Action from All Over the Grounds |
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Action from All Over the Grounds |
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Contained in this report are highlights from:
Naoko Sawamatsu vs. Karina Habsudova
Singles: 1st Round
Court 2
An intriguing battle of tour veterans opened Monday's
play on Court 2. Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu and Slovakian
Karina Habsudova have each established themselves as
solid all-court forces. While Habsudova is more in the
hit-or-miss slugger mode, a pair of doubles titles last
month suggest that she's become more comfortable at the net.
Habsudova took the first point of the match, but Sawamatsu
then reeled off four straight points to hold.
Habsudova came to life after the changeover, drilling three forehand winners in a hold and using another series of punishing groundstrokes to break serve for an early 2-1 lead. More big groundies from both players keyed matching holds for 3-2. Habsudova volleyed well and crushed a couple overheads in holding for 4-2. Karina got a bit wild in the following game, handing it to Sawamatsu on errors, but used some powerful backhands and an ace to hold for 5-3. Naoko got back to 5-4 in relatively short order, at which point rain began to fall. Both players attemped to wait it out (Sawamatsu putting her jacket over her head), but the downfall grew stronger and chased them off.
The rain didn't last very long, but it managed to delay play on Court 2 by a full 80 minutes. The break didn't cool off Habsudova, though. She fired home an ace for a 40-15 lead and took the set 6-4 with her latest forehand winner. She then overpowered Sawamatsu for a quick break to open the second set. Habsudova faced break point twice in the next game, but survived by loading up on cross-court backhands. She then came all the way back from down 40-15 in the Sawamatsu service game, extending her lead to 6-4, 3-0.
Sawamatsu has plenty of heart and showed it by refusing to go quietly. Finally really finding the range on her groundstrokes, she battled back to 3-3 with a break, hold, and break. Habsudova seemed to be rushing and losing her rhythm. However, she put together some good returns in the next game, forcing Sawamatsu to gamely fight off three break points. Habsudova finally did break through, taking the game with two straight backhand winners.
With her groundstrokes back in order, the Slovakian closed out the match by holding at love and scoring one last break with a laser of a backhand on match point. An enigma whose slumps tend to drag on for months, Karina Habsudova seems to be rounding back into top form in time for the U.S. Open. A 6-4, 6-3 win over a player the caliber of Naoko Sawamatsu is a step in that direction.
Dominique van Roost vs. Jana Nejedly
Singles: 1st Round
Centre Court
Seeded 12th and enjoying the best season of her
professional career, Dominique van Roost found herself in
the featured match of Monday's afternoon session. Of
course, the marquee treatment had more to do with her
opponent, Canada's own Jana Nejedly. Coming right on the
heels of countrywoman Sonja Jeyaseelan's opening round win,
Nejedly would look to claim an even bigger victory for the
home fans.
Since the serve is generally regarded as the weakest part of Van Roost's game, it came as no great surprise when she chose to receive upon winning the coin toss. That bit of strategy worked like a charm, as the Belgian broke Nejedly at 30. Van Roost used big groundstrokes to hold for 2-0, but Nejedly got to 2-1 with some of her own. Facing break point for the first time, Van Roost threw in one of her trademark double faults. She recovered well in Game 5, however, getting to 15-30 with a sparkling drop shot and claiming the break by punching home a backhand volley.
Van Roost rattled off two more games for a 5-2 lead, but her attempt to serve it out was woeful -- Nejedly took advantage of a double fault and an overrule to reach 5-3. Nejedly fought off a set point in Game 9 and forced Van Roost to try serving for it again. Quite a tussle ensued, Dominique warding off two break points and squandering two set points. She finally did capture the set, taking it 6 game to 4 by forcing Nejedly into a lunging forehand error. It took a relatively taxing 43 minutes, but the 12th seed had a set in the bank.
Van Roost was more or less firing on all cylinders
early in the second, dropping only one point in each of
its first two games. Nejedly resumed holding her own in
the rallies, managing to evade six seperate break points
and finally holding for 2-1. Van Roost blasted right back,
serving considerably better than in the first set and
reeling off three games in a row. The end appeared to be
in sight when Jana opened Game 7 with two double faults in
a row. She came back to win four points in a row, though,
and narrowed the gap to 5-2.
Van Roost laid claim to a 40-0 lead in the next game before -- as if just to make sure we knew it was still a problem -- committing her eighth double fault of the afternoon. She got in a good serve at 40-15 and the defensive return by Nejedly flew past the baseline. While perhaps not in her best form, Dominique van Roost had managed to dash Canadian hopes with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win.
Patty Schnyder vs. Florencia Labat
Singles: 1st Round
Court 1
Upon arriving at this match, I was greeted by a score
which was more than a little surprising. Florencia Labat
had just notched her second break of the day to take an
early 3-0 lead over 10th seeded Patty Schnyder. Labat had
a previous win over the Swiss teenager and had given her a
major scare in Fed Cup last year (pushing Schnyder to 10-8
in the third), but you never expect to see a qualifier
pushing around a player who's been red hot in '98.
Labat added an easy hold for 4-0. Schnyder looked to be bothered by the gusts of winds which were kicking up on Court 1, but she fought off a break point to finally get on the scoreboard at 4-1. Hitting some really sharp lefty forehands, Labat increased her lead to 5-1. Schnyder cut down on her unforced errors long enough to hold for 5-2 and earn a break opportunity. She wasted no time converting it, taking a big swing at a Labat a second serve and whipping it into the corner. Her power slowly taking over the match, Schnyder got an easy hold for 5-4.
When Labat fell behind 0-40 and started talking to herself, the shift in momentum seemed complete. The Argentine somehow regained her nerve, though, and served well enough to eliminate four break points. She lost a set point along the way, but earned a second and came through with a blistering ace. After her spirited comeback fell just short, Schnyder went back to her error-prone ways early in the second, essentially handing Labat a 4-1 lead with an array of errant forehands. Down 40-0 in the next game, Schnyder tried a drop shot, but Labat caught up to it and sent back a confident looking forehand winner. Just like that, the qualifier was up 6-4, 5-1.
Florencia was twice two points from victory in Game 7, but Schnyder held on for 5-2. Patty imitated her herky-jerky form after a bad forehand early in Game 8, but she rallied to break serve. It was the first set all over again, with the fluffy-haired favorite trying to pull a set out of the fire from down 5-1. A very long rally at 30-30 in the next game proved crucial. Labat hung in with her harder hitting opponent and finally took the matter into her own hands by running around a backhand and nailing a forehand winner. After nearly six sets of stoic play here in Montreal, Labat let out a cry of "vamos!!!" -- the Spanish equivalent of "go" or "come on".
A match point in hand, Labat did what she has done best at this tournament thus far: steadily keeping the ball in the court and forcing the opponent to beat herself. Schnyder sent a forehand long and Labat celebrated, thrusting her arms into the air and looking as excited as I've ever seen her. For Florencia Labat, it was the high point in a season which thus far has proved disappointing in singles. The complete opposite was true for a crestfallen Patty Schnyder, obviously not pleased to be on the losing end of this 6-4, 6-3 verdict.
Martinez/Tarabini vs. Labat/Van Roost
Doubles: 1st Round
Court 1
Two of the day's big winners looked to make their
Monday complete by scoring an upset in doubles. I got
back to Court 1 in time to see Dominique van Roost and
Florencia Labat fight off a break point in holding for a
3-1 lead over #6 seeds Conchita Martinez and Patricia
Tarabini. The underdogs got what they considered a bad
call in the next game. Van Roost asked of the overrule,
"Which one is out? THIS one is out?" Labat took over
from there, saying -- among other things -- "It's not
even on the line...unbelievable...second mistake today."
Martinez went on to hold serve for 3-2.
An easy hold for Labat made it 4-2. She and Van Roost may have been right about the umpire, since Dominique had to correct him on the score midway through Game 7. Tarabini's hold was matched by Van Roost, bringing the score to 5-3. The favorites had to fight off two set points in the next game, one of them won on a Tarabini drop shot. "Pato" followed that up with a volley winner, taking the score to 5-4.
Now it was up to Labat to serve for the set with new balls. However, a great poach by Tarabini gave her and Martinez a 15-40 lead. Florencia saved one break point with a winner, but couldn't dig out a low volley on the second break point. Martinez took over in Game 11, winning it with two overhead smashes and two volleys. The next game was a wild one. Van Roost served up three double faults, but did some nice scrambling to keep her team in the set. Game points, set points, and deuces followed. Labat nearly killed a fan in the front row with a smash and Van Roost nearly killed a ball by slamming it to the court (although she also engaged in some good-natured banter with fans in between points). It all ended on a missed volley by Labat. Martinez and Tarabini won four straight games to take a 7-5 set.
Immediately after the first set, Labat and Van Roost walked over to their chairs and had a discussion. I thought perhaps they were going to retire, since this wasn't a scheduled changeover. However, I guess they were just getting regrouped. Whatever they said must have worked. At 1-1 in the second, Van Roost rifled a huge backhand down the line to complete a break of Tarabini's serve. The lead didn't hold up for long. Game 4 highlighted one of the main chinks in the Labat/Van Roost armor -- they were hitting lousy lobs, either long of the baseline or short enough to be easily smashed. Even in the one point they won in the game, Tarabini got the crowd's approval. As a Labat smash was sailing over her head, Tarabini threw her racquet into the sky and nearly made contact!
Each player came up with an easy hold on the way to
4 games all. Still playing with admirable fire under
the lights, Labat and Van Roost put together a quick
break of Martinez. The challenge of serving out the set
once again fell to Labat. It was another close, see-saw
game and it ended on an ugly note. On break point, the
chair umpire called a Van Roost shot long. Labat was
livid, but it was her partner who put forth a memorable
argument. Van Roost lectured the umpire: "The problem
is that you don't care about this doubles. It doesn't
matter to you what happens, but it matters to us."
The crowd agreed and applauded loudly when Labat and Van Roost took the first two points of the following game. The rally came up short, though, and Tarabini held on for 6-5. At deuce in the set's twelfth game, Conchita blasted a backhand winner down the line and let out a hollar of "vamos". Facing match point, Van Roost committed one last double fault. She took the 7-5, 7-5 loss in stride, however. Van Roost shook hands with the despised umpire and signed many autographs for the fans. It was far from easy, but Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini survived the first round.
Anke Huber vs. Veronica Webb
Singles: 1st Round
Centre Court
Looking for her first win since foot surgery forced her off the tour for a few months, Anke Huber got all she could handle in the first set of this night match. NCAA singles champion Veronica Webb pushed her through a 6-4 opening set, but Huber got in quite a groove in the second. Her serve was not always cooperating, but the groundstrokes were vintage Anke. She even mixed in some touch, using a drop volley and topspin lob as she broke serve for a commanding 5-0 lead. Double faults cost her Game 6, but she finished off the 6-4, 6-1 rout with a love break.
She may not be back at 100% yet, but Huber had more
than enough to overwhelm her inexperienced Canadian foe.
Webb admitted as much in her post-match press conference,
suggesting that her game is still a work in progress and
"it's hard to test it against the 19th player in the
world."
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