Mark Philippoussis on possibly returning to wooden racquets -- "I've tested wooden racquets. If you brought back wooden racquets, I'd be able to hit the ball just as hard and no one would be able to return it. Then tennis would be three times as boring. If you really think about it, it's ridiculous."
Thomas Muster on his goals for the rest of the year -- "To play well at the US Open. That's something I would appreciate. And maybe going up to first division with our Davis Cup team, playing Zimbabwe. That would be great, but very difficult."
Goran Ivanisevic on his reluctance to go to net -- "I hit a first serve, I made one step in and then I came back. And then again I hit a great forehand in the corner, again I make two steps in and then I went back. I don't know, you know, it's just something that's easier to watch at that moment. My legs telling me go to the net, my mind tells me go back and it's like confusion. Two steps forward, two steps backward, you know."
Ivanisevic on his on-court superstitions -- "I have a lot and sometimes I forget what I'm supposed to do... Step on the line, how many lines I can touch, you know, so many... Which ball to take, touching my sock, too many."
This noon match figured to be a classic puncher/counterpuncher match with Gimelstob's serve and volley game meeting Draper's solid baseline play. However, it quickly appeared that Draper would have trouble holding up his end in the contrast of styles. In the third game of the match, Draper fought from 0-40 to 30-40, only to then be broken on a Gimelstob backhand volley winner. By the fourth game, the Australian was already shaking his head in dismay and feverishly practicing his backhand stroke. Gimelstob kept things close, though, handing the break right back with three double faults and a forehand error.
The players got back on track with successful service games to even the set at 3-3. Draper then came down with the double fault rash, serving up three in game 7. He managed to fight off three break points in that game, but lost the fourth on what was surely one of the best points of the tournament so far, an all-court rally in which Gimelstob was forced to chase two drop shots and a lob. Simply not finding the range on his groundstrokes, Draper lost the following two games to give Gimelstob a 6-3 set.
Draper tried to turn the momentum at 1-1 in the 2nd, getting to 30-40 on Gimelstob's serve with a great backhand passing shot. Gimelstob would save the game, though, getting to deuce with a tough backhand overhead and closing it out with an ace. The obviously frustrated Draper shouted "HIT IT! Hit the ball!" near the end of that game. It was his New Jersey born opponent who was doing the superior hitting on this afternoon. Aside from the early yips on his serve, Gimelstob looked solid in every facet of his game, wearing down his fellow lefty to score a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win. Next up for Justin: a Centre Court encounter with '96 Wimbledon king Richard Krajicek.
I told ya so. My prediction that Salzenstein would give Muster trouble came true in the early going. Salzenstein sprinted to a 4-1 lead and served for the set at 5-3. He was broken there, but tenaciously broke back to take a stunning 1 set to 0 lead over the #5 player in the world. He added an early break in the second, pumping his fist as a misfired Muster backhand gave him a 2-0 lead. Nerves may have gotten to him at this point, however. The Salzenstein service game crumbled, a forehand volley into the net wrapping up a love break for Muster.
Both players excelled on serve after that, holding to 5-5. Highlights along the way included a simply remarkable behind-the-back reflex volley by Muster and a foot fault call which thoroughly enraged the intense Austrian. Muster was arguing again in game 11, incredulous over a questionable ace which helped Salzenstein to a 6-5 lead. Muster kept right on arguing after the game and -- for the second changeover in a row -- ran out to the baseline with at least half of the rest time left to spare. Salzenstein got to 40-30 in the 12th game, but lost it when his forehand clipped the net cord and fell back on his side of the court. Muster had stayed alive, but Salzenstein was one tiebreak away from a win in his first match ever against a top 10 player.
The enormity of that possible accomplishment may have weighed on the Stanford grad's mind as the tiebreak began. He opened with a double fault and was quickly down 4-1 after three sterling winners by an inspired Muster. "The Moose" then delivered two consecutive aces and took the breaker 7-1 on another Salzenstein double fault. Salzenstein's big serve theoretically gave him a chance to pull out the third set, but the air was thick with a sense that he had blown his chance.
Salzenstein and Muster racked up easy service holds to open the third, Muster taking a 3-2 lead. It was around this time when Salzenstein began having difficulty with one of his legs -- members of the press corps and Muster himself guessed it was a hamstring injury. Whatever it was probably contributed to two consecutive Salzenstein double faults in the sixth game, leading to the service break Muster needed. "The King of Clay", in his first hard court event since March's Lipton Championships, never looked back on his way to a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 triumph. Jeff Salzenstein gave the tennis world a high profile taste of his considerable talent, but it was the gritty 3rd seeded veteran who emerged from this battle victorious.
Wednesday's third match on Centre Court provided plenty of fodder for those who see men's tennis as a game now ruled by the serve. There wasn't a single break point in the first ten games of the Enqvist-Haas match. When one finally was earned, it happened in spectacular fashion. At 5-5, 30-30, the two engaged in a great power baseline exchange, finally ending with a wicked Haas backhand down the line. Haas then grabbed a 6-5 lead on a disputed Enqvist double fault. Suddenly the breaks became contagious -- Haas threw in a double of his own to make it 15-40 and was dragged into a first set tiebreak upon missing a 30-40 forehand.
This would have been a fine time for the Swede to kick his game into high gear, but Enqvist did the opposite. He opened with five errors and a double fault, digging a 6-0 hole. Enqvist fought off the first three set points, but the 19-year-old took the tiebreak 7-3 when another Enqvist forehand found the net. The celebration for Haas was short lived, however. He was broken at love in the third game and quickly found himself down 5-3. A second consecutive love hold got Haas to 5-4, but Enqvist replied by finishing the set with a love game of his own.
An Enqvist smash did away with the only break chance in the early games of the 3rd set. Haas was holding his own quite well up 3-2, but chose that juncture to call an injury timeout. While the trainer applied ice to the young German's leg, Enqvist was apparently iced out of his rhythm. Haas got a golden opportunity up 15-40, but threw both break points away with poor groundstrokes. The successful service games continued to 4-4, where a big service return down the line gave Enqvist a critical break point. He converted it as a Haas forehand sailed long. Enqvist then stormed past his hampered opponent for good, scoring aces on two of the last three points in a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory. It had been a great day on serve for Tommy Haas, who compiled 13 aces and a 77% success rate when his first serve went in. 5th seeded Thomas Enqvist came through when it mattered, though...aside from that ugly tiebreak.
Apparently Gustavo Kuerten's much maligned blue-and-yellow outfit is only brought out for singles matches. Guga donned a white shirt and white shorts for his first round doubles match. Of course, he balanced them out with blue shoes, yellow socks, and a green bandana. Meanwhile, Jeff Salzenstein appeared fully recovered from whatever was bothering him at the end of the Muster match. He and partner Alexander Kitinov won the opening game on one of Salzenstein's "Air Sampras"-esque overheads and survived a series of close games to lead 4-1. Kitinov would hold at love up 5-3, taking the first set and leaving Kuerten livid over what he saw as an incorrect non-call on a serve.
In the next game, the very same linesman called a fault on Kuerten at 30-40, then immediately corrected himself. Now it was Salzenstein's turn to argue, insisting to the umpire "you're not watching." Guga went on to hold serve, as did his Canadian partner Bobby Kokavec. Kokavec celebrated his hold with a goofy bunny hop and then sat down in his chair so forcefully that it nearly toppled over backwards. Kitinov and Salzenstein went right on holding their own serves and critiquing the line calls. From Salzenstein at 2-2: "Can you see out here? I don't understand."
Eventually the teams reached 5 all, putting the pressure on Kokavec. He failed miserably, double faulting to end a love break. The Canadian reacted by smacking a ball into the air and thereby incurring a code violation. Salzenstein then calmly put the finishing touches on a 6-3, 7-5 victory with two aces and two service winners in the final game. Guga Kuerten was a loser on the scoreboard this time, but not with the fans who swarmed him with autograph requests as he left the court. Kitinov and Salzenstein walked off mostly unnoticed, but may walk right into the quarterfinals on Thursday if scheduled 2nd round opponents Sandon Stolle and Cyril Suk are grounded by Stolle's bum shoulder.
#2 seed Goran Ivanisevic had a typical, satisfying set to start his run at perhaps a first ever title in North America. He established his dominance on serve, then secured a couple late breaks to win the set 6-3. When a forehand error cost Steven a third consecutive break in the second game of the second set, it appeared the big Croat would waltz to an easy victory. New Zealand's Steven, on a hot streak coming off the Newport final and Washington semifinals, had other ideas. He snatched a 0-40 lead in the third game and got his first break of the match on an Ivanisevic double fault. The players then settled back into their early match pattern of facing only occasional threats on serve. When Steven lost a game to go down 4-3, he lobbed the ball high into the sky. Avid soccer player Ivanisevic waited for it to come down and headed it over to a ball girl.
Serving down 5-4 in the second, Steven was forced into three straight errors, giving Ivanisevic triple match point. Steven saved the first with a touch volley and the second with a service winner. Two Ivanisevic backhand errors later, Steven had the ad. One ace later, Steven had tied the set at 5 games apiece. He received a big ovation from the crowd, who understandably wanted to see more tennis -- the 8-game Chang vs. Stolle match which opened the night session was barely an appetizer, let alone a full meal. A tiebreak seemed inevitable and it became a reality after Goran and Brett exchanged easy holds.
Ivanisevic scored his 12th ace of the match to take a 3-2 lead in the tiebreak, but Steven came right back with his 6th ace for 3-3. Steven would take a mini-break and a 5-3 lead when an Ivanisevic forehand went long. Another Ivo miss at 5-4 gave Steven double set point. He missed a volley, though, and got down 7-6 after two straight Ivanisevic aces. Steven furiously disagreed with the non-call on the latter, brushing his hat up and down across the spot he was sure the ball had landed. The TV replay seemed to indicate that he was right. The call stood, though, and Steven had to fight off match point by scrambling around the court with reckless abandon and cutting off an Ivanisevic passing shot with a flying backhand volley. After netting a backhand for 8-7, Steven staved off a fifth match point with another big backhand volley, drawing anohter huge ovation from the crowd. Ivanisevic put a forehand into the net, giving Steven his third set point. When Ivanisevic's smash of a Steven lob went long, he dropped the tiebreak 10-8 and hurled the match into a third set.
Ivanisevic looked virtually hopeless in the first three games of the set, losing them all. He'd lost all accuracy on his serves and missed groundstroke after groundstroke seemingly every time Steven advanced to the net. But Ivo claimed game 4 with a nice, rare serve-and-volley display, then completed a break at love with a dazzling service return. Steven had four break points of his own in the next game, but Ivanisevic shrugged them off with aces and service winners. Suddenly red hot again, Goran broke easily and held to win his fifth game in a row (calling for a "lucky" ball on several consecutive points). A Steven hold stemmed the tide, but it was Goran's match to win or lose up 5-4.
The quality of play was high throughout the tenth game. At 30-30, Brett threw himself into yet another of those on-the-run backhand volleys, but Ivanisevic ran it down and sent it back for a forehand winner down the line. His sixth match point in hand, Ivanisevic ripped a backhand passing shot cross-court to sew up a tense, exciting, see-saw 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 victory. Ivanisevic easily won the battle of winners (63 to 35), but Steven earned the crowd's enthusiastic support with a lot of heart and aggressiveness.