Wily vet uses delay tactics, gameSmanship

Martinez outsmarts Schnyder in semi-final scrimmage
Players will face off in Fed Cup next week

By Ron Cioffi
tennisreporters.net

Ron Cioffi/tr.net

Patty Schnyder refused to shake Conchita Martinez' hand after losing in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup.

FROM THE FAMILY CIRCLE CUP IN CHARLESTON – Patty Schnyder got so disgusted with Conchita Martinez’ head games that she refused to shake her hand and hid two balls during her opponents’ service games in Saturday's semifinal.

Still, these tactics were no match for Martinez; the 32-year-old veteran used the stall to perfection and cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 victory. After winning match point, Martinez extended her hand at the net. Schnyder did the same – but then pulled it back just before they could shake hands.

Martinez service habit of reviewing ball after ball to find the one she used to win the last point drove Schnyder to get the ball from a ball person and stash it under her dress in the first and second sets. However, Schynder lost both games when she tried to turn the psychological tables on the tour-tough Conchita.

The two will renew their spat next week as Switzerland travels to Spain for Fed Cup.

While Schnyder is 26 years old and a 12-year veteran, she acted the part of a petulant teenager as she let the Spaniard rattle her cage. Patty would often be so riled that she would rush through the changeover while Martinez would coolly stay seated in the plush on-court sofa until the umpire called, “Time.”

Conchita also enflamed the situation in the seventh game of the second set by roaring back at Schynder when Patty crushed an angry forehand drive into the net. She was full of emotion and also angrily complained to the umpire after being snubbed by Schnyder at the net.

TOO MANY UNFORCED ERRORS
The match was morass of errors with Schnyder making 22 more unforced errors than winners and Martinez making 18 more. During the second set, Schynder was forcing every point, either hitting a winner or making an unforced error. Many of her shots were notably wild. “I live my emotions,” she said later.

Ron Cioffi/tr.net

Martinez and Schnyder also traded backhands.

Schnyder started out strong with an early break, looking to continue the outstanding she showed in defeating Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-2 in the quarters. But in a marathon game of seven deuces at 3-2 in the first set, Martinez took unusually long delays between points. Whether or not she exceeded the 20-second limit, she seemed to be baiting Schynder.

Martinez denied stalling. “Obviously, I have a routine out there.” “You guys know about the rule now. You have after the point, it’s like 20 or 25 seconds. What is it? [The rule is 20 seconds.] I can do with those 20 seconds whatever I want. … It’s my own thing and when I do it, I feel like I’m more concentrated, more focused.”

“I don’t know what her problem is,” Martinez said. She added that, while not close friends, they always had a cordial relationship. “I’m open to talking to her. I have no hard feelings,” she added.

"Yeah, there were some things today that they were't really nice, like you know how I like the ball when I win the point, and she held it obviously on purpose, and you know, I don't really understand, but oh, well, that her choice," Martinez said.

But Schynder is not. “I don’t need to talk to her. I don’t need her,” Patty said.

“She does it to everybody. And I don’t think she needs it because she has a great game. … With her it’s nasty play and I don’t think it should be on the court,” Schnyder said about Martinez.

Martinez said it was the first time she could ever remember an opponent refused to shake her hand. It was also the first time that Schnyder ever remembered using the tactic.

"I just wanted to look at her. I just wanted to stare into her eyes and say what I wanted to say to her," Schnyder said. "So I have to have the hand before and then I took it away."

Schynder criticized umpire Steve Ulrich for “not being dominant enough” to enforce the time limit.