|
|
| 01 Sep 2002 | |
| Juniors play waiting game at Flushing Meadow |
By Eleanor Preston
Sunday’s rain at Flushing Meadows meant a frustrating day for the juniors, all hoping to get their US Open campaigns underway. With play suspended until Monday by the inclement weather, organisers face a scheduling nightmare to fit in all the weekend’s matches into Monday’s play, particularly if the most pessimistic weather forecasters are proved right and the showers continue to wash out the Labor Day long weekend.
In the boys’ competition eighth seeded American Brian Baker was due to take on Britain’s Guy Thomas and Dudi Sela is still to face Michael Ryderstedt but Sunday’s most eagerly awaited match was undoubtedly Chris Kwon’s clash with No.7 seeded Algerian Lamine Ouahab. Florida based Kwon has notched up plenty of success so far in his junior career, including winning his second title in Asia at the Amata Cup in March. He has yet to replicate that kind of success a Grand Slam level but he represents a tough draw for Ouahab.
The Algerian was a runner up to Todd Reid at Wimbledon and made the quarters of both the Australian Open and Roland Garros so knows a thing or two about competing at the highest level. July’s win at the International Madrid tournament won’t have hurt his confidence either.
Baker will have been anxious to get his home Grand Slam underway against Thomas. The seventeen-year-old Nashville native has a tough week ahead of him after being pitched into the same quarter of the draw as top seed and French Open champion Richard Gasquet and the same half as Ouahab. Gasquet opens his US Open against Jaime Cuellar, lucky loser from the qualifying draw.
On the other side of the draw Jo-Wilfried Tsonga appears to be the player in form. Tsonga won the Canadian Open last week, beating Markus Bayer in the final of the US Open warm-up event. He and Bayer are drawn in the same half in New York but would not meet until the semi-finals. Wimbledon champion Todd Reid is also in that section as are Australian Open winner Clement Morel and Swedish sensation Robin Soderling, who is seeded second.
In the girls’ event, all eyes will be on Maria Kirilenko, who stormed to the Canadian Open girls’ title and appears to be peaking at just the right time for a tilt at the US Open title. Kirilenko, seeded 12, will face stiff competition from the likes of Ally Baker, drawn in her quarter. Baker, who hails from North Carolina, has never got past the last 16 of a Grand Slam but will be hoping to improve that record in front of her home crowd. Her best result came with a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year.
Australian Open champion Barbora Strycova is the top seed in the girls’ draw while Sunitha Rao and Tatiana Golovin will also be ones to watch. Providing, of course, it ever stops raining.
Photographs by Susan Mullane
^ Back to Top
|
