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| 15 Dec 2000 | |
| Lapentti finds 18s a Little Tougher |
Lapentti Finds 18s A Little Tougher
Giovanni Lapentti, the Orange Bowl 16s winner a year ago, found his fifth trip to Key Biscayne a little more challenging than the last. On Tuesday, he almost pulled off a first round upset of seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic, but a cramped hamstring in the third set ended an inspiring comeback, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
The unseeded Lapentti, who had upset the Yugoslavian last autumn at the Eddie Herr, had dropped the first set 6-1 and was down 2-0 in the second. He broke Tipsarevic in the next game and went on to win four straight, eventually forcing a third set. But with Tipsarevic leading 4-3 in the third, Lapentti cramped and had limited mobility for the rest of the match. The 6'4" lanky 17year-old was trying to make history in joining his brother, Nicolas (1994), as 18s champion. "I feel like I have a good chance to win,"he had said last week.
Lapentti had represented Ecuador last week in the Sunshine Cup, but had not played in the last round of that tournament due to an arm injury.
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