The Hindu : Malisse ousts Rusedski; Venus in semifinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 03, 2002

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Sport - Tennis

Malisse ousts Rusedski; Venus in semifinals

By Nirmal Shekar

Belgium's Xavier Malisse leaps into the air after defeating Britain's Greg Rusedski in their men's singles, fourth round match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday. — AP

London July 2. Looking back, it would have made for better entertainment if the rain had continued well into the afternoon. If it had, perhaps Sir Cliff Richard, sitting in the Royal Box sporting a purple jacket, might have summoned a microphone and started singing, as he did a few years ago here at Wimbledon when it rained all day long.

Surely, in the light of what unfolded when play did begin after an hour's delay at exactly 2 p.m. on the centre court on Tuesday, the charming old crooner would have been better value for money.

For, as it turned out, labouring in the defence of a title she has won twice in the last two years, Venus Williams, the top seed, took about 49 minutes to send Elena Likhovtseva of Russia hurrying to the Tournament Office to collect her prize money cheque.

The champion won 6-2, 6-0 to make the semifinals. Of course, it is on the weighty basis of such a performance that Ms. Likhovtseva would pick up a little more than Rs.43 lakhs on her way out. Now, you can't grudge her that. After all, she did manage to put out such world beaters (!) as Kim Clijsters and Magdalena Maleeva along the way.

That's women's tennis on a Grand Slam stage for you--and they are complaining that Wimbledon is chauvinistic and unfair in not offering them equal prize money with the men. Tim Henman, a title favourite who will pick up about Rs.48 lakhs should he lose in the quarterfinals tomorrow, has played 16 sets and died a hundred deaths en route.

And a pair of qualifiers beat two of the tournament favourites--Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Anybody for equal prize money?

A) Well, the best thing that can happen to make women's tennis more exciting at the Slams is: Ask Venus Williams to serve underarm.

B) Introduce a handicap system.

C) Focus eyes and TV cameras only on players's faces, legs and dresses, not on racquets and balls, for the first 10 days of the event.

Take your pick. Or think of other novel ideas if you want to. But unless a top player like Venus Williams is pulled down to the level of the Likhovtsevas, by accident or by a quirk of the form cycle, you can expect to witness just as much excitement as we did here this afternoon, on a second straight day when rain interrupted play--play began an hour late at 2 p.m. and it started raining again at 4.20 p.m.

Likhovtseva's greatest claim to fame this afternoon was in forcing Venus to stave off a breakpoint in her opening service game, and one more in the seventh game. But when you have a serve like Venus's and you are playing women's tennis, you can afford to laugh at such situations.

Not that Venus did. She merely tossed the ball up and banged it to the far corner. Ace. Service winner. That settled the two breakpoints. And there was little else to settle anyway as the world beater covered the net like an albatross and did what she pleased from the back of the court. The job done, Venus cavorted like a ballerina, waved to the crowd, and disappeared.

``If it happens like it did today, it is very, very nice,'' said the champion. "But I would like to improve a lot more.''

She must be kidding, of course. What? 6-0, 6-0 in 21 minutes? Even the biggest Wimbledon addict, Sir Cliff Richard, himself wouldn't turn up for the match.

Meanwhile, it takes some doing to step out of the long shadow of your former girlfriend--if the woman in question happens to be Jennifer Capriati. And Belgium's Xavier Malisse did just that here this afternoon as he outlasted the Other British Hope (not to be confused with the Great British Hope, Tim Henman).

Malisse, who had split four sets with Greg Rusedski when bad light stopped play on Monday night, completed the job in style today as he won 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to go through to the quarterfinals, the first in a Grand Slam event in the 21-year old player's career. This, of course, puts an end to all the talk about the first all-British men's final here since 1909.

Malisse broke Rusedski's serve in the seventh game of the decider and then fought off two breakpoints to close out the match on his second matchpoint in the 10th game before sinking to the turf in disbelief.

``Everybody was talking that I had talent but I was not working hard. In 2001 I had a different mindset and I started working hard,'' said Malisse.

Henman soap opera

If there was a society for prevention of cruelty to sport fans, the first player who'd be in big trouble is Tim Henman. Whether it is by conscious choice or by accident, the British No.1 has put Wimbledon fans through such unbearable tension and agony that it is quite possible that someone might actually suffer a heart-attack watching him blow hot and cold on these famous lawns one of these days.

Looking at him, you'd think he'd be the last man to enact nail-biting drama on court time and again. But, that is exactly what Henman has done here over the last few days--not the least when he almost fell of the cliff before recovering just in time to beat Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for a place in the quarterfinals late on Monday evening.

It was close to 1 a.m. Tuesday in India when Henman, suffering from an upset stomach and administered smelling salt time and again to keep him from fainting on the court during the match, finally got the job done, in four hours and 14 minutes of playing time.

Thousands of fans on the No.1 court--not to speak of his pregnant wife Lucy and his parents--must have missed several heart beats as the fourth seed appeared doomed at one point in a bizarre match interruped by rain, one that featured as much brilliance as it did banality.

Kratochvil, a 23-year-old whose parents had left Czechoslovakia during the 1968 uprising to settle down in Switzerland, was himself outstanding and pedestrian in turn. He hit some spectacular groundstroke winners, not the least with a powerful double handed backhand.

The results: Men's singles: Fourth round: 27-Xavier Malisse (Bel) bt 23-Greg Rusedski (GBR) 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Womens' singles: Quarterfinals: 1-Venus Williams (U.S.) bt Elena Likhovtseva (rus) 6-2, 6-0.

Men's doubles (third round): Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) and Max Mirnyi (Blr) bt Julien Boutter (Fra) and Sjeng Schalken (Ned) 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.

Over 45 invitation doubles: Brian Gottfried/Tom Gullikson (U.S.) bt Anand Amritraj/Vijay Amritraj (India) 7-5, 7-5.

Monday's results: Men's singles (fourth round): 28-David Nalbandian (Arg) bt Wayne Arthurs (Aus) 6-4, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (7); 18-Sjeng Schalken (Ned) bt Jan Vacek (Czech) 6-2, 7-5, 7-5; 22-Nicolas Lapentti (Ecu) bt Arnaud Clement (Fra) 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3; Andre Sa (Bra) bt Feliciano Lopez (Esp) 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3; .

Women's singles (fourth round): 2-Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Chanda Rubin (U.S.) 6-3, 6-3; 4-Monica Seles (U.S.) bt 20-Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thai) 6-2, 6-2; Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) bt 19-Magdalena Maleeva (Bul) 6-3, 6-4; 9-Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Laura Granville (U.S.) 6-2, 6-2; 6-Justine Henin (Bel) bt 12-Elena Dementieva (Rus) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5); 11-Daniela Hantuchova (Slo) bt 7-Jelen Dokic (Yug) 6-4, 7-5.

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