WIMBLEDON 2000

REVIEWS BY MARK NEWMAN

… AND MORE SEEDS FALL

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Four More Seeds Fall

By the end of day four the number of seeds out has risen to eighteen, nine in each draw. Four seeds said their goodbye’s today:

Thomas Johannsson def. (5) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-1 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Kafelnikov is lucky he didn’t lose with an even worse scoreline, because at one point he trailed 1-6 2-5. However, he pulled himself back into the match and threatened to get back on track, but a dismal service game to drop serve at the end of the second set, and a miserable tiebreak were all he could bear. Hampered by a stomach injury he all but gave up in the third set and another seed was sent crashing.

Martin Damm def. (15) Marat Safin 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

I didn’t see this match, and not much has been written about it today, so I can’t really comment! Not much of a surprise. Safin started the year erratically and after firing the coach credited for his mid-year resurgance, seems to have returned to his erratic ways. He also wasn’t particularly good on grass anyway. Not much of a shock.

Magui Serna def. (3) Mary Pierce 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4)

Bit of an upset here unless you saw the match. Magui Serna played fantastic grasscourt tennis throughout, outhitting one of the hardest hitters in the game. Pierce, fresh from her French Open triumph last month, could find no answers. She played pretty well, but was still completely outplayed.

Lilia Osterloh def. (12) Amanda Coetzer 7-6 (7-0) 6-2

Amanda Coetzer is a fighter, who never gives up till the game is over. She runs everything down and has played wonderful matches on the grass at Eastbourne in the past. So why does she never do well at Wimbledon? Who knows? 2000 proves no exception, as she stumbles in straight sets to lowly-ranked Osterloh, who took complete control after winning all the points in the first set tiebreak. It was one of several occasions today when a tiebreak was won 7-0, a rare thing usually, but then so is so many seeds losing so early at a Grand Slam!?!

Other News

Lindsay Davenport was 0-3 down, and facing two break points for 0-4 down, in the final set against Elena Likhovtseva before she remembered she was defending champion and has held the #1 ranking this year. She reeled off the final six games for a nervous victory… Jennifer Capriati reached the Wimbledon third round for the first time since 1993 with a comfortable victory over Meghann Shaughnessy today. Later in the day she won her mixed doubles match with boyfriend Xavier Malisse… Jelena Dokic is still winning at Wimbledon, but, as at Birmingham in 1999, her father is still causing problems. After hurling abuse at a journalist and smashing his mobile phone, Damir Dokic was escorted off the Wimbledon premises. No further action is expected to be taken… Pete Sampras will play tomorrow if his ankle holds up. It was too sore for him to practice at all today, but he expects to be ready for tomorrow’s third round match… Andre Agassi gave tournament referee Alan Mills a dressing down when Mills refused to stop play late at night as rain began to fall. It was only after Agassi slipped over that play was suspended. Agassi said it shouldn’t take a player risking injury before play was stopped. He was forced to default at Queen’s two weeks ago when he slipped and injured his ankle… Another of last year’s teenage heroines, Alexandra Stevenson, lost today, beaten in straight sets by Patricia Wartusch… Martina Navratilova and Mahesh Bhupathi trail 8-9 in the final set of their mixed doubles match suspended by rain. Bhupathi won the men’s doubles here last year… Tim Henman, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis all moved effortlessly into the third round on the men’s side, while Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario moved on in the women’s draw.