Drama Reigns On Stirring Day Two
by Christopher Gerby
The epic five set struggle between Marat Safin and Nicolas Kiefer in
Arthur Ashe Stadium wasn't the only thriller on Tuesday. It was
another emotional, action-packed day on the field courts as well.
Emmanuelle Gagliardi vs. Vera Zvonareva
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 9
Court 9 was a nice place to be on Tuesday morning, as a seat there
allowed you to keep tabs on Amy Frazier (playing right behind me on
Court 8 against Virginia Ruano Pascual) and Ai Sugiyama (handling
Korean qualifier Mi-Ra Jeon on Court 10). Of course, the best view
it offered was of the match pitting Vera Zvonareva against Emmanuelle
Gagliardi. The feisty, athletic Zvonareva opened a lot of eyes at
this year's French Open, taking a set off Serena Williams in the
fourth round. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Gagliardi is an affable late
bloomer having the best season of her career.
Zvonareva won 9 of the match's first 11 points, but her quick start
suddenly turned sour. Multiple double faults in her next two service
games, sandwiched around a love hold by Gagliardi, saw the young
Russian fall behind 2-3. Vera took it hard, swiping at the court with
her racket and groaning loudly. She buried her head in a towel during
the changeover...which is her normal custom, but this time she stamped
her foot and slammed the towel down on her chair when it was time for
Game 6.
Now it was Gagliardi's game falling apart -- she double faulted on
break point to tie the set at 3-3. Zvonareva held easily for 4-3 and
opened up a 15-40 lead on Emmanuelle's serve. The Swiss veteran saved
one break point, but Zvonareva struck a forehand winner to end a
magnificent rally for 5-3. A winning forehand volley would put a 6-3
set in the teenager's coffers after just 29 see-saw minutes.
Zvonareva could be seen kicking at the court surface and muttering
to herself early in the second set, but it was Gagliardi who surrendered
the first service break, double faulting to 2-3. A violent racket
toss followed one point later as Gagliardi grew increasingly
frustrated. She did manage a love hold for 3-4 and produced some great
strokes (including a line drive backhand pass and an angled drop shot) in
Game 8, but Zvonareva's forehand bailed her out of trouble. The
17-year-old held for 5-3 and scored one last service break to put away
Gagliardi 6-3, 6-3. A pretty handy win in the end for the talented
youngster, who gave Kim Clijsters a real scare two rounds later.
(28) Eleni Daniilidou vs. Henrieta Nagyova
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 6
A pretty evenly matched tussle on paper proved just as close on the
court as Henrieta Nagyova and Eleni Daniilidou split the first two
sets of their first round encounter. When Danillidou broke serve for a
5-7, 6-4, 1-0 lead and jogged to her chair with a raised fist, it looked
as if the seed was on her way. The powerfully built Daniildou draws
immediate comparisons to Amelie Mauresmo with her powerful one-handed
backhand and range at the net. Unlike Mauresmo, the 19-year-old has a
real fondness for the drop shot, which she successfully used on
game point for a 2-0 lead in the final set. Undaunted, Nagyova
screamed "come on!" after a service winner got her to 1-2. Another
exchange of holds followed, with Daniilidou missing a cool
behind-the-back shot as Nagyova got to 2-3.
Eleni's backhand went off in Game 6, allowing "Henya" to break for 3-all.
After a winning forehand took the Slovakian to 30-0 in the next game,
she looked right at Daniilidou while pumping her fist. The very
next point saw Nagyova raise her finger juniors-style to indicate that
a Daniilidou backhand had landed wide. Eleni got the call, but was
upset anyway, pleading to the chair about Nagyova's antics. "Come on,
this is a joke! When she is doing this, it's not right." An overrule
then went against Nagyova to even the pivotal seventh game's score
at 30-30. Daniilidou then missed a forehand and Nagyova threw up her
arms in a "do you believe it this time?" gesture when the ball was called
out. Game point in hand, Nagyova launched a service winner and yelled,
"Yes! Come on!"
Game 8 saw more errors from Daniilidou and more fist pumping from the
very fired up Nagyova. At 30-40 in the next game, Nagyova made a
lunging squash shot to continue a rally she eventually won with a
swinging forehand volley. Exhausted, Nagyova bent over and paused for a
while before continuing the game. Two points later, back at deuce,
Nagyova complained of dry eyes and took a brief break to drop some water into them.
Henrieta then missed a forehand and netted a volley. Daniilidou was
back on serve at 4-5, still alive in her second US Open appearance.
The stands were now filled to capacity, as news of this airtight grudge
match had probably circulated around the grounds.
Nagyova raised a "not ready" hand just as Daniilidou was serving a
would-be ace to open Game 10. A let was called and Daniilidou absolutely flipped out,
engaging the umpire in a long argument, trying to find the right
English words. "I hit already! She was, like, normal. There is no
way!" Two points later, Nagyova made a backhand error and argued
the call, visibly angering Daniilidou. A badly missed drop shot left
Daniilidou facing a match point at 30-40, but she uncorked an
unreturnable forehand to stave off elimination. After the game went
to a second deuce, Eleni launched an ace and shook her fist in Henrieta's
direction. The strapping 19-year-old then knocked off a high forehand
volley to hold for 5-5.
Game 11 was another extended tooth-and-nail battle. On the second
deuce point, Nagyova threw up a desperate lob. Daniilidou chased it down
and returned a shot to Nagyova, who made her run in the opposite
direction with a drop volley. Daniilidou got to it and scooped a reply
right at Nagyova, who made a reflex volley right at Daniilidou, who
somehow had the presence of mind to angle off a winning volley of her
own. Until the Andy Roddick vs. Juan Ignacio Chela match, this was
the most incredible rally I saw in the entire tournament. Daniilidou
ended it by dropping to the ground and looking over to her supporters
with a huge grin on her face.
Nagyova was facing a break point now, but she still had plenty of
fight left. A backhand winner, service winner, and leaning backhand
down the line got her to 6-5. Controversy rose its ugly head again
in Game 12, as Daniilidou drew a foot fault call from the opposite
end of the court (for stepping over the center service line).
Daniilidou missed her second serve, double faulting to deuce.
The youngster from Greece would then complain to the chair umpire
about Nagyova's stalling tactics. He agreed and said, "Henrieta,
when she is getting ready, you have to be ready." Two points later,
Nagyova went for water and was warned she had "six seconds" left.
After sending a lunging forehand long, Daniilidou
faced match point for a second time. Nagyova made good, catching the
sideline with a forehand winner. After fighting against a bigger,
stronger opponent for more than two and a half hours, the aspiring
model broke into a huge smile as she stood at the net savoring a
7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win. Daniilidou,
however, was frozen in disbelief on the other side of the net,
gesturing at a mark wide of the line, waiting for a call which never
came. After all of Nagyova's perceived gamemanship and Daniilidou's
open disgust over it, I was pleasantly surprised when Eleni finally
did walk over to shake hands.
Vince Spadea vs. Jerome Golmard
Men's Singles: First Round
Court 7
I don't know if the red, David Beckham-ish mohawk Jerome Golmard is
sporting these days makes him more areodynamic, but it certainly
wasn't slowing him down in the early stages of this match. The
Frenchman rocketed home an ace for a 6-4, 5-1 lead against the ever
unpredictable Vince Spadea. Two games later, Golmard put away a
leaping smash to wrap up the 6-2 set.
Derisively called "Blackjack"
for the record 21-match losing streak he racked up in 2000, Spadea has
fought very hard in his climb back to respectability. Armed with a
huge canteen full of water and some very vocal fans, Vince started
the long uphill climb. He won 12 of the first 13 points in the
third set, inspiring cries of "attaway Vinny!" and "5-set specialist,
Vince!" Suddenly floundering at the net and losing all control of
his serve, Golmard took just 25 minutes to hand the man from Boca
Raton a 6-1 win of the third set.
Following a bathroom break from Spadea, the players opened Set 4 with a
series of fairly routine service holds. A few points after making a
spectacular backhand winner on the dead run, Spadea knocked off a
high forehand volley to break Golmard for 4-3. Jerome played
aggressively in the following game, trying to get the break right back,
but Vince held steady. He saved a break point with a winning forehand
pass and advanced to 5-3 with a nifty drop volley. A shout of
"French toast, baby!" came from the stands before Spadea secured
another break for a 6-3 win of the set. Spadea's never-say-die
spirit (and Golmard's crumbling game) put this match dead even at
two sets apiece.
The Frenchman decided it was his turn for a bathroom break and he
took his sweet time before returning. Having apparently gotten his
head back together, Golmard stayed with Spadea to 2-2 in the final
set. Although in the minority, a handful of Golmard fans were boosting
his morale with cries of "allez Jerome!" But Spadea held at love for
3-2 and earned double break point in Game 6. After losing the first
break chance on a backhand error, Spadea put a dipping return of a
Golmard first serve at the Frenchman's feet. Unable to dig out the
shoestring volley, Golmard fell behind 2-4.
Golmard quickly struck back, earning a 15-40 chance on Spadea's
serve. Having worked too hard to throw it all away now, Vince
controlled the next couple rallies and eventually held for a 5-2
lead when Golmard netted a return. Placing a bag of ice on his head
and taking another swig out of his canteen, Spadea steeled himself
for one last push. At 30-30 in Game 8, Golmard misfired with a
forehand and reacted with an enraged racket toss. Facing match
point, he sent a backhand into the net. A five set specialist indeed,
Spadea raised his arms in triumph, having come all the way back to
post a 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Martina Muller vs. Maret Ani
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 15
Three straight wins in qualifying (the last coming against college
star Jessica Lehnhoff) allowed Maret Ani to become the first Estonian
to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam. Once there, she showed a
good physique and an explosive temper. "Do you see the f***ing line?!?"
Ani screamed at the chair umpire, disputing a line call which gave
Martina Muller a 6-4, 2-0 lead. Muller is 5 foot 5, but plays even
smaller, crouching way down in her return stance and really bending
her knees on many of her groundstrokes. She also has an amusing
service routine, always opening her mouth wide as she tosses the ball
into the air.
Moving and competing well, Muller clawed her way to a 4-1 lead.
Hard-hitting Ani held serve for 2-4, but misjudged a lob midway
through Game 7, allowing it to fall in untouched. After missing a
forehand on game point, Ani angrily whacked the ball back over the
net. Leading 5-2, 30-30, Muller rifled a backhand winner and hissed
"yes!" The first match point was the only one the German would
need. Ani hit a forehand wide and immediately threw her racket
halfway across the court at her chair. Maret did a little pirouette
immediately after shaking hands with Martina, trying to turn away and
hide the fact that she was crying.
Like Alina Jidkova and Justin
Gimelstob the previous day, Maret Ani showed just how emotional
opening round matches can be for the lower-ranked players. If she
can harness her baseline power, though, I'm sure she'll be heard from
again. For her part, scrappy Martina Muller scored a very impressive second
round win over Barbara Schett before falling to Venus Williams on
Saturday.
(16) Magdalena Maleeva vs. Kveta Hrdlickova
Women's Singles: First Round
Court 8
The luck of the draw placed Magdalena Maleeva opposite Kveta
Hrdlickova in the opening round of the US Open for the second year in a row.
Maleeva won that meeting 6-2, 6-1 and appeared to be on her way to
a repeat performance on Tuesday, serving out a 6-3 win of the
opening set. Sporting a new hairdo (dangerously
close to resembling a mullet) since I last saw her, Hrdlickova went
about turning the tide. She broke Maleeva at love for a quick 2-0
lead in the second set, but a torrent of forehand errors dropped the
Czech right back to 2-2. A winning backhand return two games later
allowed Hrdlickova to break for a 4-2 advantage. This time she
held on, serving out a fairly sloppy 6-3 second set.
Maleeva looked strangely subdued and out of sorts. She survived a
four-deuce battle to open the third set, but broke herself with
some errant backhands for 1-2. Hrdlickova's confidence seemed to
grow from game to game as she got closer to the finish line. Up 4-2,
Hrdlickova ran down a Maleeva drop shot, flipping it back for a
winner and a 0-30 advantage. A forehand error on break point would
put Maleeva behind by two breaks at 2-5. The Bulgarian remained
calm, however, and streaky Hrdlickova started to spray errors. Breaking at
30 and holding at 15, Maleeva narrowed the gap to 4-5.
Kveta's game was in absolute freefall now. Three unforced errors and
a double fault cost her Game 10, leaving a match she had served for
twice suddenly tied at 5-5 in the deciding set. The old Maleeva
spunk finally surfaced in the following game, as she screamed "ai! ai!"
after Hrdlickova errors took the score to 30-0 and 40-0. Hrdlickova
sliced a backhand long on triple game point, allowing Maleeva to
take a 6-5 lead.
Hrdlickova began swiping at the court wildly after yet another
unforced error opened Game 12. Facing match point at 30-40, she
finally did something right, blasting an ace. But Hrdlickova then
pushed a defensive forehand into the net to give Maleeva a second
chance. This time it was Hrdlickova steering a forehand wide and
Maleeva throwing a victorious fist into the sky. The 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
outcome would sit well with Maggie's fans, but this is one match
Hrdlickova is sure to have nightmares about.
Gimelstob/Tarango vs. Cibulec/Friedl
Men's Doubles: First Round
Court 4
For the second day in a row, long matches kept Justin Gimelstob from
taking the court until after nightfall. Fully recovered from his
late night cramping episode, Gimelstob teamed with Jeff Tarango to
battle the solid, unassuming Czech pair of Thomas Cibulec and Leos
Friedl. A wild first set saw the Americans hold most of their
service games with ease, but fail to convert multiple break points.
Leading 5-4, they reached double set point against Friedl's serve.
Tarango missed a forehand return to make it 30-40. Set point # 2
saw Gimelstob dive for a drop volley. He failed to reach it, instead
landing hard on the concrete and scraping his right thigh. "Great
play," Tarango said as he helped his partner to his feet.
Cibulec put away a smash to save a third set point, eventually
holding for 5-5. After an easy Tarango hold, Jeff and Justin went
about trying to break Cibulec's serve. On set point # 3, Gimelstob
netted a return. On set point # 4, he missed another return and let
out a scream which could have been heard from several counties away.
Two points later, a Cibulec ace forced a tiebreak.
- JG serving: Cibulec knifes a volley at Gimelstob -- 1-0 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
- LF: Friedl nets a low backhand volley -- 1-1
- LF: Double fault -- 2-1 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- JT: Forehand volley winner by Gimelstob -- 3-1 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- JT: Reflex volley by Cibulec lands long -- 4-1 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- TC: Winning backhand volley by Cibulec -- 4-2 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- TC: Tarango's angled backhand pass goes wide -- 4-3 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- JG: Cibulec guides a backhand winner down the line -- 4-4
- JG: Big Gimelstob serve sets up a Tarango smash -- 5-4 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- LF: Tarango nets a forehand volley -- 5-5
- LF: Set point as Tarango's return sails wide -- 6-5 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
- JT: Can opener service winner by Tarango -- 6-6
- JT: Another unreturnable Tarango serve -- 7-6 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- TC: Cibulec service winner saves set point -- 7-7
- TC: Tarango's forehand pass is just long -- 8-7 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
- JG: Clutch service winner from Gimelstob -- 8-8
- JG: Gimelstob throws an ace out wide -- 9-8 GIMELSTOB/TARANGO
- LF: Cibulec deftly handles a backhand volley -- 9-9
- LF: Tarango rips a forehand at Friedl, who reflexes a winner -- 10-9 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
- JT: Airborne, off-balance pass by Tarango draws an error -- 10-10
- JT: Double fault -- 11-10 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
- TC: Friedl's backhand volley kisses the tape and falls in -- 12-10 CIBULEC/FRIEDL
After 62 minutes of play in which they had five set points and countless
chances to break, Gimelstob and Tarango had lost the first set. The
pattern resumed in the second set -- the Americans holding easily and
threatening to break. They finally came through in Game 5, as Gimelstob
ripped an unreturnable forehand to steal Friedl's service game and
lead 3-2. The big kid from Jersey then bombed an ace to close out a
love hold for 4-2. The next game saw Gimelstob and Tarango chase the
same drop volley around the net post, nearly crashing into each other
and the stands. They emerged from the mishap unharmed and smiling,
though. A few points later, Gimelstob caught the sideline with an
inside-out forehand winner, breaking Cibulec to 5-2.
Facing triple set point, Cibulec sent a lunging forehand return down
the line for 40-15. Tarango then served what appeared to be a set
winning ace. It was called a fault and Jeff shot back "correction!"
His second serve actually looked long, but it was called in and the
Czechs won the point when Cibulec ripped a forehand at Gimelstob.
Tarango managed a wry smile and told the service lineswoman, "I
shouldn't have said a word. Don't doubt yourself." A service winner
on the next point ended the 6-2 set and pushed this match deeper
into the night.
After Leos Friedl returned from a bathroom break, the final set got
underway at 9:50 PM. The opening game was a five-deuce doozy, with Cibulec
dodging three break points. The last point saw Gimelstob yell "yours!"
before meekly bunting a ball into the net. Knowing he should have
taken that ball, Tarango said "sorry, buddy." After Gimelstob held
easily to 1-1, it was Friedl's turn to save three break points with
some clutch serves and well placed volleys. Frustration was mounting
for Jeff Tarango, who scored an ace for 2-2 but complained about Cibulec and
Friedl holding him up when he was ready to serve. When the umpire
admitted they were taking "a little longer," Tarango was quick to
reply. "A little? Is that Czech time or American time?"
A forehand return winner by Tarango at 30-30 in Game 5 earned his team
their seventh break point of the set and approximately their 700th of
the match. Cibulec yielded, netting a forehand volley for
2-3. Distracted by Gimelstob (who screamed at the top of his lungs
and nearly took Tarango's hand off with a massive high five), I didn't
notice whatever it was that earned Leos Friedl a code violation for
"unsportsmanlike conduct."
Riding a wave of emotion, Gimelstob made some great volleys in a love
hold for 4-2. Friedl rallied from a 0-30 deficit to stay within one
break at 3-4. Although a good eight years younger than his partner,
Gimelstob was taking a leadership role, shouting "Great job! Come on!"
after Tarango made a reflex volley winner on his way to holding for
5-3. Cibulec held at love, forcing Gimelstob to serve it out.
Dominant on his serve throughout the entire match, Justin would not
be denied. He bellowed "COME ON!" yet again after rocketing an ace for
40-0. A service winner on triple match point then ended it. It took
a set longer than it should have, but Justin Gimelstob and Jeff
Tarango finally emerged with an exciting 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 win.
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