Tears and Cheers as Monday Action Lasts 'Til Tuesday
by Christopher Gerby
Without a media pass or much desire to park in the nosebleed seats
atop Arthur Ashe Stadium, I spent the first three days of the 2002 US
Open on the outer courts. These reports (better late than never) will
therefore showcase some of the stories and players you might not have
found in the TV coverage or your local newspaper.
Renata Voracova vs. Bea Bielik
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 18
Just a few days after turning pro, Bea Bielik made her
Grand Slam debut at the venue where she's practiced for years. Even though
Bea calls nearby Valley Stream, Long Island home, the reigning NCAA
champion wasn't exactly given special treatment on Monday morning.
She was shuttled out to relatively small Court 18 in a remote corner
of the grounds, with her name misspelled "Bielek" on both the daily
draw sheet and the scoreboard. (Bea caught the scoreboard typo right
away and asked chair umpire Dennis Overberg to correct it.)
With friends and family looking on, Bielik prepared to take on a
slender, delicate-featured Czech named Renata Voracova. After
rallying from the verge of elimination in qualifying, Voracova was
probably glad just to be making her own Grand Slam debut. The
broad-shouldered Bielik broke Voracova in the opening game and
stormed ahead to a 5-3 lead. It was easy to see why the 21-year-old
had such a dominant season at Wake Forest. Bielik possesses a great
serve, impressive touch at the net, and a versatile one-handed
backhand. While the backhand isn't necessarily a weapon, she gives
you several different looks with it, including a nifty slicing approach
shot.
Opening up a 15-40 lead in Game 9, Bielik looked poised to put the
first set away. However, she dropped the next two points with a wide
forehand and a sliced backhand into the net. Voracova's hitchy,
mechanical serve was good enough to take the next two points for 4-5.
Clearly getting tight in the late stages of the set, Bielik fell
behind double break point. Voracova failed to put her next two
returns in play, however, and Bielik shouted "come on!" as she
reached deuce. Voracova earned a third break opportunity, but Bielik
deftly put away a backhand volley to sidestep disaster again. The
three-deuce battle finally came to an end as Bielik knocked off a
high forehand volley and raised a clenched fist. The first set was
hers by a 6-4 count.
Rather than get discouraged, Voracova recorded her first break of
the match to take a 3-1 lead in the second set. But Bielik broke
back in a lengthy Game 5 and really started to go for her shots.
Becoming more pumped up and aggressive as she went along, Bielik
strung together four games in a row for a 5-3 lead. Voracova held at
30, forcing the local girl to serve it out. The display which followed
was breathtaking: ace, second serve ace, ace, ace. Not a bad way for
a player ranked 1,102 in the world to close out her first Grand Slam
match!
An exultant Bielik (whose final quartet of aces ran her total
to 10) ran over to her crew of supporters shortly after shaking
hands with the game-but-overmatched Voracova. The 6-4, 6-4 victory
earned Bea a shot at 27th-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn. She would score
a straight sets upset there before eventually falling to Justine Henin
in the third round. Bea Bielik is a name we'll be hearing a lot in
future US Opens...and odds are it will be spelled correctly from now on.
Petra Mandula vs. Miriam Oremans
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 18
A sloppy, low-energy bout followed Bielik-Voracova on Court 18. Veteran
Miriam Oremans -- appearing in what could be her final US Open -- just
could not get her serve-and-volley game going against Hungary's
Petra Mandula. However, last year's surprise French Open quarterfinalist
wasn't in much better form. Mandula came dressed like it was a
practice session (wearing a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting shirt)
and looked as if she still needed some practice on her groundstrokes.
Petra was able to baffle Miriam with topspin lobs, but misfired on
nearly every other shot in her arsenal.
Immediately after losing the first set 6-4, Mandula carelessly whacked
a ball over the net, hitting a lineswoman in the stomach. It clearly
was not done on purpose -- Mandula wasn't even aware of what had happened
until the chair umpire slapped her with an "unsportsmanlike conduct"
warning and explained it. The incident wasn't enough to shake Mandula
out of her funk, as she fell behind 3-1 in the second set. But
another horrendous patch of tennis from Oremans (who finished the day
with 9 double faults and countless volley errors) turned the match
around. Finally starting to strike the ball cleanly, Mandula took a
5-4 lead in the second set.
Game 10 was a tense marathon, with Oremans trying desperately to
break serve. After fending off three break points, Mandula squandered
her first set point with an errant backhand. Set point # 2 was
dodged when Oremans put in a winning return of a first serve. The
third time was the charm, as Mandula found the corner with an
unreturnable backhand. Oremans asked the umpire if she was sure about
the call, only to be told it was "inside both ways." Momentum in
hand, Mandula rolled from there to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win. Despite the
ugly form she displayed in the first set and a half here, Mandula went
on to give Lindsay Davenport a fairly good fight in the second round.
(24) Iva Majoli vs. Ashley Harkleroad
Women's Singles: First Round
Grandstand
She set tongues wagging with her barely-there attire at last year's
US Open, but 17-year-old Ashley Harkleroad's encore on Monday was a
fairly conservative lime green number. As a matter of fact, it was
the exact same Nike outfit I'd just seen Miriam Oremans wearing. Iva
Majoli was getting her fair share of attention on the other side of
the net, with one fan personally thanking her for beating Martina
Hingis in the 1997 French Open final. "I was at that match. You
were awesome," the man shouted. Ah, the restrained New York spectators.
Harkleroad had a great junior career and has been making inroads on
the professional challenger circuit, but she looked overwhelmed by
Majoli's power early on. The Croatian won 8 of the first 10 points,
thumping a backhand to break for 2-0. Ashley picked up the volume
on her grunts and the pace on her shots (including a 98 mph ace) in
evening the set at 2. Game 5 had the look fo a turning point, as Harkleroad's
tireless retrieving extended Majoli's service game to four deuces.
The Croatian finally hauled off on a forehand winner to hold for 3-2.
Harkleroad quickly lost serve, double faulting at 15-40 and angrily
smacking a ball back over the net. Majoli coughed up four doubles
of her own in the following game, bouncing her racket after one of
them, but stayed aggressive on the big points. Majoli eked out a
hold for 5-2 and ultimately won the set 6-3. A 15 to 6 edge in
winners spoke to the contrast in styles, as Harkleroad's somewhat
Hingis-esque counterpunching just wasn't enough against the
reigning Family Circle Cup champion.
Harkleroad played an awful game at 2-2 in the second set, getting
broken at love. Majoli held for 4-2 with an ace, then added an
insurance break with a forehand winner. Majoli made a subdued little
fist pump on the walk to her chair, almost seeming to say "I'm glad,
but I'll try not to rub it in the kid's face." The fans tried to
inspire a comeback from the young "Pebbles," but she'd just about
thrown in the towel by now. Even the net cord was going Majoli's
way -- she got a drop shot to crawl over the tape for triple match
point. Almost exactly an hour after it began, the 6-3, 6-2 match ended with
Iva launching her third ace of the afternoon.
(20) Daja Bedanova vs. Alina Jidkova
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 7
Daja Bedanova made a real breakthrough here last year, shocking
Monica Seles en route to the quarterfinals. She began her 2002 Open
against emotional Alina Jidkova in front of a small, quiet
crowd. The two looked pretty evenly matched in the early
rallies, but Bedanova was simply too consistent. Trailing 1-3 but
leading 30-15, Jidkova ended Game 5 with a hideous drop shot error,
a double fault, and a very loose forehand. Jidkova yelled something
in Russian, rifled a ball off the backdrop, and literally threw her
racket at her bag on the changeover. Just as Bedanova's doubles partner Elena
Bovina was finishing up a good win over Clarisa Fernandez on nearby
Court 8, the steady young Czech finished up a 6-1 win of the opening
set. Obviously distressed, Jidkova tossed her racket again.
Jidkova started the second set well, sliding a backhand pass down
the line to break for 2-1. However, "Alinka" got a warning for coaching which set her off all over again.
Bedanova broke back for 2-2, held for 3-2, and broke for 4-2 in a
game which saw one Jidkova volley fail to even reach the net. When
the Moscow native lost a fourth consecutive game on a forehand error, tears
actually began rolling down her cheeks as she walked to her chair.
Once there, she dropped her racket in complete dismay.
Playing with the reckless
abandon of someone who figures she's already lost, Alina held for 3-5
and absolutely spanked a winning return to open Game 9. But Daja took
the next four points, ending her 6-1, 6-3 triumph with an ace. It
had only taken 46 minutes, which was about 45 longer than Jidkova had
looked like she wanted to be out there. She took a strange alternate
route off the court, actually walking through the stands on the
opposite side.
(26) Nathalie Dechy vs. Maja Matevzic
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 13
Anyone who thinks the only attractive tennis players have names
ending in -ova must not be familiar with the Gallic charm of brainy,
model-thin Nathalie Dechy or the girl-next-door cuteness of Slovenian
redhead Maja Matevzic. Their tennis looks pretty good, too. Dechy
entered the tournament seeded 26th, which is about where her steady,
graceful play has kept her ranked for the past three years. Matevzic
has a tricky lefthanded serve and a devilish slice backhand, weapons
she used in a 12-match winning streak last summer. That run included
a win over 16th-seeded Silvia Farina Elia here at the Open, but
Maja's own ranking has curiously stalled at # 59.
After an early exchange of breaks, Matevzic served a pair of aces in
holding for 3-2. Moving well enough to track down the drop shots and
lobs Matevzic sent her way, Dechy came storming back to take a 5-3
lead. Nathalie failed to convert her first set point in Game 9, but
Matevzic would net a high backhand volley two points later to lose
it 6-3. Dechy was in full flight now and she ran her streak to eight
consecutive games, going up 4-0 in the second set when Matevzic
bricked an overhead and appeared to blame the sun (hanging low at
around 6:15 PM).
Rather than throw in the towel, Matevzic cleaned up her game and made
a run of her own. She broke for 1-4, served very well to 2-4, and
drew some lunging errors from Dechy in another break for 3-4. Another
ace (she'd finish with 5) helped the increasingly forward-moving
Matevzic hold for 4-4. There were some very entertaining rallies in
the late stages of the second set, but no more break points, so this
one would be settled in a tiebreak...
- ND serving: Matevzic nets a forehand -- 1-0 DECHY
- MM: "Oohs" and "ahhs" follow a Matevzic forehand winner -- 1-1
- MM: Matevzic sends a forehand long -- 2-1 DECHY
- ND: Very long rally ends with a fall-away forehand error by Matevzic -- 3-1 DECHY
- ND: Matevzic slices a backhand return just wide -- 4-1 DECHY
- MM: Cross-court backhand winner by Dechy -- 5-1 DECHY
- MM: Double fault by the crumbling Matevzic -- 6-1 DECHY
- ND: Matevzic gets a backhand lob to fall in -- 6-2 DECHY
- ND: Dechy's backhand pass barely misses the sideline -- 6-3 DECHY
- MM: Still failing to close it out, Dechy nets a backhand -- 6-4 DECHY
- MM: Dechy steps into a big forehand winner -- 7-4 DECHY
A very up-and-down but ultimately impressive 6-3, 7-6 victory for
Nathalie Dechy, who would survive a third set tiebreak against another
talented youngster (Iroda Tulayaganova) in the next round. For her
part, Maja Matevzic was an extraordinarily gracious loser, staying
long after the match to sign autographs and chat with some friends in
the stands.
Justin Gimelstob vs. Edwin Kempes
Men's Singles: First Round
Grandstand
My Monday ended as it began, with a wild card from New Jersey looking
for a spot in the second round. Justin Gimelstob's approach on
Monday night was equal parts Tim Henman (taking some of the heat off
his first serve to get a higher percentage in), Ivan Lendl (switching
between a serve racket and return racket after every game), and
Patrick Rafter (multiple shirt changes necessitated by his "epic"
propensity for sweating). With a hard-fought Stephanie Foretz vs.
Alexandra Stevenson match having gone overtime on the Grandstand,
Gimelstob and Dutch qualifier Edwin Kempes didn't get underway until
8:45, long after their scheduled 7:30 cue.
Getting called for a foot fault on his very first serve of the
match wasn't a good omen for the Asian-looking Kempes, but he played
some pretty nice baseline tennis on the way to a 3-2 lead. That's
when Gimelstob made his first shirt change, switching from yellow to
gray. After holding for 3-3, Gimelstob asked a court attendant to
wipe up some of the sweat he'd dripped all over the baseline. Not to
be outdone, Kempes ordered the young man over to mop up his baseline,
getting some chuckles from the fans. The delay may have put Kempes
off his game, though. He fell behind 0-40 and (after saving two
break points) double faulted to fall behind 3-4. A few games later,
Gimelstob made a great stab volley on set point to take the opening
frame 6-4.
Changing into an orange shirt this time, Gimelstob continued to hold
his serve easily, charging the net at every opportunity. Meanwhile,
Kempes continued running around his backhand to hit wicked forehands,
surviving a long Game 5 duel to hold for 3-2. Still unable to get
more than five games out of a single shirt, Justin put on a black
one now. It may have brought bad luck -- he finally faced a break point
and lost it, Kempes guiding a delicate backhand pass down the line for a
5-3 lead. Gimelstob fought hard to break back, but eventually dumped
a forehand in the net to lose the set 6-3. He then put on his fifth
shirt of the evening, going white this time (although one wag in the
stands recommended fuscia).
After a service winner took him to 3-2 in the third set, Gimelstob
waved his arms, looking for some more enthusiastic crowd support.
He got it, to some extent, and Kempes would shank a forehand on
break point to trail 2-4. Gimelstob blasted a 117 mph ace out wide
to hold for 5-2, then made another shirt change, back to gray.
Two games later, the 6 foot 5 slugger directed a reflex volley at
Kempes to close out a 6-3 win of the third set.
A beautiful topspin lob allowed Gimelstob to break for 2-1 in the
fourth set. He carried that break all the way to 5-4 (putting on a
red shirt in the middle of that run), but was beginning to experience
the onset of cramping in his legs and right hand. Despite morphing
into a "peaceful warrior" who doesn't expend as much gratuitous energy
as he once did in his matches, Gimelstob continues to cramp up in
long matches. He blames bad genes for the problem, which forced him
to be hospitalized at a challenger event in Birmingham earlier this
year. Kempes took full advantage, breaking for 5-5 and winning the
fourth set tiebreak 7 points to 4 with a sizzling backhand pass.
ATP trainer Doug Spreen attended to Gimelstob before the start of the
seemingly hopeless fifth set. Justin soldiered on before the home
fans, more of them filing in now that the rest of the evening
matches had concluded. Coming in on everything, trying to end the
points as quickly as possible, Gimelstob made an incredible stab
volley en route to breaking Kempes for a 2-0 lead. A couple double
faults cost him in the following game, however, and the Dutchman
got back on serve. After Kempes held at love for 2-2, Gimelstob
slowly walked in the direction of the chair. He later admitted that
he considered retiring from the match at that point, but "bluffed it"
by making a racket change instead.
A crucial service winner allowed Gimelstob to evade a break point
and then hold for a 3-2 lead. Kempes got a bit tight in the following
game, won by Gimelstob on a backhand volley. Game 7 was a back-and-forth
battle, Justin again coming up with big serves when he desperately
needed them. Kempes missed a backhand pass (with the court wide open)
on game point to fall behind 2-5. It had been a scratchy set for
Edwin, but he fought off a pair of match points in holding for 3-5,
forcing his ailing foe to serve it out.
An ace and two winning backhand volleys took Gimelstob to 40-30. At
12:15 in the morning, he had his third match point. This time he converted, securing an improbable
6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 victory with a service winner. Justin
immediately fell to his knees, overwhelmed by a mixture of relief,
joy, and pain. He rose to shake hands with Kempes, then collapsed
again, with tears welling up in his eyes. It took every bit of
energy and effort he could muster, but Justin Gimelstob had earned
another dramatic win on his home turf.
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