Roddick arrives, guns blazing

By Nirmal Shekar

LONDON, JUNE 27. It was the other Williams, Serena that is. But, then, what's in a given name? After all, on a tennis court, Williams is what Williams does.

And, like Old Blue Eyes, the Williams sisters believe in doing it their way. Unlike the late Frank Sinatra, they don't sing about it. They simply pick up a racquet and strut their wares on a tennis court, not a word said. And, even with your eyes shut, you cannot mistake it for anything else but a Williams show.

They move in like bulldozers and raze everything in front of them to the ground. The ones that yield are better off. The ones that don't learn it the hard way.

Check with poor Barbara Rittner if you please. On the Wimbledon centre court on Wednesday, Rittner, at 28 an experienced campaigner playing in her 10th Wimbledon, might have thought she'd seen it all...until she faced Serena Williams.

Seemingly hell-bent on resistance, the German blonde took a leaf out of the Williams book and tried doing it her way for some time, matching Serena shot for shot till 4-4 in the first set.

What audacity! And that was just what Serena was looking for. After all, what's the fun in smashing your way past a mud hut. The greater the challenge, the more thrilling the bull-dozing business turns out to be.

As indeed it was for Serena as she ground her way to a 6-4, 6-0 second round victory over Rittner in 54 minutes. Surely, for this pair of American bulldozers in tennis attire, there is nothing called immovable objects. For, they-the Williams sisters-are the twin irresistible forces of women's tennis today.

What they are today, Andy Roddick will be tomorrow. This much was evident later this afternoon on the centre court as the gifted 6 ft 1 in 18-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, signalled his arrival as a champion-in-the-making with an immaculate performance that ousted the 11th seeded Swede Thomas Johansson, who had come into this tournament with successive grass court title victories at Rosmalen and Nottingham.

Roddick, the youngest player left in the men's draw, played two superb tiebreaks with the sort of confidence you'd seldom expect from a Wimbledon debutant as he beat Johansson 7-6(1), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) in two hours and 33 minutes.

The teenager will take on the old master in the twilight of his career, Goran Ivanisevic, in the third round. The three-time finalist, a wild card entrant, dismissed the former French champion and 21st seed, Carlos Moya, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

It would be an intriguing match-up between a great grasscourt player who has never won Wimbledon and a future great who is bidding for it much before his time.

``I am looking forward to it. It should be fun. Playing Michael Chang at the French, Goran here, that's what you look for,'' said Roddick.

The young man the great Pete Sampras called ``the future of American tennis'' left the audience in awe as he turned on his power against Johansson, hitting cannonball serves, blistering double handed backhand passes and a forehand that is hit with the finality of the proverbial last nail in the coffin.

John McEnroe, as only he can, described Roddick's forehand as ``the tongue of a snake''. Well, it does indeed pop out with equal venom but this boy-man has more going for him than merely that forehand. And, he has the right kind of attitude to back up all his big weapons.

``I got goosebumps going out there,'' said Roddick about his centre court debut. ``But I like such situations and I thought I played well in the tiebreaks.''

That was an under-statement. He played like a champion in the two tiebreaks. The teenager has such great racket-head speed that he leaves the opponent stranded with his returns and passes. And for a big man Roddick covers the court-this was only the seventh grasscourt match of his career-wonderfully well.

``He is only 18. But he is very mature when is playing. If he can improve his volley a little bit, he is going to be even better,'' said Johansson.

But the best part is, Roddick still retains the boyish charm that saw him become a popular junior world champion last year and he has the innocence of a boy-man who still doesn't know-and doesn't want to know-that he has the awesome power and skills to inflict enormous carnage.

This, essentially, is the difference between the Williams sisters and the man-who'd-be-king in American tennis. They unabashedly revel in their own power as they mow down opponents while Roddick does it with the air of young man who is simply having a jolly good time at the college courts on a Friday evening.

On the other hand, like her older sister Venus, Serena seems to register genuine surprise when she enters the court each time. ``Hey, who is that? How dare you stand in my way?'' she seems to be saying to herself as she sights the opponent.

As the pace and the power of the first few serves and groundstrokes echo in the old cathedral of the game, the smarter ones quickly take the cue and slip away to the basement bomb shelter-the ladies dressing room, to be sure!

Ritter, for her part, tried bravery as a shield. She ran Serena from corner to corner with far flung groundstrokes, served her way intelligently out of trouble and made it look, for a short while, like an intriguing eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. But when you are facing an AK 47 with a kitchen knife in hand, courage hardly helps.

What does help is the ability to come to terms with reality. That took something like a good half hour. And, in the end, back in the locker room, Rittner must have congratulated herself for having faced up to reality at 4-4 in the first set.

And, from there, as Serena won eight games in a row, Rittner was quite at peace with herself and the ambience. In her mind, she had tried. She had fought and failed, which was better than not fighting at all.

Yet, looking back, at the very start, the German seemed to promise more than such meagre offering as she broke Serena's serve in the opening game, then staved off a breakpoint in the eighth to hold to 4-4.

But, in the end, the reason for the closeness of the contest in the early phase, it would appear, was not so much Rittner's fighting spirit as it was Serena's decision to try out ``something different.''

``In the first set I tried to come in more and tried a different game I have been practising this week,'' said Serena, seeded five.

That's always the case with the sisters. When they struggle, it is because they tried something stupid or did not play well. The opponent is immaterial, the rival's skills are immaterial.

So, what happened after 4-4?

``Well, I just decided that I'd get out sooner than later,'' said Serena.

A simple decision. And that is all it takes, if you believe the sisters, for them to achieve anything, whether it is Round Two or the final.

As powerful as Serena is, as talented as she is, as big as her serve is, it wouldn't hurt to occasionally show a spot of generosity and give some credit to an opponent. But no, that's not their way. That's not the Williams style.

From ghetto to garden party queen is a long way, and it is not at all an easy climb. To rise from the debris of a dangerous, drug- infested Los Angeles neighbourhood to become international celebrities is a hugely laudable journey.

Yet, the sort of attitude that Serena displayed today-she said she lost to Jennifer Capriati at the French Open because she played ``very badly'', as if it had nothing to do with the champion's brilliance - doesn't fit in with Wimbledon.

It's a sort of Us versus The Rest attitude that the sisters have been sporting for a long time, the spinoff being, We are always right and They are always wrong. Not quite Wimbledon, so to say.

Then again, as long as they have the power and the athleticism to keep winning, who can fault them? And, to be sure, a lot of things about Wimbledon, these days, don't seem to fit in with Wimbledon.

As Bob Dylan said, Times, they are a'changin. Indeed.

lThe results: women's singles (second round): (prefix denotes seeding): 4-Jennifer Capriati (U.S) bt Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 6-3, 6-1; 20-Amy Frazier (U.S.) bt Janet Lee (Tai) 6-4, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) bt Anastasia Myskina (Rus) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Lilia Osterloh (U.S.) bt 13-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Esp) 7-6 (7-4), 7- 5; 10-Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Bianka Lamade (Ger) 4-6, 6-3, 6- 2; 32-Tatiana Panova (Rus) bt Tina Pisnik (Sloenia) 7-6 (7-3), 2- 6, 6-2; 18-Anke Huber (Ger) bt Marlene Weingartner (Ger) 7-5, 6- 1; 15-Sandrine Testud (France) bt Karina Habsudova (Slovakia) 6- 0, 6-1; 5-Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Barbara Rittner (Ger) 6-4, 6- 0; 8-Justine Henin (Bel) bt Kristie Boogert (Ned) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2; 19-Conchita Martinez (Esp) bt Sandra Cacic (U.S.) 7-5, 6-4; Lina Krasnoroutskaya (Rus) bt Virginia Ruano Pascual (Esp) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3); Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Swi) bt Kristina Brandi (U.S.) 6-1, 6-2; Barbara Schwartz (Aut) bt Selima Sfar (Tun) 6-4, 6-4; 28- Lisa Raymond (U.S.) bt Karen Cross (Bri) 6-0, 6-1. First round: 31-Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) bt Cara Black (Zim) 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

Men's singles (second round): Sargis Sargsian (Arm) bt Tommy Robredo (Esp) 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Magnus Larsson (Swe) bt Chris Woodruff (U.S.) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; 33-Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) bt Michael Chang (U.S.) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1), 6-4; Andy Roddick (U.S.) bt 11-Thomas Johansson (Swe) 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3); 8-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) bt Jason Stoltenberg (Aus) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3; Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) bt 21-Carlos Moya (Esp) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 15-Roger Federer (Swi) bt Xavier Malisse (Bel) 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3; Raemon Sluiter (Ned) bt Todd Woodbridge (Aus) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-3; 13-Arnaud Clement (Fra) bt German Puentes (Esp) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4; Greg Rusedski (Bri) bt Byron Black (Zim) 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. First round: Fernando Meligeni (Bra) bt 29-Guillermo Coria (Arg) 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6- 3.

* * *

Wednesday's beaten seeds

Men: Carlos Moya-21 (Esp) lost to Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) 7-6, 3- 6, 4-6, 4-6; Thomas Johansson-11 (Swe) lost to Andy Roddick (U.S.) 6-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-7.

Women: Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario-13 (Esp) lost to Lilia Osterloh (U.S.) 6-7, 5-7.

Today's feature matches

Centre Court: (5.30 p.m. IST): Andre Agassi vs. Jaime Delgado; Lindsay Davenport vs. Alicia Molik; Lleyton Hewitt vs. Taylor Dent.

No.1 Court: (5.30 p.m. IST): Pat Rafter vs. Slava Dosedel; Venus Williams vs. Daniela Hantuchova; Amelie Mauresmo vs. Eleni Daniildou.

Show Court 18: (4.30 p.m. IST): Leander Paes vs. Nicolas Escude.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Sonal wards off Ankita's challenge
Next     : Leander Paes ends a long drought