Stellar Steffi, Miserable Mary, and Memories of Montreal   Canadian Open, Tuesday, August 18 By Ed Toombs

  Because the women's tour stops in Montreal once every two years (the Canadian Open alternates between Toronto and Montreal), a lot can happen in the careers of players between visits the the Quebec capital. Today's matches offered us several prime examples.

  On a cloudy, windy and cool day, Steffi Graf recaptured glimpses of the glory of her last Montreal visit, Mary Pierce failed again to redeem shine in her birthplace, and Mary Joe Fernandez continued her attempt to best a nagging injury whose origins can be traced to her most recent trip to Montreal. And Basuki and Po dare to dream!

Graf Grasps for Glory

  Because Steffi Graf was unable to compete in the 1996 Canadian Open, this is her first trip to Montreal since 1994. She lost the tournament final that year: you may recall the memorable final she waged with her biggest rival of that time, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Because of rain delays, 8 hours elapsed between the opening serve and the final match point, as a sore-backed Graf lost an epic 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) decision that saw a tearful Steffi emotionally embrace her mother immediately after the match.

  Four years on. The former number one is now seeded 7th only because of special consideration by the WTA. Her body battered by the years of pounding the courts, she is perhaps in the final throes of her illustrious career. But it was like the good old days on centre court today, as Graf clobbered an overmatched Spain's Virginia Ruano-Pascual, 6-0, 6-1, in just 41 minutes.

  We thought the Spaniard would provide stiffer opposition, given her rise to the top 50 in the last year. But hard courts are not the favoured surface of "Vivi", whose best results have come on clay. She had only played 5 hard court matches this year, losing three, and had to adapt quickly to the surface from her recent matches on European clay. Given the circumstances, and her obvious nerves at playing a great champion on Centre Court, the result was perhaps not as surprising as all that.

  Graf was fairly solid (18 winners, 14 unforced errors), but was basically handed the match by a hapless Ruano (2 winners, 21 unforced errors).

  A positive beginning, then, as Steffi attempts to rekindle the Montreal magic of 1994. She now faces the winner of Serna-Morariu, and then perhaps a quarterfinal meeting with Wimbledon champ Jana Novotna.

More Montreal Misery for Mary

  The last time Mary Pierce visited her birthplace to play some tennis (she was born in Montreal, but didn't stay long enough to get out of diapers) was in 1996, when she was a listless early round loser. For Mary, Montreal was again a disaster this year. The thirteenth seed was again a listless first round loser, this time to a dangerous unseeded American, Mary Joe Fernandez. The score: a rather shocking 6-1, 6-1, in 48 short minutes.

  Fernandez is playing just her fourth tournament after a seven-month layoff following surgery to repair ligament damage to her right wrist. Ironically, the wrist was first injured in Montreal, in 1996, so Mary Joe will be trying to exorcise her Montreal memories this week.

  Pierce was totally off, her shots missing badly, and judging from her casual on-court demeanour she didn't particularly seem to care. Mary didn't appear overly concerned about her miserable showing, and had an explanation for it: after the match, she mentioned a groin injury she suffered 9 days ago while warming up for the San Diego final. "I was only able to start practicing again two days ago and wasn't prepared to play a tough opponent like Mary Joe. I know I was not fit and ready to play."

  Fernandez, who had to do little more than await the next Pierce error to win most points, seemed almost bemused by her opponent's performance. "It was weird", she smiled. "But against Mary, though, you never know. She hits big, and you never know when they will start going in."

  Mary Joe still sounds doubtful about her chances here this week. Her record since her return, two wins and three defeats, has not done much for her confidence. "The wrist still feels a little awkward," explains Fernandez after the match with an ice pack adorning her wrist, "but with the more weeks that go by, the better it feels." Fernandez will now play Italian Silvia Farina in the second round. Farina ousted Fernandez last week in Boston in a tight three-setter, so revenge will be on the mind of the likable American.

  Meanwhile Mary Pierce, after again flopping in her place of birth, will attempt to recover her timing on the practice courts. She will not play any tournaments until the US Open.

Here and there:

Ai Sugiyama (16) def. Maria Alejandra Vento, 6-4, 6-0
Second round

  We saw Vento look composed and focused in dismantling promising young Amelie Mauresmo yesterday. Today, however, she was in a lot tougher against the solid Ai Sugiyama, and was not up to the challenge.

  The two had played in the final of the first tournament of the year at Gold Coast, Austalia, and, interestingly enough, the score was almost identical (7-5, 6-0). On the basis of these results one would fear that the Venezuelan has a habit of drooping after losing a tough first set. That was certainly the impression I got today, as Vento completely lost her concentration in the second set, allowing herself to be distracted by the wind, noisy fans, and her own mistakes after waging a competitive first set.

  Still, Sugiyama was the more solid player, and makes a living out of consistently beating players ranked lower than her. Ai has no glaring weaknesses, and is adept at finding the soft spot in an opponent's game, as she did today with Vento's backhand. Sugiyama has tended to encounter problems when facing the top players, however. Her likely third-round opponent, top-ranked Martina Hingis, will perhaps present an insurmountable obstacle to the Japanese number one.

Amanda Coetzer (8) def. Fang Li, 6-3, 6-4
Second Round

  An interesting match here. Amanda Coetzer, who reached the #3 ranking last year but has slipped to eleventh, faced a difficult first-round opponent in China's rapidly-improving Fang Li.

  The victory was not as routine for Coetzer as the score would indicate. She had to work very hard at the baseline, running down Li's excellent forehand drives. Li often had the South African in a highly defensive mode by teeing off on her forehands. Amanda was able to pull the match out, though, mainly thanks to a combination of Li missing a few too many forehands and Coetzer's ability to avoid this big weapon and find Li's backhand at key moments of many rallies.

  I was struck, though, at the many times Coetzer seemed to be overwhelmed by Li's forehand. Li is good, but she's no Graf! There is no question in my mind that Coetzer is not quite as fast and fit as last year, when former trainer Gavin Hopper (now with Seles) had helped turn Amanda into a supremely fit dynamo. Amanda's 21-13 record in 1998 -- repectable, but not top 10 stuff -- would appear to indicate that she has fallen back to the level of play she exhibited before Hopper's influence took hold.

  Coetzer will now get a day off, and play the winner of Labat-Huber in the third round.

 

Yayuk and Kim revisited?

  Finally, a word about two other players who are hoping to draw strength from their Montreal successes. Yayuk Basuki and Kimberly Po were surprise semifinalists as unseeded players two years ago. Things have not for either gone smoothly for either in 1998. A series of first-round losses have dropped Basuki from #20 to #37 since January, while Po, also a top-twenty player as recently as last season, sees herself at #70 after some injury woes.

  But, so far so good for our returning heroines! Today, Po defeated 39th-ranked Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1, 7-6, while yesterday Basuki breezed past qualifier Shi-Ting Wang, 6-3, 6-1. With a field this strong, it would not be realistic to dream of a repeat semifinal success this year for either woman. But as long as they are still alive and kicking, who needs realism? In round two Basuki will play 12th-seeded Domique van Roost, while Po locks horns with the eleventh seed, Nathalie Tauziat.....
 

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