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by Christopher Gerby This year, for one day only, I got a taste of what's come to be known as the best bargain in tennis: US Open qualifying. Free of charge, fans can watch a 14-ring circus of hopefuls vying for spots in the big dance. The stars will have their turn, but on Day One the spotlight belonged to up-and-coming youngsters getting an early taste of Grand Slam competition, faded veterans hoping to recapture past glory, and the unheralded "journeyman" types whose entire season can be salvaged by a berth in the US Open's main draw. After years of seeing the Open bustle with activity, it was almost unsettling to experience the National Tennis Center in half-swing. Most of the sponsor booths were shuttered, along with many of the concession stands. None of the three stadiums were in use. The electronic match-in-progress boards weren't providing score updates until mid-afternoon. And the food court, a central hub of activity during the official fortnight, was virtually abandoned on Tuesday. This was, after all, not a day for see-and-be-seen dilletantes. Qualifying is all about the sport's lesser known warriors and the diehard fans who appreciate their efforts. (17) Olga Barabanschikova vs. Catalina Castano Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 16 Injury woes and excessive partying have pretty well derailed the once promising career of Olga Barabanschikova. The 23-year-old even seriously flirted with the idea of retirement (and if there's one thing Olga can do, it's flirt). Back-to-back wins over Conchita Martinez and Elena Bovina earlier this year in Sydney gave her fans cause for optimism, but the Belarussian bombshell's showing here was an unmitigated setback. Colombian clay courter Catalina Castano (say that five times fast) had already won the first set by the time I extricated myself from the New York subway system. Playing solid baseline tennis was all she really had to do. Barabanschikova was practially spilling out of her low-cut top and practically spilling unforced errors all over the court. Already trailing 6-1, 3-0 when an umpire's overrule went against her, Olga quipped, "I finally get a ball in the court and you call it out." She managed to hold serve for 1-4, but looked resigned to her fate, smiling ruefully and swinging away without any real pretense of constructing points. After a mere 48 minutes of play, Castano wrapped up a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Barabanschikova was her usual accomodating self after the match, posing for multiple pictures with fans, but she looked a touch bewildered that anyone was interested after her dismal performance. (31) Vanessa Webb vs. Kelly McCain Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 7 Five years after winning the NCAA singles title for Duke University, Vanessa Webb is hanging up her racket. The Toronto native's spin-heavy, net-rushing game never served her particularly well in the pros. Unable to even secure a wild card into her hometown tournament, she makes her farewell appearance in the Open qualies. Looking to hasten Webb's return to academia was Kelly McCain, a fellow Duke alumnus who stands just 5 foot 2 and could easily pass for a ballgirl. Leading by a 6-3, 4-4 count, Webb seemed well on her way to the second round. However, McCain played tenaciously in the long Webb service game which followed. Finally securing the break with a backhand pass down the line, McCain let out a high-pitched shout of "come on!" The very next game was another pivotal battle, with Vanessa saving two set points and failing to convert a pair of break chances. Two service winners in a row finally locked up a 6-4 win of the set for McCain. An early break staked McCain to a 4-2 lead in the final set, as Webb's notoriously inconsistent serve went wonky on her. The Canadian overcame some horribly shanked faults to hold for 3-4 and confidently jogged to her chair, perhaps trying to send a message to her teenaged opponent. McCain was having none of it, though. She held for 5-3 and earned triple match point. A winning smash got Webb to 15-40, but she missed her ensuing first serve. The second serve clipped the tape, then fell harmlessly onto Webb's side of the court, ending her professional tennis career. As one of the 14 doubles she committed over the course of the match, it was a fitting -- if harsh -- conclusion. On The Line wishes "Vanny" all the best in her future pursuits. Lilia Osterloh vs. Jewel Peterson Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 11 One of the biggest crowds of the day witnessed a spirited all-American duel between Lilia Osterloh and Jewel Peterson. Osterloh was once ranked as high as # 41 in the world and her US Open resume includes wins over Dominique van Roost and Corina Morariu. (Granted, those were both matches in which her opponent retired due to illness.) Peterson is a diamond in the rough -- pun intended -- who absolutely wallops the ball with two hands off both sides. Holding her own in the fierce baseline rallies, Osterloh secured a critical break at 4-4 in the third before efficiently serving out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. After more than two hours of play, Osterloh and Peterson came out dead even in points won, 108 apiece. While the narrow escape was far from the biggest victory of her career on paper, Lilia was overjoyed, celebrating with a double fist pump and an ear-to-ear grin. A few minutes after the match, I was taking a brief sandwich break in the food court when Osterloh happened to pass by, still smiling and pulling out a cell phone to share the good news. Shortly thereafter, a stoic Peterson walked the same path, flanked by Lori McNeil, who appeared to be giving her some version of the "use this as a learning experience" speech. Mirjana Lucic vs. Ally Baker Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 6 The song remains the same for Mirjana Lucic. The former Wimbledon semifinalist still hits the ball about as hard as any woman on the planet, still could stand to lose a few pounds, and still vanishes for months at a time before popping up in another Grand Slam qualifying draw. To reach the main draw, she'd first have to survive a clash with 17-year-old wild card Ally Baker. Having suffered a heartbreaking loss to Elena Likhovtseva on this very same court a year ago, the leggy North Carolinan had demons to vanquish. If nothing else, Baker dressed to impress: it was hard not to take note of her sleveless, form-fitting, midriff-baring gray ensemble. Unleashing huge serves and penetrating groundies, Lucic stormed out to a 5-2 lead. Baker hung tough, holding for 3-5 and capping a service break with a fist pump. On serve at 5-6, Baker took a 30-0 lead and seemed destined for a tiebreak. A sudden rash of unforced errors overtook her, however, with an errant backhand giving Lucic a 7-5 win of the opening set. Lucic had a break point for what would have been a 2-0 lead in the second set, but then inexplicably fell apart. Double faults and wild backhand errors sailed off Mirjana's racket as she loudly chided herself in Croatian. Ally took full advantage, clinching a 6-1 set in just 25 minutes. Mirjana got her game back in working order and even broke for a 3-2 lead in the final set. An undeterred Baker broke right back and held at love for a 4-3 edge. Lucic slugged her way to 4 games all, but in the sweltering heat, her questionable fitness was becoming a factor. There was also a huge disparity in body language. Midway through Game 9, Baker followed a forehand winner with her umpteenth fist pump; Lucic, meanwhile, retrieved the ball and angrily whacked it off the side fence. After holding for 5-4, Baker thought she'd won an important point against Lucic's serve, only to have her would-be winner ruled out by the chair umpire. Stunned, she asked, "You're gonna overrule on the far sideline?" Ally immediately put the incident behind her, though, and reached match point. A weary looking Lucic then coughed up her seventh double fault of the day, completing a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 upset. Court 6 was lucky for Ally Baker this time around and she couldn't have been more pleased. "Thank you for cheering for me," she gushed to a group of autograph-seeking supporters. Next up for Baker is a meeting with 12th seeded Milagros "Millie" Sequera. (11) Seda Noorlander vs. Tanner Cochran Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 8 Ally Baker wasn't the only young Southerner facing a veteran on Tuesday. Across the way on Court 8, Georgia peach Tanner Cochran took a very commanding 6-2 first set from Seda Noorlander, the Dutch baseliner who bested Jennifer Capriati at Wimbledon four years ago. However, in Cochran's own post-match words, she "had freakin' no rhythm in the second set," losing it 6-3. The 19-year-old has made a slow transition to the pro ranks, but she already knows some savvy gamesmanship tricks. At least that's what one could read into Cochran's decision to leave the court for a shirt change break following that second set. Cochran has a good serve and looks surprisingly comfortable on the occasions when she follows it into the net. She displayed soft hands in the set's third game, winning points with a drop shot and a nifty touch volley. However, she lost her serve on a forehand error, groaning as she returned to her chair down a break at 2-1. The quietly fesity Cochran broke right back, slapping her thigh after a swing volley winner got her to 2-2. Cochran closed out the following game with an ace, momentum now firmly in her corner. As the set wore on, Noorlander grew more and more annoyed. She was arguing line calls, grimacing after her numerous backhand errors, and looking on in impatient disgust every time Cochran would towel off between points. A very poor service game put the # 11 seed in real danger at 2-4. Noorlander's demeanor went further downhill when the chair umpire gave Cochran credit for an ace in Game 7. Just as Seda began disputing the overrule, Tanner walked towards the net and told her opponent the ball was clearly in! A few points later, Cochran threw another ace out wide and slapped her thigh again, one game away from victory at 5-2. Noorlander saved a match point in Game 8, surviving after six grueling deuces. Her mood had not improved, though. At 30-15 in the next game, Cochran yet again retreated to the back corner of the court to spend some quality time with her towel. Rather than just disapprovingly shake her head this time, Noorlander violently swiped at the court with her racket. Two points later, she found the net with one last backhand, putting a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset loss in the books. Tanner Cochran may have made a new enemy on Tuesday, but her eight aces and skillful net play probably won her some new fans as well. (17) Jeff Salzenstein vs. Frederic Niemeyer Men's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 7 Nearing age 30, with mildly thinning hair to prove it, Jeff Salzenstein hasn't competed in the US Open's main draw since a memorable night match against Michael Chang in 1997. But like a proverbial fine wine, the rocket-serving lefty has played the best tennis of his life this summer. A surprise run to the Newport quarterfinals gave Salzenstein the confidence to reach back-to-back challenger finals, including a title in Aptos, California. Attaining a career best singles ranking (127) wasn't enough to get a wild card from the USTA, though, so Salzenstein would have to grind it out in the qualies. Exacerbating the indignity was the chair umpire's incorrect pronunciation of his name. (Following the introductions, Jeff had to good-naturedly inform him that it's "Salzen-steen," not "Salzen-styne"). Frederic Niemeyer, like Salzenstein, is a big server who can't quite seem to break through to the next level. He got his qualifying bid off to a good start here, breaking Salzenstein twice to snare an impressive 6-2 win of the first set. The second set was a complete role reversal. Salzenstein began finding the range with his vaunted forehand, while Niemeyer got the yips on his serve. The American broke for 3-1 and again for 5-1. Finishing the set in style, Salzenstein uncorked three consecutive aces, missed a first serve, and boldly hammered home a second serve ace to lock up the set 6-1. So much for the tiebreaks one would have expected from this matchup! Niemeyer couldn't shake the double fault bug. He committed four in the final set's long opening game. Salzenstein had done some nifty work of his own to help secure the break, hitting one downright awesome lunge volley that nearly bounced back over to his side of the net. One unreturnable serve after another exploded off Salzenstein's bat as he advanced to a 5-3 lead. Jeff tends to get tight when he's trying to serve out a match, but he wouldn't need to this time around. He clocked a series of good returns, breaking Niemeyer at love to sew up a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win. Not only did the Canadian lose the war, he lost the battle of aces, 12 to 10. Odds and Ends: Whose bright idea was it to put former Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist on little Court 8? Before Tanner Cochran's match was over, fans were already filing in for the express purpose of seeing the hard-hitting Swede. The stands were packed as Enqvist ousted Pavel Snobel in straight sets... Players ranked in the Top 100 were few and far between, but I did spot Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo going for a jog around the perimeter of Court 5... Vanessa Webb wasn't the only Canadian woman playing her final match on Tuesday -- this was reportedly also the swan song for Jana Nejedly. She was quickly dismissed by wee Irish lass Kelly Liggan, whose grunts could be heard from several courts away... Disturbingly flat-haired Robin Soderling, the # 2 seed on the men's side, apparently wants to get through qualies ASAP. Almost immediately after smacking a thunderous ace on match point, he made a hasty exit from Court 6, taking off while vanquished opponent Alun Jones was still gathering his things... Person you were most likely to run into if you spent enough time around the grounds: veteran umpire Mike Morrissey, who seems to have taken on some kind of roving supervisor role... Thomas Blake (older brother of James) may have gotten waxed 6-3, 6-1 by Paul Goldstein, but he hung around Court 11 for an eternity afterwards, signing autographs and chatting with fans. Players Spotted Watching Matches: 1992 Olympic gold medalist Marc Rosset was on hand for some of the Castano vs. Barabanschikova blowout. Serbian shotmaker Dusan Vemic witnessed the drama of Osterloh vs. Peterson. Rita Kuti Kis was in the stands for the early stages of Baker vs. Lucic. American hopeful Brian Vahaly has been a media darling of late, but he lurked unnoticed between Courts 6 and 7, sampling the Baker-Lucic match and Zack Fleishman's win over redhead Todd Widom. Michael Joyce, a late alternate into the qualifying draw, stuck around for the entire third set of Salzenstein-Niemeyer. |