varying spins and changes of pace. An expert drop shot helped Hantuchova to break point in Game 7; she converted with a cross-court forehand blast. Schnyder became visibly frustrated and dropped the next three games to trail 6-3, 1-0. Hantuchova's body language was the complete opposite -- lots of little fist pumps, with a determined look on her face. At 2-1, Hantuchova used another big forehand to set up an easy put-away at the net, breaking for a 3-1 edge. After extending the lead to 4-2, the Slovakian got a little sloppy in Game 7. Schnyder had chances to break, but screamed at herself after allowing Hantuchova back to deuce. Two points later, a Schnyder backhand flew wide for 6-3, 5-2. After Patty held for 3-5, Hantuchova attempted to serve out the match... and failed miserably. Three double faults and a wild forehand miscue gave Schnyder the game and brand new life at 4-5. Now it was Hantuchova in the throes of frustration, giving her racket a lively, end-over-end bounce off the court after a poorly played point in Game 10. Daniela finally did get to match point at 6-5, but missed with a backhand. Schnyder stayed alive and forced the set into a tiebreak...
(7) Callens/Vinci vs. Morariu/Po-Messerli Doubles: Second Round Court 2 After the sudden loss of her regular doubles partner (when Sandrine Testud simultaneously announced her pregnancy and retirement), Roberta Vinci had to act quick in finding a replacement. Before Martina Navratilova even got a chance to offer her services, Vinci had hooked up with a very capable replacement: solid veteran Els Callens. Their second round opponents are technically a new team as well, but one with some history. While Corina Morariu was receiving treatment for the rare form of leukemia which nearly took her life last summer, Kim Po-Messerli flew all the way from Europe to Florida on the eve of the French Open to be by her friend's side. The karma is paying dividends now, as Po finds herself sharing the court with the world's former # 1 doubles player. Corina's inspirational comeback is more than just a feel-good footnote -- she is already back near top form. With Callens and Vinci up a break in the third set, the 24-year-old cancer survivor took over the match. A quick break of Callens and a commanding hold by Morariu gave the unseeded pair a 3-2 lead. A brilliant return by Morariu put Vinci behind 15-30 in Game 6. The next rally ended with Morariu knifing a volley right at the Italian. "Sorry, sorry," Corina said after hitting Vinci for 15-40. Callens then netted a reflex volley on double break point and furiously slammed a ball off the court surface. Els herself was broken two games later as Morariu/Po-Messerli completed an impressive 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win. (6) Kournikova/Schett vs. Fujiwara/Sugiyama Doubles: First Round Court 1 Despite a rather humiliating loss in singles (7-5, 6-1 to Virginia Ruano Pascual) earlier in the day, Anna Kournikova was still attracting fans of all ages. The veritable mob scene on Court 1 featured everyone from a grown man holding a "CALL ME ANNA" sign (complete with a phone number) to an adorable little girl telling her mother, "I wish I was Anna." Camera-wielding fans stormed the edge of the court for every changeover, leaving their seats just to get pictures of the back of Kournikova's head. It was a very amusing spectacle which didn't seem to put Anna or doubles partner Barbara Schett off their games. They won the opening set 6-1 in no time flat, sharing lots of smiles and showing off terrific reflexes at the net. The only people not enjoying the match to this point were Ai Sugyiama and a seemingly outclassed Rika Fujiwara. Kournikova cut across the net to knock off a volley in the opening game of Set 2 and playfully stuck out her tongue. Doubles ace Sugiyama was oddly unable to find any answers. She lost Game 1 when her racket grazed a ball which might have been going wide and she almost single-handedly dropped Game 3 with a pair of double faults. With Kournikova/Schett up a set and a double break at 6-1, 3-0, the only question left appeared to be how soon the autograph seekers could rush down with their glossy photos and oversized tennis balls. All of a sudden, the Japanese pair started to make some very nice service returns. They broke Kournikova at love and then drew within 2-3. The blondes didn't seem bothered in the least: coming out from the ensuing changeover, Anna started playing with Barbara's ponytail and gave her a gentle pat on the backside. But even after Schett made a flawless baseline-to-baseline lob in the middle of Game 6, Kournikova wound up netting a reflex volley on break point. Sugiyama then held for a 4-3 lead, riding a sudden wave of momentum. The old Ai was showing through now with deadly, dipping returns and lighting-quick poaches at the net. Up 5-4 in the second, she sent back a winning return to earn set point. Schett immediately obliged, driving a backhand into the tape. Second set to Fujiwara/Sugiyama: 6-4. Kournikova/Schett seemed to get things back under control in the third set, taking a 3-1 lead when Anna made a sterling shoestring volley winner. On serve at 4-3, 30-15, Kournikova was called for a double fault -- a ruling debated by many whistling fans, if not by any of the players. Sugiyama then scored a volley winner for 30-40. Schett staved off the break point with a brilliant drop volley of her own, but Ai and Rika were undaunted. Their second break point of the game was successful, as a well-placed Sugiyama return drew an errant volley from Kournikova. The teams were now, as Cliff Drysdale would say, "dead solid even" at 4 games apiece. Fujiwara, serving so much better in the second half of the match, held at love for a 5-4 advantage. At 30-30 in Game 10, Sugiyama zipped a volley at a slow-reacting Kournikova to earn match point. A long rally followed, with the Russian finally clipping Fujiwara's racket with a volley to stay alive at deuce. Kournikova/Schett reached game point, but Sugiyama put away a backhand volley and excitedly pumped her fist. Deuce # 2: Kournikova reaches a ball which skipped off the net cord, tries to dink it back over, and instead dumps it in the net. Match point # 2: a low, skidding ball is too tough for Schett, who whacks a forehand into the net. While obviously disappointing for the crowd, the 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 outcome was a thrill for Fujiwara and Sugiyama. Charging all the way back from a set and two breaks down against a pair of upbeat, talented players is nothing to sneeze at. Whether Sugiyama can carry her relatively inexperienced partner all the way to the title remains to be seen, but they'll certainly be favored over Nathalie Dechy and Meilen Tu on Thursday. |