1997 Toronto Open: Chris Gerby On the Scene

Day 1: Venus Crashes Down to Earth

Q: First of all, is it true that you're getting married?

Labat: No, not yet. No.

Q: OK, just checking. You've got Anke Huber next. You won a set against her last year. Do you like your chances to maybe win the entire match?

Labat: Yeah, I think it's gonna be a good match. Anke's playing very good, but I've been playing very good too, so I'm confident in that match.

Q: You played mixed doubles at the French Open and Wimbledon this year. Do you think you'll be doing it at the US Open as well?

Labat: (laughs) If I find a doubles partner, yes, maybe.

Q: You had some problems with the chair umpire today...

Labat: No, there were only two bad calls that I went to ask her, but I would say it wasn't very important.

Q: Would you say you're arguing more calls this year than in the past?

Labat: No. It was only today, because I thought that she wasn't right. That's why I went to ask her about those two calls. That's it.

Q: There were some kids in the stands making noise during points. Did that distract you at all?

Williams: No, it didn't really bother me. I think it may have bothered her (Dechy) a little bit, but it doesn't bother me.

Q: You've had great success in doubles this year, reaching the final at the Lipton, doing so well at Wimbledon. How much of that do you think has to do with you and Miriam (Oremans) playing together so long, whereas other teams are changing every week?

Appelmans: Well, it has a lot to do. Miriam and me are also good friends outside the court and that helps. Tennis is very individual normally, so in doubles you have to play as a team. You have to support each other, even if the other one isn't playing the best tennis. You have to try to work as a team and I think it helps a lot the fact that we've been playing for 2 1/2 years now, I think. And also we're having lots of fun on the court and we're just trying to go for it every match.

Williams on playing on a cloudy morning -- "That really couldn't be the reason why I lost that match. That definitely was not a factor. But I do like to play when the sun shines."

Williams on surviving the phenom pressure -- "I think the most important thing is to have fun and even if you do play badly or if you lose a match you should have won -- an important match, things of that nature -- you just have to remember that that's just not the last match you're going to play and that things do get better."

Patricia Hy-Boulais on gender differences -- "It's not a secret, whether you are an athlete or a housewife, just women in general are very emotional and they bring it on the court. It's not like `OK, I've got this serve, I've got this game, and I'm confident I can play this game.' Unfortunately, it happens a lot -- I've seen it over and over again... If you're a boy, they're brought up with an instinct to be competitive; it's just mother nature to them, right? Women find it more difficult to be in a very competitive world and I'm still learning to be more competitive than I am."

Appelmans on computers -- "I do have a fan page on the Internet. My brother is doing it with my neighbor and they give me the messages after the end of a trip. But actually I should get into computers a little bit more. It's interesting."

Appelmans on her future plans -- "I want to play a few more years. I always said I wanted to play after the next Olympic Games, so that's a few more years. I've been doing some media things, especially in entertainment. Maybe something in a sports firm, but I'm not sure. I wanna have kids, so that takes a lot of time also."

Venus Williams vs. Nathalie Dechy

The ominous strains of the "Mission: Impossible" theme bellowed out of the sound system as the players walked onto Centre Court for the '97 du Maurier Open's first main draw match. Perhaps that was meant to sum up the plight of Nathalie Dechy, a young qualifier from France thrown into the lion's den against ultra-talented fellow teen Venus Williams. Dechy chose to accept her mission and it was Williams who showed signs of self-destructing in the first met.

Williams got down 15-40 in the opening game, fought off one break point, and was broken when a Dechy backhand pass forced a volley error. Despite rowdy kids in the stands carrying on loud conversations (and occaionally yelling) throughout the action, Dechy held easily for 2-0. At 30-30 in the next game, Dechy whipped a pair of down-the-line forehand passing shots to earn another break and a 3-0 lead. The edge was 4-0 when Dechy held at love and 5-0 when Williams was broken yet again. After just 15 minutes, Venus Williams -- playing very sloppy tennis -- was one game away from dropping the first set.

Dechy appeared to get a little tense serving for the set, breaking herself with some bad backhands. Up 30-15 in the following game, Williams appeared to be getting on track. However, a Dechy smash made it 30-30, a Williams double fault made it 30-40, and a long Williams backhand ended the set. Dechy took it 6-1 in just 22 minutes, feasting on passing shots and winning bundles of points on Williams mistakes. Dechy kept it up in the opening game of set #2, holding at 15 with a delicate lob over Williams's head -- no minor feat, considering Venus is among the tallest players on the tour.

Williams finally held serve -- at love, in fact -- to even the set at 1-1. She then broke for 2-1 and managed a long hold for 3-1. Dechy was really digging her own hole at this point; she double faulted to end another break for 4-1. A couple big service winners sparked Williams to a 5-1 lead, but Dechy went up 40-30 in the following game. That was as close as Nathalie would come to getting back in this set, though. She netted a volley, double faulted, and missed a backhand to gift wrap a 6-1 set for Williams. It wasn't even noon yet, but Venus Williams and Nathalie Dechy were already headed to a third set.

After an easy Williams hold opened the set, it looked like Dechy was in danger of disappearing. She was bothered by the crowd noise, saying later that the kids were so loud she didn't hear the clanging of Venus's hair beads. Up 30-40, Williams seemed poise to break serve, but she proceeded to miss three forehands in a row to even the set at 1 game apiece. Dechy then broke for 2-1 with a nifty forehand into the corner and held for 3-1 by moving her lanky opponent around with solid side-to-side groundstrokes. Williams continued to surprisingly come apart at the seams, double faulting at 15-15 and again at 15-40 to make the score 4-1.

All Dechy really had to do by this juncture was keep the ball in play. A Williams backhand long ended an easy Dechy hold for 5-1. Venus went up 40-15 in the next game, then dropped three straight points to get down match point. Williams fought back to deuce with a high backhand volley winner. That was her last stand -- she hit two wide backhands in a row, closing out a bizarre 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 loss. It wasn't a performance to be proud of for a player who sees herself reaching #1 in the world before long. However, it was a nice notch on the belt of Nathalie Dechy.

Elena Likhovtseva vs. Anne Miller

I arrived at this one with Likhovtseva serving up 3-2 in the first set. That sixth game was a wild one -- the Russian went from 0-30 to 40-30, then lost three points in a row for a service break. Miller and Likhovtseva exchanged holds for 4-4. Miller then got down 15-40, but blasted away both break opportunities with down the line backhands. Likhovtseva took the next two points, though, breaking for 5-4. You could tell both players were intense in Game 10. They could tell us, actually -- Likhovtseva yelled at the chair umpire ("Are you watching this line or not?") and Miller yelled at herself ("God, you are so tight!"). The young American squandered four break points in that game, but converted the fifth when a Likhovtseva backhand was called long on an overrule.

Miller played a poor game at 5-5 and knew it. "Move up! You're so far behind the baseline!", Anne admonished herself before being broken at love. Likhovtseva would blow her second opportunity to serve out the set, though, Miller forcing the tiebreak with a backhand cross-court winner. After several games of high quality tennis, both players struggled in the tiebreak. Miller went up a mini-break at 2-1, but choked that lead away with a really bad double fault. Another one of those cross-court backhand lasers put her ahead 4-3, then she double faulted THAT lead away for 4-4. Another cross-court backhand winner put Miller (better known for her forehand) up 6-4, but she lost her first set point by swinging too hard at a Likhovtseva serve. Elena repaid the favor, though. As rain began to fall, Likhovtseva sent a forehand into the net to end a 7-5 tiebreak. Play was suspended with Miller up a set.

I returned to this match just in time to see Miller make three errors in a row, allowing Likhovtseva to hold for 3-2 in the 2nd set. Anne looked quite disgruntled and had further cause to feel bad after losing a close game to trail 4-2. Miller twice had break point in the seventh game, but she lost them both with errors. Two errant returns in a row made it 5-2; Anne grumbled "this sucks" on her way to the changeover. Down 30-40 in the next game, Miller threw in another untimely double fault and commented "yeah, that's smart." Second set to Likhovtseva, 6-2.

Miller kept right on talking to herself in the opening game of the final set, which Likhovtseva won for a 1-0 lead. Elena doesn't have any one big weapon, but she's in good condition and can hit seemingly any shot in the book. She started driving her opponent batty with drop shots in the next game, but Miller held after two deuces for 1-1. After Likhovtseva drilled a forehand into the net for 30-40, Miller broke with a scintillating backhand service return. The next game was a marathon, going to four deuces. Miller finally held, but it seemed to take a lot out of her. She was fatigued enough to lean against the back fence midway through the game, perhaps not quite match tough after a recent injury-forced absence from the tour.

Miller hung tough, taking a 0-40 lead on Likhovtseva's serve. She made three straight errors, though, and threw her racquet in disgust two points later after letting the game slip away. Miller didn't receive a code violation warning, but the umpire did have a little talk with her during the changeover. If the talk was meant to persuade Anne to tone down her act, it didn't work. "Let's not be so CASUAL!" she screamed at herself after a loose error nearly cost her the sixth game of the set. Miller did hold for 4-2, but Likhovtseva had an easier time holding for 4-3. Miller swore under her breath upon reaching her chair -- not loud enough to warrant an audible obscenity call, but loud enough that those of us in the front row heard it clearly.

With Miller exuding all kinds of negative energy and the scrappy Likhovtseva appearing to be the fresher player, I assumed Anne would have trouble closing out this win. Surprisingly, however, Elena's game went south. In a match mostly decided on Miller winners and errors, Likhovtseva errors brought the final set to 5-3, 15-40. Miller missed her first match point with a wide forehand, but she recovered by smacking a forehand winner down the line to complete a minor upset -- 7-6, 2-6, 6-3. Elena Likhovtseva is one of the few WTA players to have argued herself into a default, but on Monday it was Anne Miller providing both the verbal fireworks and the crucial winners.

Barabanschikova/Pleming vs. Cristea/Montalvo

I may have witnessed a bit of tennis history on Monday. I'd be surprised if there has ever been a previous case of a player signing autographs at 7-all. It was 7-7, 30-30 when the players returned after a rain delay to complete this final qualifying bout. The horde of teenage guys rooting for Olga Barabanschikova was there early. Their ranks seemed to have swelled since Sunday, although they were informally led by the same four "Olgaholics", who patiently waited for the Belarussian bombshell to return to Court 12. Despite the closeness of the match and concern about the still-somewhat-slippery court surface, Barabanschikova greeted them with a smile. Louise Pleming seemed rather amused by it all and happily chatted with the smitten fans.

Olga was certainly ready to get this match back underway. She served before the chair umpire could even call the score and officially resume play. After learning of her mistake, Barabanschikova grinned and gave the umpire thumbs up. A backhand volley winner by Pleming closed out the hold for 8-7, but she would miss a similar shot to end Catalina Cristea's service game. At 8 games all, the teams went to a tiebreak to decide which would advance to the main draw.

Laura Montalvo promptly took over, hitting winners with a lob (1-0), backhand volley (2-0), and overhead smash (5-0). Barabanschikova steered a service return wide to trail 6-0, giving Cristea and Montalvo a cornocopia of match points. They'd only need one -- Pleming pushed a forehand volley long to end the tiebreak, a tasty 7-0 bagel for Cristea/Montalvo. It was a sobering end for the Barabanschikova fans, although one of them got to leave with a coveted towel.

Florencia Labat vs. Linda Wild

Labat and Wild were facing off for the third time, Florencia having beaten Linda two weeks in a row at the very start of the '96 season. Wild was the higher ranked player back then, but not anymore. It's been a miserable year for the Chicago native and it didn't get much better early in this match. Labat secured a break for 3-1, held for 4-1, and got to deuce in the next game. Wild pulled it out to get to 4-2, but she made some gyrations which gave the impression of possible back trouble. Something sure did seem wrong with Wild in the seventh game. She made three straight errors, then lost the game at love when Labat sent a forehand winner down the line.

One of the few things to not go Labat's way was a questionable line call in Game Eight. Florencia disagreed with the chair umpire's overrule, asking "You saw that ball out? You're sure?" Nonetheless, an awkward forehand error by Wild made it 30-40 and a mis-hit Wild overhead completed the 6-2 set. Just about the only notable moment in the first game of the second set was another line call dispute from Labat, who was particularly insistent this time. Among her pleas were "this is the mark", "the ball was clearly out", "this is the second mistake you're making", and "you're so bad." Wild stood silently, waited for the argument to end, and promptly dropped the game with two quick errors.

Things went from bad to worse for Linda. She plunked a seemingly simple overhead into the bottom of the net to be broken for 2-0 and made another error to end a love hold for 3-0. "You're forcing everything!", Wild exclaimed in that third game. The truth is, she just wasn't playing her attacking game. Not that Labat let her -- Florencia kept Linda pinned to the baseline with consistent, accurate groundies. Wild took a 40-15 lead in the following game, but committed two double faults in a row for deuce and was broken two points later when a moonball exchange ended with a Labat forehand cross-court winner.

With Labat up two breaks at 6-2, 4-0, this one looked to be pretty much over. It was -- Labat held at love for 5-0 and scored another easy service break to secure a handy 6-2, 6-0 victory. Argentina's top player went through to the second round without difficulty, keeping the ball in the court and allowing the sluggish Wild to burn herself with errors.

Mary Joe Fernandez vs. Joannette Kruger

I missed a good chunk of this evening match, arriving with Fernandez already up 6-4, 0-1. Mary Joe seemed well on her way to victory, but Kruger is not an opponent to be overlooked. The South African has enjoyed a strong comeback season, recording upset victories over Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and Ruxandra Dragomir, plus three wins against top 20 mainstay Karina Habsudova. What's more, Kruger was wearing that oddly striped shirt I saw Ann Grossman sport on Sunday. It's obviously the latest concoction from one of the tour's leading clothing lines, since Anne Miller and Maria Sanchez Lorenzo also donned it for Monday's play.

A pair of relatively easy holds made it 2-1 Kruger. Joannette made a perfect drop shot for 30-30 in the next game and earned the break two points later by catching the baseline with a backhand winner. Kruger's advantage was gone almost instantly, though, as Fernandez used a drop shot of her own on the way to a love break for 3-2. Mary Joe held for 3-3 with a forehand pass down the line and was aided by a critical Kruger double fault in breaking for a 4-3 lead. At 30-30 in the eighth game, however, Fernandez uncharacteristically missed two backhands in a row to hand the break right back. Both players then picked their games up a level in impressive holds for 5-5.

At 0-30 in Game 11, Fernandez ripped a forehand winner down the line. On the next point, she sent another forehand into nearly the exact same spot, Kruger this time getting to the ball but only able to manage a lunging backhand error. Fernandez once again had a winning lead up 6-5. A very well placed ace made it 40-15, bringing up double match point. Adding an aggressive exclamation point, Fernandez stepped in to knock off a backhand volley for the win. Despite some nice winners, Kruger faltered in the final two games of a 6-4, 7-5 loss to the 10th-seeded Fernandez, who played a generally solid and occasionally spectacular second set.