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TWO
HOPEFULS GET DUMPED IN FIRST ROUND
Shockers: Henin, Federer eliminated
By
Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net
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Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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FROM ROLAND GARROS –
The frustration of Justine Henin face was never more apparent when
down 0-3 and a break point in the third set when Aniko Kapros ran
down a big forehand, hit a high lob that bounced two feet over the
net near the doubles alley and instead of nailing an overhead, Henin
jumped up and tried to crush an inside-out forehand home and knocked
it a foot wide.
Such went the day for '01 Roland Garros semifinalist Henin, who
was buried by Hungarian teen Aniko Kapros 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 in one of
the most shocking results at Roland Garros in the last decade. With
her ears ringing, lungs wheezing and legs dragging behind her, the
sickly pale Henin was a shadow of herself.
"I feel awful, beyond
frustration," said Henin, who believes she has either the flu
or bronchitis. "I have great difficulty thinking that I lost
in the first round of Roland Garros. I'm very disappointed. I wasn't
able to fend for myself. I was expecting more, but this is not the
end of my career."
Henin came into the event
as one of the favorites after she won Berlin over Serena Williams
a few weeks ago and then the next week, took out countrywomen Kim
Clijsters before losing to Serena in the final of Rome.
But on Tuesday, Henin looked
like a little wounded bird instead of her normal rabid raccoon self,
plopping balls short and down the middle and never showing her famed
variety.
SICKNESS EVIDENT IN LAST
TWO SETS
She couldn't fight like she wanted
to and was dictated to in the last two sets by a hard-hitting Hungarian
who wasn't exactly painting the lines. Sure, Kapros played an extremely
solid, steady contest and produced a number of deceptive winners,
but that wasn't Jennifer Capriati across the net. Henin played sloppy,
confused tennis during the last two sets and as she said, probably
should have never taken the court.
"It's mistake. I made
my own decision, I wanted to fight for it," said Henin, who
asked for treatment for an earache and breathing problems during
the match, but had taken everything that tour rules allow before
the contest began. "You always hope a miracle can happen. I
even thought that during the match itself. But it dies not always
happen. … I wanted to fight and I didn't retire because its my
personality."
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It was disheartening to watch the Belgian street fighter battling
negative thoughts, frequently looking up at her coach Carlos Rodriguez
and wondering why she felt ill on this miserable, drizzly and chilly
day. So now her much anticipated quarterfinal with Serena Williams
won't happen and like last year, she'll have to regroup quickly
before going to Wimbledon, where she will have to defend last year's
final round performance. After Tuesday's depressing loss, it will
be no small feat for her to appear on Wimbledon's final Saturday
once again.
THREE AND OUT FOR ROGER
Swiss Roger Federer had no such excuse
in his mind boggling 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 loss to Hicham Arazi, a very
gifted but very beatable veteran. It would have been one thing for
Federer to go out in five heart stopping sets, but it's another
to produce 58 unforced erros to only 31 from your opponent. That
was simply the story of the match because Federer more than matched
Arazi in the winner department. The 20-year-old served terribly,
was wild from the ground and again showed that despite all of his
obvious talent, that he is still capable of playing immature tennis
in tough conditions.
Amazingly, Federer said he
was still tired from Hamburg, which ended nine days ago.
"It was such a big moment
for me in Hamburg, which is also tough for me mentally, to get over
that and realize what I did," Federer said. "If I had
played well, I might have beaten him. But even then, Hicham has
played very well here and I've had two good tournaments in the last
three years. I just couldn't pull it out. It's a pity."
Arazi has made a career of
being a head case, but he's knows when a match is there for the
taking and you can bet more than few francs that when he walked
out on Court 2 in a constant drizzle with temperatures around 50
degrees, that he knew that if he could hang in points long enough,
he would nudge Federer into salivating for an early dinner in a
cozy, heated restaurant.
"The conditions were
not suited for my game," Federer said. "I've never experienced
it, raining consistently for two and a half sets. He was just so
much better today."
So there goes Federer's tasty
potential fourth round with Juan Carlos Ferrero and a chance to
play Andre Agassi in the quarters.
Like Henin, Federer did most
of his damage last year at Wimbledon. Roger, the express train to
London leaves in a few hours. It's time to go dig out your cleats.
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