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by Christopher Gerby Without a media pass or much desire to park in the nosebleed seats atop Arthur Ashe Stadium, I spent the first three days of the 2002 US Open on the outer courts. These reports (better late than never) will therefore showcase some of the stories and players you might not have found in the TV coverage or your local newspaper. Renata Voracova vs. Bea Bielik Women's Singles: First Round Court 18 Just a few days after turning pro, Bea Bielik made her Grand Slam debut at the venue where she's practiced for years. Even though Bea calls nearby Valley Stream, Long Island home, the reigning NCAA champion wasn't exactly given special treatment on Monday morning. She was shuttled out to relatively small Court 18 in a remote corner of the grounds, with her name misspelled "Bielek" on both the daily draw sheet and the scoreboard. (Bea caught the scoreboard typo right away and asked chair umpire Dennis Overberg to correct it.) With friends and family looking on, Bielik prepared to take on a slender, delicate-featured Czech named Renata Voracova. After rallying from the verge of elimination in qualifying, Voracova was probably glad just to be making her own Grand Slam debut. The broad-shouldered Bielik broke Voracova in the opening game and stormed ahead to a 5-3 lead. It was easy to see why the 21-year-old had such a dominant season at Wake Forest. Bielik possesses a great serve, impressive touch at the net, and a versatile one-handed backhand. While the backhand isn't necessarily a weapon, she gives you several different looks with it, including a nifty slicing approach shot. Opening up a 15-40 lead in Game 9, Bielik looked poised to put the first set away. However, she dropped the next two points with a wide forehand and a sliced backhand into the net. Voracova's hitchy, mechanical serve was good enough to take the next two points for 4-5. Clearly getting tight in the late stages of the set, Bielik fell behind double break point. Voracova failed to put her next two returns in play, however, and Bielik shouted "come on!" as she reached deuce. Voracova earned a third break opportunity, but Bielik deftly put away a backhand volley to sidestep disaster again. The three-deuce battle finally came to an end as Bielik knocked off a high forehand volley and raised a clenched fist. The first set was hers by a 6-4 count. Rather than get discouraged, Voracova recorded her first break of the match to take a 3-1 lead in the second set. But Bielik broke back in a lengthy Game 5 and really started to go for her shots. Becoming more pumped up and aggressive as she went along, Bielik strung together four games in a row for a 5-3 lead. Voracova held at 30, forcing the local girl to serve it out. The display which followed was breathtaking: ace, second serve ace, ace, ace. Not a bad way for a player ranked 1,102 in the world to close out her first Grand Slam match! An exultant Bielik (whose final quartet of aces ran her total to 10) ran over to her crew of supporters shortly after shaking hands with the game-but-overmatched Voracova. The 6-4, 6-4 victory earned Bea a shot at 27th-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn. She would score a straight sets upset there before eventually falling to Justine Henin in the third round. Bea Bielik is a name we'll be hearing a lot in future US Opens...and odds are it will be spelled correctly from now on. Petra Mandula vs. Miriam Oremans Women's Singles: First Round Court 18 A sloppy, low-energy bout followed Bielik-Voracova on Court 18. Veteran Miriam Oremans -- appearing in what could be her final US Open -- just could not get her serve-and-volley game going against Hungary's Petra Mandula. However, last year's surprise French Open quarterfinalist wasn't in much better form. Mandula came dressed like it was a practice session (wearing a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting shirt) and looked as if she still needed some practice on her groundstrokes. Petra was able to baffle Miriam with topspin lobs, but misfired on nearly every other shot in her arsenal. Immediately after losing the first set 6-4, Mandula carelessly whacked a ball over the net, hitting a lineswoman in the stomach. It clearly was not done on purpose -- Mandula wasn't even aware of what had happened until the chair umpire slapped her with an "unsportsmanlike conduct" warning and explained it. The incident wasn't enough to shake Mandula out of her funk, as she fell behind 3-1 in the second set. But another horrendous patch of tennis from Oremans (who finished the day with 9 double faults and countless volley errors) turned the match around. Finally starting to strike the ball cleanly, Mandula took a 5-4 lead in the second set. Game 10 was a tense marathon, with Oremans trying desperately to break serve. After fending off three break points, Mandula squandered her first set point with an errant backhand. Set point # 2 was dodged when Oremans put in a winning return of a first serve. The third time was the charm, as Mandula found the corner with an unreturnable backhand. Oremans asked the umpire if she was sure about the call, only to be told it was "inside both ways." Momentum in hand, Mandula rolled from there to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win. Despite the ugly form she displayed in the first set and a half here, Mandula went on to give Lindsay Davenport a fairly good fight in the second round. (24) Iva Majoli vs. Ashley Harkleroad Women's Singles: First Round Grandstand She set tongues wagging with her barely-there attire at last year's US Open, but 17-year-old Ashley Harkleroad's encore on Monday was a fairly conservative lime green number. As a matter of fact, it was the exact same Nike outfit I'd just seen Miriam Oremans wearing. Iva Majoli was getting her fair share of attention on the other side of the net, with one fan personally thanking her for beating Martina Hingis in the 1997 French Open final. "I was at that match. You were awesome," the man shouted. Ah, the restrained New York spectators. Harkleroad had a great junior career and has been making inroads on the professional challenger circuit, but she looked overwhelmed by Majoli's power early on. The Croatian won 8 of the first 10 points, thumping a backhand to break for 2-0. Ashley picked up the volume on her grunts and the pace on her shots (including a 98 mph ace) in evening the set at 2. Game 5 had the look fo a turning point, as Harkleroad's tireless retrieving extended Majoli's service game to four deuces. The Croatian finally hauled off on a forehand winner to hold for 3-2. Harkleroad quickly lost serve, double faulting at 15-40 and angrily smacking a ball back over the net. Majoli coughed up four doubles of her own in the following game, bouncing her racket after one of them, but stayed aggressive on the big points. Majoli eked out a hold for 5-2 and ultimately won the set 6-3. A 15 to 6 edge in winners spoke to the contrast in styles, as Harkleroad's somewhat Hingis-esque counterpunching just wasn't enough against the reigning Family Circle Cup champion. Harkleroad played an awful game at 2-2 in the second set, getting broken at love. Majoli held for 4-2 with an ace, then added an insurance break with a forehand winner. Majoli made a subdued little fist pump on the walk to her chair, almost seeming to say "I'm glad, but I'll try not to rub it in the kid's face." The fans tried to inspire a comeback from the young "Pebbles," but she'd just about thrown in the towel by now. Even the net cord was going Majoli's way -- she got a drop shot to crawl over the tape for triple match point. Almost exactly an hour after it began, the 6-3, 6-2 match ended with Iva launching her third ace of the afternoon. (20) Daja Bedanova vs. Alina Jidkova Women's Singles: First Round Court 7 Daja Bedanova made a real breakthrough here last year, shocking Monica Seles en route to the quarterfinals. She began her 2002 Open against emotional Alina Jidkova in front of a small, quiet crowd. The two looked pretty evenly matched in the early rallies, but Bedanova was simply too consistent. Trailing 1-3 but leading 30-15, Jidkova ended Game 5 with a hideous drop shot error, a double fault, and a very loose forehand. Jidkova yelled something in Russian, rifled a ball off the backdrop, and literally threw her racket at her bag on the changeover. Just as Bedanova's doubles partner Elena Bovina was finishing up a good win over Clarisa Fernandez on nearby Court 8, the steady young Czech finished up a 6-1 win of the opening set. Obviously distressed, Jidkova tossed her racket again. Jidkova started the second set well, sliding a backhand pass down the line to break for 2-1. However, "Alinka" got a warning for coaching which set her off all over again. Bedanova broke back for 2-2, held for 3-2, and broke for 4-2 in a game which saw one Jidkova volley fail to even reach the net. When the Moscow native lost a fourth consecutive game on a forehand error, tears actually began rolling down her cheeks as she walked to her chair. Once there, she dropped her racket in complete dismay. Playing with the reckless abandon of someone who figures she's already lost, Alina held for 3-5 and absolutely spanked a winning return to open Game 9. But Daja took the next four points, ending her 6-1, 6-3 triumph with an ace. It had only taken 46 minutes, which was about 45 longer than Jidkova had looked like she wanted to be out there. She took a strange alternate route off the court, actually walking through the stands on the opposite side. (26) Nathalie Dechy vs. Maja Matevzic Women's Singles: First Round Court 13 Anyone who thinks the only attractive tennis players have names ending in -ova must not be familiar with the Gallic charm of brainy, model-thin Nathalie Dechy or the girl-next-door cuteness of Slovenian redhead Maja Matevzic. Their tennis looks pretty good, too. Dechy entered the tournament seeded 26th, which is about where her steady, graceful play has kept her ranked for the past three years. Matevzic has a tricky lefthanded serve and a devilish slice backhand, weapons she used in a 12-match winning streak last summer. That run included a win over 16th-seeded Silvia Farina Elia here at the Open, but Maja's own ranking has curiously stalled at # 59. After an early exchange of breaks, Matevzic served a pair of aces in holding for 3-2. Moving well enough to track down the drop shots and lobs Matevzic sent her way, Dechy came storming back to take a 5-3 lead. Nathalie failed to convert her first set point in Game 9, but Matevzic would net a high backhand volley two points later to lose it 6-3. Dechy was in full flight now and she ran her streak to eight consecutive games, going up 4-0 in the second set when Matevzic bricked an overhead and appeared to blame the sun (hanging low at around 6:15 PM). Rather than throw in the towel, Matevzic cleaned up her game and made a run of her own. She broke for 1-4, served very well to 2-4, and drew some lunging errors from Dechy in another break for 3-4. Another ace (she'd finish with 5) helped the increasingly forward-moving Matevzic hold for 4-4. There were some very entertaining rallies in the late stages of the second set, but no more break points, so this one would be settled in a tiebreak...
Justin Gimelstob vs. Edwin Kempes Men's Singles: First Round Grandstand My Monday ended as it began, with a wild card from New Jersey looking for a spot in the second round. Justin Gimelstob's approach on Monday night was equal parts Tim Henman (taking some of the heat off his first serve to get a higher percentage in), Ivan Lendl (switching between a serve racket and return racket after every game), and Patrick Rafter (multiple shirt changes necessitated by his "epic" propensity for sweating). With a hard-fought Stephanie Foretz vs. Alexandra Stevenson match having gone overtime on the Grandstand, Gimelstob and Dutch qualifier Edwin Kempes didn't get underway until 8:45, long after their scheduled 7:30 cue. Getting called for a foot fault on his very first serve of the match wasn't a good omen for the Asian-looking Kempes, but he played some pretty nice baseline tennis on the way to a 3-2 lead. That's when Gimelstob made his first shirt change, switching from yellow to gray. After holding for 3-3, Gimelstob asked a court attendant to wipe up some of the sweat he'd dripped all over the baseline. Not to be outdone, Kempes ordered the young man over to mop up his baseline, getting some chuckles from the fans. The delay may have put Kempes off his game, though. He fell behind 0-40 and (after saving two break points) double faulted to fall behind 3-4. A few games later, Gimelstob made a great stab volley on set point to take the opening frame 6-4. Changing into an orange shirt this time, Gimelstob continued to hold his serve easily, charging the net at every opportunity. Meanwhile, Kempes continued running around his backhand to hit wicked forehands, surviving a long Game 5 duel to hold for 3-2. Still unable to get more than five games out of a single shirt, Justin put on a black one now. It may have brought bad luck -- he finally faced a break point and lost it, Kempes guiding a delicate backhand pass down the line for a 5-3 lead. Gimelstob fought hard to break back, but eventually dumped a forehand in the net to lose the set 6-3. He then put on his fifth shirt of the evening, going white this time (although one wag in the stands recommended fuscia). After a service winner took him to 3-2 in the third set, Gimelstob waved his arms, looking for some more enthusiastic crowd support. He got it, to some extent, and Kempes would shank a forehand on break point to trail 2-4. Gimelstob blasted a 117 mph ace out wide to hold for 5-2, then made another shirt change, back to gray. Two games later, the 6 foot 5 slugger directed a reflex volley at Kempes to close out a 6-3 win of the third set. A beautiful topspin lob allowed Gimelstob to break for 2-1 in the fourth set. He carried that break all the way to 5-4 (putting on a red shirt in the middle of that run), but was beginning to experience the onset of cramping in his legs and right hand. Despite morphing into a "peaceful warrior" who doesn't expend as much gratuitous energy as he once did in his matches, Gimelstob continues to cramp up in long matches. He blames bad genes for the problem, which forced him to be hospitalized at a challenger event in Birmingham earlier this year. Kempes took full advantage, breaking for 5-5 and winning the fourth set tiebreak 7 points to 4 with a sizzling backhand pass. ATP trainer Doug Spreen attended to Gimelstob before the start of the seemingly hopeless fifth set. Justin soldiered on before the home fans, more of them filing in now that the rest of the evening matches had concluded. Coming in on everything, trying to end the points as quickly as possible, Gimelstob made an incredible stab volley en route to breaking Kempes for a 2-0 lead. A couple double faults cost him in the following game, however, and the Dutchman got back on serve. After Kempes held at love for 2-2, Gimelstob slowly walked in the direction of the chair. He later admitted that he considered retiring from the match at that point, but "bluffed it" by making a racket change instead. A crucial service winner allowed Gimelstob to evade a break point and then hold for a 3-2 lead. Kempes got a bit tight in the following game, won by Gimelstob on a backhand volley. Game 7 was a back-and-forth battle, Justin again coming up with big serves when he desperately needed them. Kempes missed a backhand pass (with the court wide open) on game point to fall behind 2-5. It had been a scratchy set for Edwin, but he fought off a pair of match points in holding for 3-5, forcing his ailing foe to serve it out. An ace and two winning backhand volleys took Gimelstob to 40-30. At 12:15 in the morning, he had his third match point. This time he converted, securing an improbable 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 victory with a service winner. Justin immediately fell to his knees, overwhelmed by a mixture of relief, joy, and pain. He rose to shake hands with Kempes, then collapsed again, with tears welling up in his eyes. It took every bit of energy and effort he could muster, but Justin Gimelstob had earned another dramatic win on his home turf. |