Sad Steffi, Sparkling Serna Canadian Open, Thursday, August 20  By Ed Toombs

Magui Serna def. Steffi Graf (7), , 6-4, 6-4
Singles: third round

    It was hard to say how much we expected out of Steffi Graf this week. Yes, she is the author of 103 career singles titles, but none of them have come since her return from knee surgery in June 1997. Since then, she has not been in a tournament final.

    The recent trend has not been too good, either: three weeks ago she waged an honourable tournament at Stanford, losing to the tour's hottest player, Lindsay Davenport, in the semifinals. But last week there was a more serious hiccup in her comeback plans, as she lost to a solid but not exactly terrifying opponent, Ai Sugiyama, in the round of 16.

    Today, the trend worsened still as she was dealt another blow, this time at the hands of a 19-year-old Spanish lefty named  Magui Serna. Serna's recipe for success was simple: a splendid service game, and constant attacks on Graf's shaky backhand. Graf did rifle 18 winners, mostly from her patented forehand, but coughed up 32 unforced errors, principally from a very wayward backhand.

    We are going to be hearing much more from Magui Serna in years to come. Still in her teens, she has made a habit of bringing big-name players to their knees this season, with wins of Mary Pierce, Jana Novotna and and Anke Huber. But this win over Graf, even in her current diminished version, is the most satisfying of all. "I mean, it was great. It's a feeling a cannot express. This one is very special because for me, she was the best."

    Serna, a rare Spaniard who prefers hard courts to clay (she grew up playing on hard courts in the Canary Islands), came into this tournament ranked 26th. Modestly she says her goal is to be in the top 20, even though she may reach that goal in next week's standings. If Serna should eventually do even better and climb to the elite of this sport -- and she has the talent to do so -- this affable young woman with sparkling eyes and a ready smile will be a happy addition to the list of the sport's big names.

    Meanwhile, now the US Open seeding sommittee has a problem on its hands.... what will they do with Steffi? She will surely receive a seeding, but have her recent results really deserved a placing among the top eight seeds? We will watch the seeding announcements eagerly next week.
 

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