Late Night "Lost and Found" News: Spirlea Locates Missing Concentration Canadian Open "Late Night", Tuesday, August 18  By Ed Toombs

Irina Spirlea (8) def. Sonya Jeyaseelan (WC), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
Singles: second round

Q: How can you tell a seeded player is really struggling?

A: She almost loses to a Canadian wild card!

    Uh, I’m a Canadian myself, so please don’t get angry, that was an attempt at self-deprecating humour….

    Seriously, it almost happened. The 125-ranked Jeyaseelan, a Vancouver native whose parents hail from Sri Lanka, had a 7-6, 4-2, 40-15 lead, just one point from putting a nail in the eighth-seed’s coffin. On this point, which both players agreed was the turning point of the match, Spirlea sent caution to the wind and tried a vicious topspin backhand return (she usually slices her backhand returns), which went for a clear winner. From that point, one sensed that Spirlea could now assert her authority, and Jeyaseelan saw the match slowly slip away.

    To get to that point, Jeyaseelan played superb tennis on a frigid evening with temperatures plunging to 11 degrees Celsius. She was slashing baseline winners fearlessly, especially with her two-handed forehand. She felt Spirlea, who came into the match sporting a horrible 2-6 record this year on hard courts, could be had: "I came onto the court believing I could win that match, and was going all out. I didn’t want a third set. But when she hit that backhand return down 15-40, I knew I was in trouble. She just played a gutsy point."

    Spirlea was justifiably dismayed at being behind in this match, perhaps guilty of taking her opponent lightly. "I knew Sonya from playing against her in lower-level tournaments. I was surprised when she was hitting winners past me all the time." And she was not striking the ball cleanly, making errors from tentative, mis-timed swings. "I was hitting about half… I wasn’t really letting my arm go through." And, of course, Irina’s concentration prone to wander at the best of times, was particularly peripatetic tonight. What was she thinking about? "Things," she helpfully replied.

    After THE BACKHAND RETURN and Spirlea’s comeback, Jeyaseelan still hung tough enough to force a second set tie-break. She was competitive in the tie-break, serving at 4-5, when she double-faulted to hand Spirlea two set points. Sonya saved the first when she run down a Spirlea drop shot and slid a steeply angled crosscourt backhand our of Spirlea’s reach. This lovely touch shot was greeted with a roar from the partisan pro-Jeyaseelan crowd. But the Romanian converted on the second set point with a blazing forehand winner, and the match was tied.

    Alas, that was it for Sonya. It had taken 2 hours and 5 minutes to grind through the first two sets, but the third set was over in just 20 minutes, Spirlea closing out a 6-7, 7-6, 6-0 win. Irina had found her concentration and confidence, and did not let up on a dispirited Jeyaseelan. "It was more of a mental drain than physical," admitted the Canadian. "I was so close to winning the match and she had control now."

    Spirlea’s award for surviving this scare is access to the third round, where she will play either Sandrine Testud (seeded 14) or Iva Majoli. Jeyaseelan’s award? An hour’s rest, then back into the cold for a late evening doubles match. "It might be snowing by then", joked the Canadian who came so close to a career-best win….

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