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by Christopher Gerby (8) Marta Domachowska vs. Andrea Remynse Women's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 4 Andrea Remynse came within one win of an automatic main draw wild card, losing to Jessica Kirkland in the final of the USTA Girls' 18 National Championships. The consolation prize was a free pass into the qualifying, but the draw was unkind, pitting Remynse against another talented teenager. Polish beauty Marta Domachowska has been making major strides of late, recently advancing to her first WTA Tour semifinal on home soil in Sopot. Domachowska came out absolutely spanking the ball off both sides, storming out to a 4-0 lead in the blink of an eye. Marta added some feathery touch to her arsenal, coming up with a lovely drop shot in a hold for 5-0. On triple set point in the following game, Domachowska clinched the first set bagel by crushing a return for a clean winner. Remynse earned a surprising service break to take a 2-1 lead in the second set, but her momentum was short-lived. Domachowska pulled ahead 5-3 and attempted to serve out the victory. Domachowska saved a break point, but eventually lost the game on a backhand error. The 16-year-old from Michigan was still alive, but holding serve remained a problem for her. Already trailing 0-30 in Game 10, Remynse watched helplessly as a shanked Domachowska return fell in for a lucky winner. Facing triple match point, Remynse made a defensive error to end it. Marta Domachowska smiled broadly, happy to have weathered a somewhat tricky second set for a 6-0, 6-4 win. Brian Vahaly vs. Andrea Stoppini Men's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 7 Last year, Brian Vahaly was riding high. He beat Juan Carlos Ferrero en route to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, reached a career high singles ranking of 64, and earned a spot on People Magazine's list of the "25 Hottest Bachelors." What a difference a year makes. 2004 has been a nightmare for the affable American, who opened the season with a nine match losing streak. Vahaly has crashed out of the world's Top 200 and was fortunate just to get direct entry into the qualifying here. Standing between Vahaly and the start of a comeback was Andrea Stoppini, a 24-year-old from Italy with a pretty good serve and nice variety on his backhand. Vahaly is known for his dangerous slapshot backhand, but his forehand was doing damage against Stoppini. Vahaly rode an early service break to a 5-3 lead. Fighting to extend the set, Stoppini held to 4-5 and earned a break point in Game 10, but squandered the opportunity by netting an approach shot. Vahaly followed up with two good serves, wrapping up a 6-4 win of the opening set. Stoppini was holding his own in the rallies, though, and Vahaly still had plenty of work to do. The second set began with the kind of display you rarely find in men's tennis -- six consecutive service breaks! It was Stoppini who finally ended that run, holding for a 4-3 lead. Undaunted, Vahaly got his own service game in order, securing holds for 4-4 and 5-5. Perhaps feeling the pressure in the late stages of the set, Stoppini fell apart in the eleventh game. He coughed up a double fault, dumped a routine forehand volley in the net, and sent a backhand wide. On break point, Vahaly ripped a cross-court backhand winner, good for a 6-5 lead. Closing out matches has been no small task for Brian this year, however. He quickly fell behind 15-40, then staved off the first break point with a service winner. A long rally ensued on the second break point, Vahaly shouting "yeah!" after outlasting Stoppini. Two points later, an unreturnable serve made it official. It wasn't easy or especially pretty, but Brian Vahaly had earned a spot in the second round by a count of 6-4, 7-5. (18) Marc Lopez vs. Jeff Salzenstein Men's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 7 It's been a long, strange road for Jeff Salzenstein. His big lefty serve made him a two-time All American at Stanford University and had him earmarked as a potential star in the pros. The transition was anything but smooth, as "Salzy" found himself overcome by nerves in close matches, often succumbing to cramps. Ankle surgery in 1998 and knee surgery in 1999 further slowed his development, essentially robbing him of two full seasons. After subsequent years of relative futility on the challenger circuit, Salzenstein easily could have given up. However, he persevered and on June 7th of this year, at the ripe old age of 30, finally cracked the Top 100 in the ATP rankings. Jeff has fallen into a bit of a slump this summer, however, and he was back in the US Open qualifying draw for a fifth consecutive year. Salzenstein brought facial hair and a samurai ponytail into battle against Barcelona-born Marc Lopez, who went with the ever popular backwards baseball cap. Salzenstein came out like a house on fire, playing powerful, aggressive tennis. Lopez may have been the slight favorite on paper, but he quickly found himself trailing 0-4 and earning a code violation for whacking a ball out of the court. A love hold got Salzenstein to 5-0, but Lopez held for 1-5 and had a chance at 30-30 in Game 10. The American earned a set point by absolutely creaming a forehand. He asked for the same ball back and used it to launch a service winner. First set to Salzenstein, 6-1. Salzenstein continued holding serve easily in the second set, but Lopez was stubbornly hanging in there. The set went with serve all the way to 6-5, when Salzenstein finally got tight. On game point, he was too tentative on an overhead smash, hitting it right back at Lopez, who reflexed it for a winning pass. A double fault followed, getting Lopez to set point. Salzenstein again had a look at an overhead and struck it with more authority this time. Lopez guessed right, however, and remarkably answered with a lunging backhand pass. The ball fell in for a winner, giving Marc Lopez a 7-5 win of the second set. This one had all the earmarks of another opportunity-blowing heartbreaker for Salzenstein, but the veteran still had that wicked southpaw serve to fall back on. At 2-2 in the final set, Salzenstein earned a break point. He missed a volley from "no man's land," though, and Lopez rallied for a 3-2 lead. Marc's counterpunching game may be more at home on clay, but it was giving him a real chance here. After going up 4-3, Lopez hit some beautiful returns, staking a 0-40 lead against Salzenstein's serve. The American blasted his way back to 30-40, but a dipping return on the third break point did the trick. Salzenstein missed an awkward backhand volley, drawing Lopez to within a game of victory at 5-3. Rather than fold up his tent and surrender, Salzenstein played inspired tennis in Game 9. Cracking every forehand like his life depeneded on it, the American broke right back at 15. Alas, the nerves seemed to creep in again for Salzenstein, especially around the net. At 4-5, 15-30, he bricked a high backhand volley. Facing double match point, Jeff came up with a swing volley winner to stay alive. A clutch ace brought him to deuce, but he got too cute with a backhand volley on the second point, steering it wide. Facing a third match point, Salzenstein threw a sizzling serve out wide. A fault was called, but the chair umpire immediately overruled and gave Salzenstein the point. Lopez was furious and argued his case strenuously, but the overrule stood. The pivotal tenth game continued, reaching four deuces before Salzenstein finally got to 5-5 with a service winner. Lopez held for 6-5, but to the delight of a big, pro-Salzenstein crowd on Court 7, the match advanced to a deciding third set tiebreak...
Justin Gimelstob vs. Tuomas Ketola Men's Qualifying Singles: First Round Court 9 Justin Gimelstob's career has seen its share of ups and downs, but one thing the New Jersey native could always count on was playing before friends and family at the US Open. He was a fixture in the main draw every year from 1997 to 2003, a streak which was put in jeopardy when he broke his foot late last year. Gimelstob missed the first half of the 2004 season, rehabbing while serving as a host and commentator on the Tennis Channel. Some people (including Todd Woodbridge in one amusing on-air exchange) assumed Gimelstob had retired as a player. The big guy came back with a vengeance, though, sweeping the singles and doubles titles at a Forest Hills challenger in June. However, his protected injury ranking of 107 was just barely outside the cut for the US Open's main draw and the USTA reserved its wild cards for promising young players. If Justin were to make it back for an eighth straight go-round, he'd need to survive three rounds of qualifying. Finnish journeyman Tuomas Ketola took a 5-3 lead in the opening set, but had a devil of a time closing it out. Game 10 was a seemingly endless test of wills, punctuated by long rallies, multiple deuces, and Ketola's contention that Gimelstob was influencing the line calls with his boisterous complaints. Ketola finally snared a 6-3 win of the set, but Gimelstob responded by taking the second set by an identical score. Perhaps looking to stall the American's momentum, Ketola headed off for a bathroom break. Gimelstob saved a break point in the fourth game, then earned multiple chances for a break of his own in Game 5. Ketola was struggling with his first serve percentage and appeared to be tiring, but Gimelstob's erratic groundstrokes betrayed him time and again on the big points. A lunging backhand winner down the line got Gimelstob to break point number four. He tried the line again with another backhand, appearing to catch the corner, but a very late call from a lineswoman ruled the ball out. Gimelstob exploded, hopping into the air and bellowing at the top of his lungs. "NO WAY! NO WAY! GOSH ALMIGHTY!" he screamed at the chair umpire. The call stood and the pivotal game lurched ahead to an eighth deuce. A volley error from Ketola brought up a fifth break point. He saved it with a service winner, but Gimelstob vehemently disagreed with the non-call, subjecting the umpire to another extended outburst. "Out by a yard, buddy! What are you doing? What are you doing? Are you trying to earn a spot in the worst umpires registry?" Two points later, after nine tension-filled deuces and five break points, Ketola held for a 3-2 lead in the final set. Gimelstob hit some booming serves in a love hold for 3-3, but Game 7 saw him jawing with the umpire yet again. After an out call, he yelled, "No! No! No! No way! That ball's not out." With an incredulous, exasperated look on his face, Gimelstob marched over to his chair and sat down. He continued defiantly arguing from there, remaining seated as he deemed the line calls "very difficult for me to comprehend." Ketola walked over and pointed at his wrist, implying that Gimelstob deserved a time violation for this extended delay. Justin was already back on his feet, though, and he agreed to resume play. Gimelstob and Ketola rose to the occasion in the match's late stages, each getting into a solid groove on his serve. Nary a break point was seen as Tuomas took a 6-5 lead under the setting sun. Up 30-15 in Game 12, Gimelstob came charging forward, but Ketola passed him a superlative running forehand. Another winning pass on the run, this one a backhand, earned Ketola his first match point. Gimelstob stayed aggressive, making yet another rush to the net, but his stab backhand volley landed just wide. For the first time since 1996, Justin Gimelstob will not be playing in the main draw of the US Open. His reaction was about as subtle as his behavior had been throughout the final set. Justin repeatedly slammed his racquet against the court surface, turning it into a mangled mess. Gimelstob considered hurling it into the sky, but stopped short, merely lobbing it to his chair. All due credit to Tuomas Ketola, who put together a nice final game to win a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 thriller. Odds and Ends: Justin Gimelstob wasn't the only American questioning line calls on Tuesday. Atlanta-born Ansley Cargill said, "I don't know what ya'll are looking at" after a shot from opponent Olga Blahotova appeared to miss the baseline. Cargill dropped serve in the last game of a tight second set and fell 3-6, 7-5, 6-3... Another Southern belle was more fortunate. North Carolina's own Cory Ann Avants squeaked out a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory over wild card Neha Uberoi. "I almost choked that one away," Avants admitted to doubles partner Kristen Schlukebir immediately after leaving the court... Less than a month before her 29th birthday, Rosanna Neffa-De Los Rios struggled in a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Roberta Vinci. Visibly disappointed, Neffa-De Los Rios couldn't even force a smile when a fan asked her to pose for a picture after the match. Rossana's daughter Ana was on hand, using a handheld plastic fan to keep cool... Sesil Karatancheva made some headlines earlier this year by issuing an "I'm going to kick her ass off" challenge to Maria Sharapova. Alas, the reigning French Open juniors champion isn't much of a draw yet, judging by the tiny crowd who watched Karatancheva obliterate Ainho Goni-Blanco of Spain 6-1, 6-0. |