Justin Gimelstob on his impressions of Montreal: "So far so good. I haven't been here long, but actually I went out to dinner last night in the city and I was really impressed. It was like a little Paris, all the outdoor cafes and stuff. It was nice. I guess if I got killed today, I'd probably say that Montreal stinks."
Daniel Nestor on losing to Tommy Haas: "I don't feel like he beat me. I felt more like I lost the match and that's been the case my whole career, mostly -- me losing as opposed to people beating me."
Tim Henman on his 1st round performance: "As a professional, that was probably one of the worst matches I've ever played."
Sebastien Leblanc on what the win over Henman means to him: "This is great for me. I wanna keep it up. I'm not celebrating tonight because I beat Henman. You know, I wanna play well again and hopefully win the next round. It means a lot, lots of confidence. I'm sure I can play with most of the players, which I didn't really know before."
A windy and overcast morning greeted steady but unspectacular baseliners Scott Draper and Thierry Champion. Draper, ranked #63 in the world, got off to a slow start in the opening game. After a double fault and two unforced errors, the Australian was visibly bothered by a problem with his racquet (which he handed someone to take away following the game). Whatever the problem, he overcame it in that opening game, fighting off four break points by drawing Champion into long rallies. Nonetheless, the first break was scored by the Frenchman for a 2-1 lead. Draper battled right back, breaking at love to even the set at 2 all.
A Draper forehand into the corner at 15-30 in the next game was called out, prompting him to exclaim, "You're kidding me! That is so blatant." He lost the game with an errant forehand on the next point, looking disgusted over having been broken again. Champion returned the favor with an error-filled service game of his own, evening things again at 3-3. Draper finally held serve in the next game, ending the love game with a lunging forehand cross-court winner. The man returned with a racquet for Draper during the changeover, although Scott wasn't sure whether it was a new racquet or the original restrung. Champion held for 4-4, then was gift-wrapped a break by Draper, who double faulted at 0-40. A hold away from the set, Champion came through with a strong game, winning the game at love on an ace. First set to Thierry Champion, 6-4.
Draper made things no easier on himself in the opening game of the next set, double faulting and burying an easy overhead into the net before finally holding serve. He added a quick break and a long hold, turning the match around with a 3-0 lead in the 2nd, seeming to have adjusted to the breezy conditions. The players traded easy holds to 4-1, playing more solidly than in the first set. Draper lost a break chance in the next game when he was distracted in mid-swing by an anguished scream from Jerome Golmard on nearby Court 6. He took advantage on the next break point, however, securing a 5-1 lead with a very nice touch volley. Draper scored two aces -- serving with new balls -- in the following game, winning it with a deep backhand winner. Second set to Draper, 6-1.
An increasingly cranky Champion was little threat early in the third set. He quickly got down 4-0, bothered both by his errant shots and the small-but-vocal group of Draper supporters which cheered after some of those errors. Champion managed to hold for 4-1 and got to deuce in the following game with a backhand winner down the line which even impressed Draper (who offered up a sincere, "Yeah, nice shot" as the ball sailed past). Two more Champion errors made it 5-1, however. The French veteran, ranked #145 on the ATP computer, followed with a love hold and thereby forced Draper to serve out the win. That he did, clinching the win on four straight Champion errors. After a sluggish start, Scott Draper advanced with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
According to the ATP Tour rankings, you couldn't ask for a closer matchup than Armenian native Sargis Sargsian (#69 in the world) vs. American Jonathan Stark (#70). The first set bore that out, as there was little difference between the two. Both relied on strong first serves and picked the right moments to be aggressive. With Sargsian getting the bulk of the crowd support, Stark resorted to applauding some of his own winners. He couldn't score a service break to celebrate, but found himself with a 5-4 lead by virtue of serving first. Both players subsequently ended holds with aces, leaving Stark with a 6-5 lead.
At this juncture, none other than French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten turned up by the side of the court to watch, no doubt because his second round opponent would come from this match. He was sporting a more muted version of his famous blue-and-yellow outfit, which apparently was enough to give his identity away for the handful of fans who asked for autographs. "Guga" graciously obliged. Meanwhile, little changed on the court, with Sargsian forcing a tiebreak with an easy hold. Stark's play was the key to the breaker. Four Stark errors and two Stark winners meant a 4-2 lead for Sargsian. Rain began to fall as they changed sides, unfortunately. A successful volley by Stark cut the lead to 4-3 and play was suspended.
4-3 in the first set tiebreak is certainly an inopportune time to have play halted. It turned out to be especially bad for Stark, who did not come back strong from the delay. He missed an overhead, a volley, and a baseline backhand to hand Sargsian the first set 7 games to 6; 7-3 in the tiebreak. Both players went right back to holding serve in the early stages of the second set, knotting it at 2 games all. I got the distinct sense that one break either way would turn the tide of this close match. When Sargsian made two consecutive errors from 30-30 to give Stark a break and a 3-2 lead, that's exactly what happened. I missed the rest of the match (can't be everywhere at once), which Jonathan Stark pulled out 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 -- a mild upset over a player who had been among the tour's most successful this summer.
I won't pretend to have seen the first seven games of this match. Attempting to cover the outer courts means frequently arriving at matches which are already in progress. Dutch lefty Jan Siemerink had already built a 5-2 first set lead when I took a seat at his first round encounter with scrappy shotmaker Leander Paes. Relentlessly charging forward, Paes held easily to make the score 5-3. 16th seeded Siemerink was undeterred, however, throwing a variety of challenges at Paes in the ninth game. Two drops shots, a smash, and a service winner gave Siemerink the game and set 6-3.
The last thing Paes needed to do to open the second set was lose serve, but he did just that by missing a low backhand volley at 30-40. Leander yelled something I couldn't decipher after that shot, but I'm quite sure it wasn't positive. Paes fought to deuce in the following game, only to be foiled by another drop shot (which he responded to with a face that seemed to say "ugh, not this again") and a service winner. Despite a double fault in the following game, Paes got on the board at 2-1. A very flashy Paes backhand winner down the line kept the fourth game of the set alive, but Siemerink prevailed after two deuces. Paes then scored an ace on his way to making it 3-2.
A couple great passing shots gave the Indian a rare chance to break at 30-40 and it looked like he might pull it off as he grunted "yah!" while taking a big swing at a forehand down the line. It went barely long, though, and Siemerink went ahead to hold with an ace and a service winner to the body. Paes showed off some service winners of his own in a love hold for 4-3. Finally showing signs of his rather erratic nature, Siemerink double faulted twice in a row to trail 30-40 in the set's eighth game. Paes missed this opportunity as well, however, shaking his head in disgust after a mis-hit forehand sailed long. Siemerink would double fault yet again and look less than pleased about it, but eventually took the game on a serve out wide which was ruled an ace by the umpire (overruling a fault call).
If Paes was dispirited after seeing another precious chance to break go by, it didn't show in the next game. At 40-15, he finally whacked one of Siemerink's drop shots for a winner. Alas, the Dutchman's solid serve and volley game was too much on this afternoon. Siemerink served out the match convincingly, ending the 6-3, 6-4 victory with a big overhead smash. The #16 seed smiled broadly, having survived a pretty tough first round test.
Canadian doubles specialist (aren't they all?) Nestor gave his countrymen reason to be excited in this tight first round affair. Nestor surprisingly won the first set 7-5, with 19-year-old phenom Haas taking the second 6-4. Haas showed his intensity in the fifth game of the third set, vehemently arguing that a Nestor volley should have been called out. Instead, Nestor fought off four break points on his way to taking a 3-2 edge in the decisive set. The following game was just as long and just as acrimonious, Haas this time pleading that one of his serves should have been ruled an ace rather than a fault. The Nick Bolletteiri protege got his composure back in time to hold and even the set at 3 all.
Eventually one of the players would have to blink at a crucial moment. Or make that two crucial moments -- at 30-30, Nestor double faulted and then netted a backhand volley. Haas had the advantage, up 4-3 with a break in hand. The teenager looked as good as advertised in an impressive service game, stretching his lead to 5-3. The smallish crowd attempted to rally Nesto and he responded by holding at love, forcing Haas to serve for the victory at 5-4. The lanky German came up with two big forehand winners and, despite blowing two match points, earned a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory when one last Nestor forehand floated over the baseline. From the action I saw, Haas delivered what we should expect at this point -- great ability with mediocre consistency (the wind probably didn't help). It was good enough this time, as Haas did little to detract from the belief that he will be a top 10 player in the relatively near future.
I only caught the last three games of this doubles match, so there's not much to report. In fact, all that really stood out in that time was the entertainingly bizarre behavior of Ivanisevic. Goran played soccer with the ball every chance he got, berated himself in a garbled variation on the English language, staggered around like a hunchback after a bad shot, and tossed his racquet all the way to his chair after double faulting on match point. Ivanisevic smiled throughout that final game and jovially chatted with some fans after the 7-6, 6-2 loss. Stolle and Suk may have been overshadowed by Goran, but their effective play sent them into the second round.
Monday's schedule at the du Maurier Open saved the best for last. Improbably, a 7 pm matchup which looked anything but competitive delivered high drama (if not great play). The #18 player in the world figured to receive little trouble from the lowest ranked player in the field, #885 Sebastien Leblanc. Playing his first ATP Tour singles event of the year, Leblanc stunned the experts by forcing a first set tiebreak and winning its first two points. When Henman rallied for a 3-2 lead in the breaker, however, you could be excused for expecting the graceful Brit to roll to a straight sets win.
It was not to be -- a great Leblanc drop shot evened the tiebreak at 3-3 and shifted the momentum. The next four points also belonged to the unheralded underdog, three of them coming on uncharacteristic forehand errors by Henman. The crowd erupted as Leblanc won the tiebreak 7-3 and claimed a one set lead. Eight mostly easy holds followed, Henman squandering the only break point en route to a second set score of 4-4. Leblanc then got down 0-30, enticing the crowd to boost his spirits with rythmic applause. Henman was unfazed, though, converting a break point with a screaming forehand pass. Leblanc had a break chance of his own in the 10th game, but he lost it, dropping the set in the process. A 6-4 stanza for Henman sent the night match into a third set.
The final set played out like a game of "hot potato", each player handing the other opportunities to win the match. Leblanc held triple break point up 1-0 in the third, but eventually gave away the game on a forehand error. Henman was not so lucky in his next service game. Leading 2-1 and 15-40, Leblanc got a fortuitous net cord which popped over Henman's head and landed for an important winner. Against all odds, Sebastien Leblanc had a 7-6, 4-6, 3-1 lead over Tim Henman in front of his hearty hometown supporters, whose cheers grew louder as the evening wore on.
The pressure of the moment may have gotten to Leblanc, understandably not match tough after two months off the tour. A loose service game sent the potato back to Henman, who trailed just 3-2. The Englishman fought off a break point with an ace and tied the set at 3 games apiece when two straight Leblanc returns missed their mark. Leblanc never abandoned his net-charging game, however, and he punched a backhand volley home to hold serve for a 4-3 lead. An even easier volley at 15-40 in the following game meant a 5-3 edge for Leblanc and a chance to serve for the match.
With the crowd going bonkers, Leblanc opened with a very nervous looking error -- he would later admit it was a "really tight" volley. Despite the nerves, he battled back with an ace for 15-15. A Henman return went just long for 30-15...the next went even longer for 40-15. One point away from the biggest win of his career, Leblanc served a double fault. He would not be denied on his second match point, however -- a lunging touch volley bounced twice before a desperately sprinting Henman could return it. The 1997 du Maurier Open had its first major Cinderella story, as Montreal native Sebastien Leblanc scored a monumental 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 upset over #10 seed Tim Henman.
Despite the spirited efforts of Leblanc, I really believe Henman could have prevailed here simply by keeping the ball in play. Instead, he sprayed error upon error in what he would afterward deem one of the worst performances of his pro tennis career.