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| 06 Sep 2002 | |
| Fallen Star - Reid takes a tumble |
By Eleanor Preston
Day five of the junior event at the US Open saw plenty of thrills and a spill which saw Wimbledon boy’s champion Todd Reid taken off court in a wheelchair.
Reid’s US Open ended at 5-6 in the first set of his third round match against Antonio Ruiz when the Australian fell and sprained his ankle. Reid took a long time for treatment for a sprain on court and bravely played through the pain for two more games but was forced to retire after losing the first game of the second set.
Reid’s retirement wasn’t the only shock of the day. Laurent Recouderc knocked out 10th seed Luka Gregorc while Reid’s doubles partner Ryan Henry hung on for a tough three set victory over Mathieu Montcourt, beating the 15th seed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5). Reid’s injury is bad news for Henry though. The pair were top seeds in the boys’ doubles but will now have to pull out.
Richard Gasquet’s injury problems are nowhere near as serious as Reid’s but the No.1 seed still struggling to shrug off a back injury that has plagued him all week. He was forced to dig deep against Martin Vilarrubi, coming from a set down to beat the Uruguayan 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Gasquet now meets Dudi Sela in the last eight after the Israeli beat Brian Baker 7-5, 6-4.
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus had his work cut out to get past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in what was arguably the match of the round of 16. Baghdatis won the fluctuating match 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-1 and afterwards admitting it had been tough going until the third set. "It was quite strange because we broke a lot and I guess I wasn’t so much concentrating on my serve today so the game was up and down," said Baghdatis. "In the third set I stopped thinking and I just played." Baghdatis plays Ruiz in the quarterfinals.
Baker’s loss to Sela means there are no Americans left in the boy’s draw but the US girls are still going strong. Ally Baker notched up the easiest win of the day, dropping just one game in her 6-0, 6-1 rout of Salome Devidze. Michigan-based Kristen Schlukebir is also through after a 6-3, 6-1 win over Aurelija Miseviciute.
Tatiana Golovin upset third seeded American Tanner Cochran though with a comfortable 6-0, 6-4 win. "I really wanted to get ready for this tournament so I have been practicing hard but still you never know how you are going to play," said Golovin. "I’m really happy. I’m trying to concentrate on every point and it’s been going pretty well so far. Playing an American I knew that everyone would be cheering for her but it was still fun. I hope they appreciated my tennis." Golovin plays Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the last eight.
Kirsten Flipkens scored the girls’ upset of the day by beating Shuai Peng 6-2, 7-6(8). The Belgian is in the form of her life and came through the qualifying competition to get through to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. "I had nothing to lose, playing in the third round of a Grand Slam. I came out of the qualies and I never expected to have this kind of run. It’s amazing really," said Flipkens, who did admit that reality started to hit home as she went to serve out her match against Peng. "At 5-2 in the second set I suddenly realised I was going to be in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam and I started to choke a little bit but I got myself back together for the tiebreaker."
Photographs by Susan Mullane
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