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by Christopher Gerby In a certain sense, Thursday at the Schenectady challenger was similar to the days that preceded it. The weather was hot, matches started at 10 AM on those shoddy public courts behind the chain link fence, and Maureen Drake was berating herself for all to hear. "What a JOKE!" was one particularly loud declaration from the Canadian veteran (who was actually en route to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Cindy Watson). But if you believe the WTA computer rankings, this was the day the entire event got turned upside down. By the time the smoke cleared, that temperamental, injury-prone 33-year-old from the Great White North was the only seeded player left standing in singles. (6) Natalie Grandin vs. Ansley Cargill Singles: Second Round Court 4 This baseline duel was a magnet for several other players in the draw. Marie-Eve Pelletier and her coach came out to support Cargill and were there for pretty much the entire match. (The coach borrowed one of the "officials only" chairs for Marie-Eve, brusquely telling the off-duty linesmen, "Players need to sit"). Camille Pin strolled over and had a long chat with Pelletier in French while waiting to play on neighboring Court 3. Pin's opponent, Bethanie Mattek, asked for a score update before throwing on a pair of headphones. What they all witnessed was some borderline maddening tennis. Hefty lefty Natalie Grandin was constructing points pretty well, but could never seem to put the winning shot in the court. Fellow southpaw Ansley Cargill, meanwhile, couldn't quite string together more than two good points in a row. After breaking serve in the opening game of the match, Cargill advanced to a 3-1 lead. Grandin broke back in Game 6, prompting Cargill to angrily bang on the back fence with her racquet. Three straight breaks after that -- more a case of incompetent serving than skillful returning -- left Cargill with a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve out the first set. The American kept right on spraying forehand errors, though, and was downright offended by her own play. After dropping the 10th game, Cargill said, "That's just dumb. I'm so slow. I don't know what I'm doing. I can't even focus." All in all, a pretty bad way to head into a tiebreak, which is where this ugly set ended after yet another exchange of breaks... Wilting in the summer heat, Grandin went very quietly after that. Cargill started to play pretty well and rolled through the second set, serving out a 7-6, 6-1 victory at love. Ansley knew that tiebreak was the turning point. "I felt that I was in better shape than she was, so I felt that if I could get the first set under my belt, then I would be able to concentrate more on moving forward and being more aggressive." I asked if playing a fellow southpaw is tough. "Yeah, I think it is, for sure," Cargill replied. "I don't play too many lefties, and when you get two lefties out there, with forehands, angles is their strength. They're just angling each other off the court." Cargill is the only player in the draw who'd already played in Schenectady this summer, having represented the Philadelphia Freedoms in World Team Tennis. She feels WTT's fast-paced format is a good preparation for the rest of her season. "You have to start right from 0-0, fast. There's a lot of pressure with the team and fans and I felt like, because I'm a slow starter sometimes, learning how to get out there and win the first couple games off the bat is gonna help me in these matches." Her win over Grandin wasn't exactly a classic, but Cargill may have already played the match of the week. Yesterday she teamed up with Julie Ditty for a 7-6 (11), 7-6 (7) doubles win over Liga Dekmeijere and Antonia Matic that won't be soon forgotten by anyone who witnessed its pressure packed highlight film rallies. "Oh, man! I felt like it was a Grand Slam match," Ansley exclaimed when I brought it up. "Everybody played so well, especially in the big points, and you normally don't see that at challengers." (2) Jennifer Hopkins vs. Janet Lee Singles: Second Round Court 6 The highest ranked player left in the field found herself in major trouble here. Jenny Hopkins has seen her share of the spotlight, climbing as high as 52 in the world and sharing a now-defunct romance with Taylor Dent. 2003 was a disastrous season for Hopkins on the court and she's just now showing signs of recovery, including a successful run through Wimbledon qualifying (followed by a win in the main draw). Fortune sometimes smiles on athletes when you least expect it, though, and that's been the case with Janet Lee in Schenectady. After just barely snapping an 11-set losing streak on Wednesday, she took a 7-5 first set off Hopkins. The # 2 seed kept herself afloat, matching Lee to 4-4 in the second set, but her serve went off badly in Game 9. Three double faults allowed Lee to break for 5-4. At 30-30 in the following game, Lee served an ace and celebrated with an exuberant fist pump. It was match point now and all Lee needed was one more good first serve. She got it and Hopkins netted the return. "I think at the end I came up with some good serves when I had to. That was the key," said Janet Lee after her 7-5, 6-4 upset. The quiet lady from California is loathe to toot her own horn, though, and she once again chalked up a win to her opponent's failings. "She seemed to be struggling a bit with her first serve percentage," said Lee of Hopkins. "She's an aggressive player, so when her shots aren't on, I know I have a chance. Today she was missing a little more." Practially a grizzled veteran at age 27 ("I don't look it; it's like I'm 18"), Janet has developed a laid back perspective. "I don't care so much about the results anymore. I just wanna enjoy the time on the court. Ya know, when you're at that point where you've lost so much, you're just, like, oh, have fun." Lee admits these wins have done a bit to boost her confidence, but she may have a different kind of problem heading into the quarterfinals. Right after the warmup for a doubles match she won later in the day, Lee took a lengthy medical timeout, having her neck, right shoulder, and right forearm massaged by the trainer. (3) Camille Pin vs. Bethanie Mattek Singles: Second Round Court 3 Knee tendinitis kept Bethanie Mattek on the shelf for a good portion of the 2004 season, but the 19-year-old is back at full speed now and playing versatile, attacking tennis. With her trademark array of "come on" shouts and confident little fist pumps, Mattek jumped all over little Camille Pin of France, rushing to a 5-1 lead. Pin won a nice side-to-side rally on break point to reach 2-5 and kept her comeback effort going with an easy hold for 3-5. Pin came up with a beauty of a lob winner on the run in Game 9, but Mattek finally regained the upper hand. On double set point, Bethanie pulled Camille in with an angled touch shot, forcing an error to conclude the 6-3 set. Picking right up where she left off, Bethanie broke twice for a 3-0 lead in the second. Mattek got a bit frustrated after dropping serve in Game 4, letting out an exasperated "thank you!" after getting a backhand winner to fall in during Game 5. Mattek broke for 4-1, Pin broke for 4-2, and Mattek continued the pattern with a break to 5-2. Pin was talking to herself now and looking quite doomed. Bethanie tried to finish off the win in style, choosing to serve and volley on almost every point in Game 8. Camille fought off triple match point, though, and Mattek would up cough up two straight double faults to lose the game. Pin held easily in Game 9, reaching 4-5 when Mattek shanked a return all the way over the back fence. Still attacking, Mattek dumped a volley to trail 0-30 in her second attempt to serve for a spot in the quarters. But Mattek put her foot down, reeling off three points in a row and letting loose with her biggest "come on!" after earning another match point. This time she put in a good, deep serve and Pin failed to put the return in play. Bethanie Mattek had made life pretty difficult for herself, down the stretch, but it goes down in the books as a solid 6-3, 6-4 upset win. "I was really happy with how I played," said the Minnesota-born, Wisconsin-raised fireball. "I went into this with a game plan that she isn't that powerful of a player, so I needed to stay patient, but at the same time not get trapped in her game of just rallying from the back. I'm an aggressive player that likes to come in, so I stuck to that game plan and it seemed to be working." With the courts right on top of each other, balls are constantly rolling from one match into the playing area of another. Mattek has done an impressive job of maintaining her concentration under those circumstances. "I have certain rituals I do before I serve. If something comes, like a ball comes in my court or something, I will just restart my whole ritual before I serve. That's how I stay focused... I look where I'm going and I bounce the ball three times." There will be no more dodging wayward balls for Bethanie on Friday, as she's booked a place in MVP Stadium for her quarterfinal showdown with compatriot Ansley Cargill. Ironically, the two met in this very same tournament last year, back when it was held in Oyster Bay. Mattek dug out a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 win there and knows she can expect a battle in the rematch. "It will definitely be a challenge. I've gotta play well." Elsewhere on Thursday: A morning start, one day removed from a 3 1/2 hour marathon match, was too much for Yuka Yoshida to overcome. The # 4 seed took an injury timeout for a wrist problem late in her 6-2, 6-2 loss to China's fetching Nan-Nan Liu (who still owes $150 in fines, according to a list posted in the tournament office). Yoshida tried to give the doubles a go in the afternoon, but retired after just three games... Varvara Lepchenko is the last qualifier alive in Schenectady. She showed a lot of competitive fire in dispatching 5th seeded Anne Keothovang of Great Britain 6-2, 6-2... The day of carnage for the top players also engulfed 8th-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova. Southern belle Cory Ann Avants took out her fellow teenager by a 6-4, 6-3 count... Marie-Eve Pelletier jogged to the net with a raised fist and a big smile after outlasting Mi-Ra Jeon in a 6-1, 6-3 tilt loaded with service breaks. Pelletier stuck around late into the afternoon to inquire about tomorrow's order of play and get in some practice on the stadium court. |