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| 25 Jun 2003 | |
| Day Two: The Calm after the Madness |
Relative calm returned to the hallowed lawns of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The commotion from the day before when Lleyton Hewitt was so sensationally upset by the unheralded Croat Ivo Karlovic had not been forgotten, but it was put slightly to one side as the women’s titleholder opened proceedings on Centre Court.
Serena Williams said she was "a bit nervous" for her first match since
losing at the French Open a couple of weeks ago. She admitted the Hewitt loss had crossed her mind during the 58 minute match she played against Jill Craybas, which she closed out 63 63.
"I didn’t want to take her for granted at all, and I’m sure he didn’t take his opponent for granted, but I didn’t want to come close either," said Williams.
"I wanted to make sure that I was on my toes. I didn’t want to make history by having two number one defending champions go out."
Williams received a far warmer reception from the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd than the one she had at Roland Garros just two weeks ago, and she appreciated that. She said when she was at home after the French Open she was a bit upset for a few days. She said people would stop her in the street - maybe the ordeal in Paris "humanised" her.
"I think they saw that, as well they realised even though I win a lot and I do a lot of things, it’s like I’m human," she said.
"I’m just a young lady trying to make my way in life, and you can’t expect everything to be perfect at all times."
One guy who commands attention where ever he plays and is also highly
respected and appreciated at Wimbledon is Andre Agassi. Eleven years ago he won this championship, it was his first Grand Slam title. As he grows older he appreciates the crowd’s positive responses to him. In return at the end of his matches, when he wins, Agassi salutes each part of the gallery by blowing kisses to them.
"At this stage of my career, it’s quite a feeling to be out there," said Agassi after his 64 60 57 64 victory over British player Jamie Delgado.
"You never really know how many chances you’re going to get again. I just feel like, as I get older, I have more sort of capacity to embrace those moments. It’s just a sort of a little thing I do to show my thanks."
Agassi was pleased with the opening match, he didn’t mind the fact that he was pressed a bit in the third set.
"I always play with a sense of urgency. So little determines a match with grass, let alone a set. You’re always on edge until you have the match put away," said Agassi.
Like Agassi, Tim Henman dropped a set, against Tomas Zib, 62 67 63 61, but the British number one was able to knuckle down when he had to. He too suggested Hewitt’s loss left him taking no chances and it put others on their guard.
"You’ve got to get out there and work hard for every point - it certainly wasn’t an easy match for me," said Henman.
"He doesn’t exactly have a grass court record. He hasn’t got a lot of experience in Grand Slams, but I just think it goes to emphasise the strength and depth of the men’s game, that these guys, if you’re in the top 200, 250, everybody can play.
"I think everyone believes when they step out on the court, it’s not about reputations or rankings or this and that. They come on the court to compete and compete hard. I know from the locker room and playing these tournaments week in, week out, the players just don’t take things for granted because they know at the moment you’re not 100%, the intensity and focus on your match, you’re going to get in trouble."
Henman said there were some positives he could take away from his effort against Zib, and he will need to take those lessons into the next round which is against Michael Llodra who has a good lefty serve but has a better record in doubles than singles.
A match that attracted attention on the outside courts pitted two starlets against one another - Maria Sharapova defeated Ashley Harkleroad 62 61, and while their appearance caught the eye, it was the decibel level that challenged very well for attention. Both ladies grunt. Their noise levels would put Monica Seles, the original grunter, to shame.
"I didn’t really pay attention to that, it didn’t disappoint me at all.
It’s just the way I play (and) I really didn’t care," said Sharapova.
"I try not to make noise but it’s something that I’ve been doing all my life, since I’ve been playing tennis. It’s difficult. I try to control it, yes."
The two newly crowned French Open champions, Juan Carlos Ferrero and
Justine Henin-Hardenne posted straight set wins. Ferrero played on the
Centre Court and disposed of Jean-Rene Lisnard 62 61 63, while Henin-Hardenne didn’t seem to show any problems with the finger she sprained in a final in the Netherlands last weekend. The Belgian beat Julia
Vakulenko 75 61.
If you want to follow the action as it happens, with live scores and results, then please visit the Official Website at www.wimbledon.org.
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