Qualifying Begins |
 |
Qualifying Begins |
|
Kvetoslava Hrdlickova
vs. Lilia Osterloh
Singles Qualifying:
First Round
Court 6
On a
day when withdrawals threw the qualifying draw into disarray, I suppose
it makes sense that the first match I have to report on wasn't even listed
on Saturday's schedule. A chain of events led Rachel McQuillan to be seeded
in qualies, leaving a vacancy in the draw next to Kvetoslava Hrdlickova's
name. Filling in as her first round opponent was young American Lilia Osterloh.
After claiming the NCAA singles title in her freshman year at Stanford,
Osterloh turned pro at the '97 US Open. Her results since have been unspectacular,
although she was able to make her Wimbledon debut this year as a "lucky
loser".
If you check the list of players with the best records on the WTA Tour this season, you'd probably be surprised to see Hrdlickova up there among the winning percentage leaders. The Czech youngster came out of nowhere to win the tournament in Makarska, Croatia this April and has been burning up the qualifying circuit ever since. Having never seen her play, I was curious to find out whether she was as good as the stats indicate.
As I arrived at Court 6, Osterloh completed a successful service game but still found herself down a break at 5-4. Looking to serve out the set, Hrdlickova opened with a double fault, but followed that in short order with an imposing ace. At 30-30, she impressively drilled two more aces in succession to claim the first set 6 games to 4. While there are quite a few players in the women's game who can rack up free points with their serve, it's not often you see three aces in one WTA game!
That rather awesome display was a precursor of things to come. What Hrdlickova's game lacks in aesthetic charm, it makes up for with sheer power. That said, it was Osterloh who determined the first game of the next set, committing two double faults in a row to get down an early break. Hrdlickova quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead, smacking another ace along the way. The pattern continued, Osterloh double faulting to end the set's third game and Hrdlickova hitting an ace in an easy hold for 4-0.
Osterloh seemed overcome by lethargy at this point. She was visibly unsure of a couple calls in Game 5, but apparently didn't have the energy or motivation to bother arguing them. Hrdlickova broke her at 15, Osterloh losing the game on a forehand error. Kvetoslava then wasted very little time driving the home the final nail in Lilia's coffin. On match point, Hrdlickova ripped a cross-court backhand which Osterloh barely got a racquet on. She appeared to have a delayed reaction to the loss, standing completely still for a few moments before walking up to shake hands.
Hrdlickova
certainly looked pleased, beaming as she exited the court. She had put
on quite a dominant display, but it will be interesting to see how she
fares against tougher competition should she advance to the main draw.
Just to get that far she'll need a win over qualies 6th seed Nathalie Dechy,
who signed post-match autographs on Saturday for nearly as long as the
20 minutes Hrdlickova required to win the second set.
Rachel McQuillan
vs. Joelene Watanabe
Singles Qualifying:
First Round
Centre Court
Since I missed the first two sets of this match, I might as well fill you in on the practice court scene. For fans who wanted an early look at the main draw competitors, the grounds were alive with viewing possibilities. While McQuillan and Watanabe were keeping score, a number of their higher ranked peers were just working on their strokes. On Court 8 you could see #10 seed Patty Schnyder and #12 seed Dominique van Roost thwacking groundstrokes back and forth. Meanwhile, Magui Serna was warming up with Florencia Labat on Court 4, not far from where a rather scantily clad Olga Barabanschikova was getting in her practice session. Oh, and somebody named Graf was drawing quite a crowd on 6.
Now back to the qualifying event, where Rachel McQuillan and Joelene Watanabe were locked in a three set tussle. It was 1-1 in the third when I settled in, with the verdict still very much in doubt. Both players know their way around a tennis court. Possessing an admirable physique and a solid all-court game, McQuillan has been a Top 100 fixture for nearly ten years. Watanabe's career has been more spotty, a '97 Australian Open upset of Jennifer Capriati remaining her claim to fame. Points earned at challengers have helped keep her ranking afloat, but she owed her spot in the Montreal qualifying draw to Elena Tatarkova, whose run to the Los Angeles quarterfinals prevented her from making the trip to Canada.
Watanabe drew first blood in the final set, breaking McQuillan for a 2-1 lead. Rachel bounced her racquet in frustration, but battled back to earn a break point in the fourth game. Watanabe fought that off and earned a game point of her own, but broke herself with two double faults sandwiched around an error. The poor serving must have been contagious, as McQuillan posted an eye-popping three double faults to be broken for 3-2. This time the 26-year-old tossed her racquet to her chair, theatrically flopped down in it, and threw her arms up helplessly.
Watanabe
generously handed the break right back again, playing a hideous game for
3-3. The streak of breaks finally ended in the seventh game, McQuillan
holding when a Watanabe backhand return sailed wide. The Aussie finally
seemed to find her comfort zone and used an authoritative pair of put-aways
at the net to close out a love break. Would the double fault bug come back
to bite McQuillan as she attempted to serve out the win? No such luck for
Joelene. McQuillan grabbed a 40-15 lead, blew one match point with a long
forehand, and then knocked off a winning backhand volley to wrap up a 4-6,
6-1, 6-3 victory.
Florencia Labat
vs. Tatiana Panova
Singles Qualifying:
First Round
Centre Court
The last
time Florencia Labat set foot in this stadium, she was giving Arantxa Sanchez
Vicario a pretty stern test in the '96 du Maurier Open quarterfinals. This
was a considerably lower-profile occasion, as Labat -- seeded 2nd in the
qualifying draw -- squared off against Russia's Tatiana Panova in front
of a sparse crowd. "Vertically challenged" though she may be, Panova has
established herself as a relatively tough customer. The day's final Centre
Court matchup figured to be its best.
The opening game set the tone. After winning the toss and electing to serve, Labat put her mind to simply keeping the ball in play and waiting for errors from her younger opponent. It worked early on, with a loose Panova forehand capping Labat's rally-filled hold for 1-0. The following game went to three deuces, but Panova eventually lost it with two straight miscues. The two then exchanged holds for 3-1. Labat pulled a sneaky drop shot out of her repertoire for a 40-15 lead in Game 5. Panova struck a crisp would-be approach shot in the next rally, but stayed in the back of the court and ended up dropping the point (and game) on another missed forehand.
Labat failed to convert her first break chance of the sixth game, but didn't falter when she got the ad a second time, handcuffing Panova with a good low return. The Argentine (now spending much of her time in Italy) handily held serve to finish off a 6-1 first set win. The set ended with a Panova being ruled wide by chair umpire Anne Lasserre-Ulrich. There was no argument from Tatiana, who was probably relieved to be done with the error-filled opening frame.
Unfortunately for the diminutive Russian, the second set featured more of the same. She started well enough, holding at 15 for a 1-0 lead. Florencia answered with some well-placed serves in a hold for 1-1. Panova then broke herself at love, going error, double fault, error, error. Labat put together an easy hold for 3-1 and secured another love break for a commanding 6-1, 4-1 edge. The errors continued for Panova as she got down 5-1 in the set. She put up a fight, getting to 30-30 in the seventh game, but two more backhand errors did her in. Capitalizing on a huge edge in accuracy, Florencia Labat strolled into the final round of qualifying with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Olga Barabanschikova
vs. Nana Miyagi
Singles Qualifying:
First Round
Court 1
Olga
"Belarussian Bombshell" Barabanschikova made a splash at the '97 du Maurier
Open...even though she lost in the first round of qualifying. With her
pierced navel, sunny charisma, and burgeoning reputation as something of
a party animal, Barabanschikova makes fans wherever she goes. However,
a stomach flu forced her to withdraw from the Boston tournament on Thursday
and presumably was to blame for taking a lot of the spring out of her strut
in Montreal. Nonetheless, she led 4-3 when I took my Court 1 seat.
Nana Miyagi, a Seattle-born resident of Japan who does most of her damage in doubles, got to 4-4 with an easy hold. Looking sluggish and out of sorts, Barabanschikova dug herself a 0-40 hole in the following game. The next point suggested that the fates were not on her side, as a ball she hit literally danced across the tape and fell wide. Miyagi failed to take advantage, though, dropping the tenth game. Barabanschikova promptly handed the break right back, losing it at love when Miyagi got another assist from the net cord (this time one of her own shots clipping the tape and trickling over to Olga's side of the court). Given a second chance to serve out the set, Nana did the deed in style, executing a fine backhand drop shot at 40-15. First set to Miyagi, 7 games to 5.
Barabanschikova faced a break point in the next game, but came back and eventually won it with an ace. Miyagi responded with a couple big winners in a hold for 1 all. Two holds at 15 made it 2-2. Barabanschikova then held at 15 and Miyagi thumped an ace to hold at...you guessed it, 15. Keeping that pattern intact, Olga dropped just one point in her next service game and took a 4-3 lead in the set. The momentum then appeared to be shifting when Miyagi got down 30-40 on her serve. Barabanschikova went for a bit too much in the rallies which followed, however, and her errors meant the set was even again at 4.
The Belarussian
found herself down 15-40 in the set's ninth game and rose to the occasion
with a forehand winner down the line and a sharp backhand volley. Nana
then earned a third break point with a winner of her own and converted
it when a Barabanschikova forehand sailed wide. In a replay of the first
set, Miyagi once again found herself in a position to serve it out at 5-4.
At 40-15, it looked like this time she would make good on it.
Summoning
up a burst of energy with her back against the wall, Barabanschikova drilled
a big forehand for 40-30 and drew a Miyagi error for deuce. An ill timed
Barabanschikova error set up match point #3. Both players dug their heels
in. Miyagi sent a drive to the baseline, which Barabanschikova got back.
Miyagi followed with an overhead smash...and Barabanschikova made another
lunging get to keep the point alive. Miyagi got one more look at an overhead,
though, and would not be denied. Barabanschikova went airborne to get a
piece of it, but the ball fell harmlessly on her side to complete a 7-5,
6-4 upset for the spunky doubles specialist. Under the weather and not
in her best form, the qualifying draw's #4 seed was sent packing.
Want to react to this report? Click here to send us feedback.