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| 04 Jul 2002 | |
| Henry smashes Wimbledon record |
By Eleanor Preston
Thursday turned out to be an epic day for the boys and girls of Junior Wimbledon after 48 hours of rain disrupted play and left many players having to play two matches in one day.
No-one worked harder than Australia’s Ryan Henry, who played a record breaking, marathon third set in his third round match against Clement Morel, before losing his next match against Luka Gregorc. His first match stretched over three rain-delayed days and 75 games after being halted mid-way through the second set yesterday.
Henry eventually beat the reigning Australian Open junior champion 7-5 6-7 26-24, after playing the more games in one set than anyone else in the history of the Championships.
"It’s pretty nice to be in the history books," said Henry. The previous record was held jointly by Charlie Pasarell and Pancho Gonzalez, who played a marathon men’s match in 1962, in which one set ran to 22-24. "It was pretty much my determination that kept me going," he said. "It’s Wimbledon and I’ve worked pretty hard to get fit again after being injured," he said. "I lost to him a week ago and I really didn’t want to lose to him again. Anytime you get into a third set, however long it is, you don’t want to come off second best."
Henry was faced with only an hour and a half’s break before playing his second singles match of the day against Gregorc and not surprisingly he struggled to find enough energy to win again. After a sterling effort to force a third set, Henry lost 64 36 61. "I was thinking when I was in my first match that whoever won that wouldn’t be in great shape so my expectations weren’t that high," he said. "Once I went 1-4 down in the third against Gregorc I pretty much knew it was over. I had nothing left in the tank."
Henry was also scheduled to play doubles with his partner Todd Reid later in the day although bad light meant the match was postponed, much to Henry’s relief. Reid himself also had to play two matches to earn himself a place in the last eight, following up a 6-1 6-1 victory over Yorden Kanev with a 7-6 6-2 win over Briton’s David Brewer. "I think it’s a bit of fun playing twice in one day," said Reid. "I enjoy playing here and it’s exciting getting to do it twice in one day. I didn’t have to work as hard as Ryan though. I went out to watch his match at about 14-all and then again at 20-19 before I had to play my second match. It was good to see him come through and he was really unlucky to have to play again on the same day after playing like that."
Philipp Petzschner set up a much anticipated quarter-final clash with Spanish hotshot Rafael Nadal-Parera after both boys won their only matches of the day. Petzschner beat Britain’s Guy Thomas 6-4 7-5. Nadal-Parera, seeded two, notched up a 6-3 6-0 win over Michael Ryderstedt of Sweden.
The girls were marginally more fortunate than the boys, having completed most of their third round matches before the heavens opened. Maria Sharapova, Linda Smolenakova and Vera Douchevina were among the day’s winners.
Tatiana Golovin scored a place in her first junior Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-0 6-2 demolition of Daniela Casanova. "I’m really, really happy," she said. "This is a really big week for me already. I played a grass court event last week and I had a little trouble getting used to the surface but I really like it now." Golovin has also taken to life at SW19 too. "I love Wimbledon and I like being in England. From what I’ve seen the people are so nice and I love everything about being here," she said, "except the weather of course."
Photographs by Susan Mullane
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