US Open '98 Match Reports

by Chris Gerby

(Check for more coverage from "On The Line Tennis E-Zine"!)

Dominique vs. Magdalena Grzybowska
Women's Singles: 2nd Round
Court 8

Coming off disappointing early losses in Montreal and New Haven, Dominique van Roost had to be hoping just to find her form in time for the U.S. Open.  After a sterling performance against dangerous Julie Halard-Decugis in the first round, the 14th seed's progress appeared to be right on schedule.  The second round didn't figure to be easy, though. Magdalena Grzybowska was coming off an impressive win over her own -- a lightning quick elimination of Katarina Studenikova (see Monday's report at "On The Line Tennis E-Zine").

Van Roost got off to a fast start on Wednesday, breaking Grzybowska's serve with a cross-court forehand pass.  Somewhat uncharactersitically, Van Roost followed by hitting four good first serves in a love hold for 2-0.  The third game figured to be important and both players looked very determined to win it.  Grzybowska got the first game point at 40-30, but lost it on a
netted backhand.  She squandered two more game points on a double fault and an error.   Then it was Van Roost's turn, as she lost three break points on backhand errors.   An ace gave Grzybowska the ad, but a double fault took it away. Van Roost missed a forehand, but then Grzybowska did likewise.  Neither player could string together two winning points in a row, so the game went on and on.

Magdalena lost game point #6 with a poor drop shot.  She got a seventh chance to close it out, but put a backhand in the net and banged her racquet on the court surface with a look of disbelief on her face.  Another backhand error gave Van Roost her third break point of the game, but a Grzybowska ace brought  up the eleventh deuce.   Grzybowska then sent a forehand wide and
shook her head.  Staying focused and positive throughout this ordeal, Van Roost ripped a deep forehand drive to Grzybowska's backhand.  The reply  hit the net cord and fell back on the Pole's side.  Game 3 was finally over, with Van Roost extending her lead.  Grzybowska was so disoriented after this marathon game, she nearly sat in Dominique's chair by accident!

Up 3-0, 30-0, Van Roost committed her first service fault of the day, but disagreed with the call.  She looked and sounded very sure as she insisted that the ball had landed good.  "No.  No, it's inside.  I can see."  She followed with a second fault to lose the point, but fought back to win the game and go ahead 4-0.   At 15-15 in the following game, Van Roost made a remarkable
get, changing direction in mid-air as she returned a Grzybowska smash.   The follow-up smash went into the net, giving Van Roost the point.  She won the next two as well, breaking again for 5-0.

Simply not able to deal with the pace of Van Roost's groundstrokes (which occasionally drew gasps from the crowd), Grzybowska buried another backhand in the net on the first set point.  The second set presented her with a clean slate, but she immediately got behind again, hitting another double fault on her way to a love break for 6-0, 1-0.   Van Roost -- who'd been serving much
better than usual to this point -- double faulted twice in Game 2, but won it anyway on a cross-court backhand winner.  Van Roost then creamed a forehand pass to end another love break for 3-0.  A match expected to be close had rapidly turned into a one-sided display of powerful shot-making.

Almost precisely 48 hours earlier, Magdalena Grzybowska had been closing in on a possible double bagel win.  Now she was the one just trying to get a single game to her credit.  Van Roost was not in a charitable mood, however.  She opened the set's fourth game with a brilliant cross-court forehand pass on the dead run.   Grzybowska closed to 30-30, but an intense Van Roost won the next two points and slapped her thigh after each.  The Belgian actually trailed 30-15 in the following game, but she responded
with a winning drop shot and a running forehand winner.  Grzybowska then lost the game with a forehand error and hit the net cord with her racquet as she walked to her chair.  Absolutely nothing was going her way and her hard hitting opponent was completely unwilling to let up.

Jumping out to a 40-15 lead in the match's twelfth game, Dominique van Roost arrived at double match point.  She got a short ball to swing at in the next rally, but sent a big forehand just wide for 40-30.  Still intent on getting a game, Grzybowska kept the ball deep in the next point, forcing an error for deuce.  The goose eggs stayed on the board, though.  Two more big forehands by Van Roost forced the pair of errors that ended the 6-0, 6-0 blowout.  Putting on a scintillating show from the baseline, Van Roost
needed barely more than 50 minutes (seemingly 45 of them taken up by that third game)   to gain a spot in the next round, where she'll meet Kimberly Po.

Dominique /David Rikl vs. Kerry-Anne Guse/Andrew Kratzmann
Mixed Doubles: 1st Round
Court 14

On a day when I'd taken in women's singles, men's singles, women's doubles, and a bit of men's doubles action (the Bryan twins staging a very energetic, crowd-pleasing second set comeback), it made sense to finish with the other discipline:  mixed doubles.  Australians Andrew Kratzmann and Kerry-Anne Guse battled David Rikl of the Czech Republic and his Belgian partner, Dominique van Roost -- the only player on the court who's not a doubles specialist.  I believe this was the first time playing together for
Van Roost and Rikl.  It showed, as there appeared to be some confusion at the start over who would take the deuce court (she ended up with that assignment).

Mixed doubles is a bit of an afterthought in the world of tennis.  It's only played at the four Grand Slam events (and the Hopman Cup exhibition), so many of the partnerships are random, one-time-only larks.  At least these teams were coordinated:   Kratzmann and Guse each wore sunglasses and caps, while their opponents sported neither.  The men each held serve for
1-1, but Guse was quickly broken.  It was mostly Kratzmann's fault, as he missed volleys on the last two points of the game.  A convincing hold from Van Roost put her and Rikl ahead 3-1.

Kratzmann held at love for 3-2 and helped put together a spirited break of Rikl, completed when Guse punched a volley into the open court.  Guse nearly lost control of Game 6 -- falling from 40-0 to 40-30 -- but she held to secure a 4-3 lead.  Trailing 0-30 in the following game, Rikl and Van Roost each did some outstanding retrieving before one last touch volley eluded a tired Dominique.  Kratzmann then finished up the love break with a smash.Having done a lot of running to no avail in that game, a smiling Van Roost leaned on her racquet, feigning exhaustion.

Andrew Kratzmann completely bungled his attempt to serve out the set, double faulting three times in a break for 5-4.  He couldn't believe a baseline non-call in the next game, pointing at a mark and sarcastically applauding the linesman.  Rikl held at love with an ace, but Guse hit one of her own in holding for 6-5.  The pressure was on Van Roost's sometimes suspect serve, but she and Rikl came through, the latter winning the game on a high-flying smash, one of many points in the match which showcased his athleticism.

The tiebreak started badly for the Aussies.  Rikl was all over the place, hitting a couple winners and forcing an error on the path to a 4-1 lead. Three errors in a row from Van Roost evened the score, though, and Rikl missed a lunging volley for 5-4.  Van Roost attempted a tough overhead while running backwards and netted it for 6-4.  That first set point was all the opening
Guse and Kratzmann needed -- a backhand volley error by Rikl finished the breaker 7 points to 4.  A disappointed Van Roost shook her head as she walked to her chair, but Rikl had her giggling during the changeover.

Looking to re-establish himself as the star of the match, Rikl made four winners in a love hold to open the second set.  At 15-40 in Kratzmann's service game, a backhand from Van Roost clipped the tape and sailed past Guse.  Having been broken for the second time in the match, Kratzmann threw his racquet.  Not everyone takes mixed doubles seriously, but the Australians had their game faces on for the entire match.  They came storming right back, breaking and holding for 2-2.  Rikl got his second
love hold of the set for 3-2, but Kratzmann held for 3-3.

The Australians finally had a brief moment of levity in the set's seventh game, when a Guse forehand nailed her partner right in the back of the head. They lost that game and the next, a Guse lob sailing long to finish the break of her serve that made it 5-3.   Rikl and Van Roost fought off double break point in Game 9, then a third on another long Guse lob, but Rikl double faulted on the fourth break point.

Kratzmann managed to tie the set in pretty spectacular fashion, acing for 40-30 and smacking a high backhand volley winner, good for 5 games all. Not to be outdone, Van Roost wrapped up her hold with a pair of service winners.  Guse missed a volley for 0-40, suddenly facing triple set point.  Rikl missed a forehand, but at 15-40, Kratzmann badly shanked an overhead.  Close as could be, the match now headed to a third set.

The men once again opened with service holds.  Van Roost missed a swinging volley at 40-30 on her serve and squealed.  Two more deuces followed before the Aussies secured the break, Kratzmann taking the game with a delicate forehand volley and pumping his fist.   He and Guse were visibly intense, while Rikl and Van Roost seemed to be having a good deal more fun.

Still fired up, Kratzmann put away a powerful backhand volley to finish off a difficult hold for Guse.  Rikl was pushed in his service game, but got to 3-2 with a service winner and a backahand overhead put-away.  Game 6 was the fourth in a row to go to multiple deuces, as both teams were really scrapping for every point they could get.   Kratzmann double faulted twice, but held for 4-2 with a big serve.  Van Roost had her easiest hold in a while for 4-3, but she and Rikl failed to capitalize on two break chances in the following game.  David sent a backhand return wide to fall behind 5-3.

Game 9 ended with an entertaining rally, Rikl and Kratzmann dinking volleys back and forth until the Czech knocked off a forehand winner to hold at love.  He and Dominique were still down a break, though, and would be facing the erratic-but-powerful Kratzmann serve.   The match had already gone past the two hour mark and -- with ominous gray clouds hovering over Court 14 -- Andrew Kratzmann wasn't about to let it drag on much longer. He smacked an ace for 40-0 and immediately won the match with a service  winner.

In an entertaining battle highlighted by Kratzmann's power and Rikl's variety, the Australians squeaked through with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 victory. Dominique van Roost is still alive in the other two draws, though, and she clearly had a good time in the losing effort.  If smiles counted for points, she and David Rikl would have won going away.

Back to intro