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| 31 Aug 2003 | |
| Montcourt makes last stand |
By Eleanor Preston in New York
The last junior Grand Slam of the year can bring mixed feelings for many players, some of whom are playing their last junior event before stepping up to the big, bad world of the senior circuit.
France’s Mathieu Montcourt ‘s first round 6-2 6-4 win over Morocco’s Mehdi Ziadi marked the beginning of the end of his junior career but afterwards the 18-year-old admitted that he’s trying to forget that this is the last time he’ll be playing in the boys’ draw.
“This is my last tournament but I’m trying not to think about it too much because that can put pressure on you, though I will try to do my best,” he said. “Hopefully I will have many more opportunities to play the Grand Slams as a senior so I don’t want to feel like this is the last time I’ll be here.”
Montcourt admitted that, whatever the circumstances, first round matches can be difficult, not least when they are played amidst the excitement, noise and colour that characterise the US Open. “Naturally the first match is very hard at the beginning of the tournament,” said Montcourt, who is seeded seventh. “It was okay. I just tried to focus only on my tennis and my game and tried to stay concentrated. I did that so I‘m feeling good. The weather was perfect today and that helped. If you are focussed on your game then you don’t see out of the court and it’s important to do that and to be strong mentally. I don’t mind if there is lots of noise though because it’s good to have people watching you.”
Fifteenth seed Leonardo Kirche is also 18 but has never played the US Open before, so this trip marks the first and last time he’ll play this event as a junior.
The Brazilian struggled a little to find his game against the Bahamas’ Devin Mullings before settling down to earn a 6-3 4-6 6-1 win.
“I didn’t play so good today,” admitted the Brazilian. “In the second set I had too many mistakes but I got better in the third.
I have been playing well lately but it’s all match by match and I haven’t got a goal. It’s great even to be here. The public here have a lot of energy and it’s noisy and exciting.”
Kirche says his hero is countryman Gustavo Kuerten and, like Guga, he is happiest on clay but has adapted his game to other surfaces. “I practiced with Guga in Davis Cup last year and he is a really nice guy,” said Kirche. “I can learn so much from him. Brazil never had a player like Guga, so for us it’s been great. I can watch him and I know I can do it.”
Elsewhere in the boys’ draw, 13th seed Federico Gil of Portugal notched up a hard-fought 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 win over Somdev Dev Varmen and Britain’s Joshua Goodall upset Georgia’s Lado Chikhladze 7-6, 7-6.
It was a busy first day in the girls’ singles too, with wins for Americans Lindsay Burdette, Theresa Logar, Mary Gambale and Jamea Jackson who disposed of No.9 seed Vojislava Lukic in straight sets 62 62. Much of the local interest in this year’s girls’ tournament will be focussed on top seeded American Bethanie Mattek and 8th seed Ally Baker, both of whom will be action on Monday.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the American girls though. Seventh seed Marta Domachowska (POL) ended Jessi Robinson’s hopes with a 7-5, 6-0 win while Alexa Glatch lost to Japanese 12th seed Ryoko Fuda.
Eleventh seed Andrea Hlavackova also moved through to round two, beating New Zealand’s Eden Marama 6-3, 6-3. “I think I just couldn’t find my rhythm from the baseline. She was playing pretty fast and the match just ran away from me,” said Marama.
“I think I was just a little bit too tense. I was nervous and that didn’t help either. All I can just learn from it and I did enjoy it. I just have to go away and try to do better next time.”
Photos by Susan Mullane
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