1997 Toronto Open: Chris Gerby On the Scene

Day 2: When Is an Upset Not an Upset?

Around 5:15 pm, a WTA Tour representative asked the assembled press if anyone was interested in interviewing Anke Huber. Yours truly was the lone volunteer. The rep cautioned me that it would have to be a one-on-one interview in that case, which was just fine with me. Half an hour later, Shaun Stafford-Beckish led a wet-haired Huber into the media tent and steered her in my direction. However, Shaun also announced Anke's arrival over the loudspeaker, just in case anyone else wanted to pose a few questions. It nonetheless looked like I had Anke all to myself, so we prepared to eschew the stage and microphone to simply chat in opposite chairs. That's when two hearty souls -- Tom Tebbutt and Chris Skelton -- walked in and turned it into a full-fledged press conference.

Having prepared myself for a one-on-one interview, I still had plenty of questions ready for Anke. As she reluctantly took to the stage, I fired away. I'd end up asking a total of six, with Tebbutt and Skelton sprinkling a handful of queries in between. The following transcript only includes my contributions...

Q. You really overpowered Florencia today. Were you happy with how you played?

Huber: Yeah, it was the first round; I'm pretty happy that it went fast. Q. In the next round, you've got either Lisa Raymond or Sandrine Testud. Do you have any preference there?

Huber: Sandrine played very good the last couple of months, like last week when she went three with Monica Seles. It's going to be tough against both of them. With Lisa, you never know -- she can play really, really well. So I don't really care. It's just the next match.

Q. You had an unusual situation last week -- you played all three of the teenage stars (Kournikova, Williams, and Hingis) in a row. At this point, would you say Martina is still pretty clearly on a level above the others?

Huber: Above those two? Yeah, definitely. She's the most consistent. She plays the best all-around tennis of all of them. Mentally, she's also the strongest, so definitely she's the best.

Q. You made some comments earlier in the year along the lines of you weren't sure how much longer you'd keep playing. Was that just a passing thing or have you thought about retiring?

Huber: No, I never really said it that way. You know, they were asking me how long I wanna play and I said if I'm not having fun anymore, if I'm going to lose a lot of first rounds, if I think I cannot compete anymore, I would stop. But right now, I'm still having fun. I think they wrote it a little bit not the way I said it. Right now I feel that I'm happy out there and I just try to have fun.

Q. Which do you enjoy more -- our questions or the ones you got from the kids on on Court One yesterday? (Anke had participated in a little question-and-answer session with some young fans, also hitting balls with a few of them)

Huber: (laughs) It's always great to be with kids. I think it's always a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that yesterday. It's like one hour, you do so much that they're really happy. You see that they're excited, they try to ask questions. I really enjoy that and it's really fun.

Q. You've done really well in doubles this year -- surprisingly well. Do you think that's helping you develop a better all-around singles game?

Huber: For sure. First of all, it helps with your volley. You can try a lot of things. You also have a lot of fun on the court. Sure it helps with your singles, too, for sure. You can try a lot of things which you don't do in singles. And I try to play more doubles.

Nathalie Tauziat on Venus Williams: "I think Williams doesn't play intelligent game."

Jennifer Capriati on the enthusiastic crowd: "Yeah, that was great. They helped me play good. It really, like, helped support me. They were great."

Monica Seles on Asa Carlsson: "I played her at the Lipton, so I knew that she's one of the biggest fighters out there. She doesn't give you a free point and she has good groundstrokes."

Conchita Martinez on her two-question press conference: "That was quick."

Karina Habsudova vs. Magdalena Maleeva

As the ballkids and officials waited for the players to arrive for this 11 am match, a mildly urgent voice emenated from the chair umpire's walkie-talkie. "Does anyone know where Maggie Maleeva is? We haven't seen her all day" was the message. Magdalena would appear before long, but she apparently rushed out too quickly. After reaching her chair, Maleeva checked the badge on her racquet bag and realized it wasn't her bag! "I can't believe this," she sheepishly told Habsudova. "I was wondering why it was so heavy."

Maleeva quickly returned with the right belongings. She also brought a strong game with her for the start of the match, which is more than Habsudova could say. The enigmatic Slovakian, disturbed by some late-arriving fans, made eight errors in a row to get down 2-0. Karina made two more errors after taking a 40-15 lead in the third game, but she managed to hold serve. Maleeva had an easier time holding for 3-1, incorporating a drop shot along the way. Still utterly scattershot, Habsudova was then broken at love for 4-1.

After the changeover, Maleeva was finally dragged into a difficult service game. A cross-court forehand from Habsudova made it 30-40, but a netted return eliminated that break point. Maggie still managed to give away the game, though, double faulting and hitting a forehand into the top of the net for 4-2. Habsudova then held for 4-3 and finally seemed to be finding her rhythm. Maleeva held easily for 5-3, though, and took a 30-40 lead in Game 9. Habsudova saved that set point with a great backhand volley winner, but proceeded to make two straight errors (the first forced, the second not) to drop the set 6-3.

Maleeva kept rolling, holding at 15 for 1-0 and breaking again on Habsudova errors. The Bulgarian found herself down 0-40 in the following game, but she saved the break points with three consecutive winners. Maleeva would have to fight off a fourth break point later in the game, but she came through for a 3-0 lead. Habsudova would not fold up her tent just yet, though, holding easily for 3-1. Maleeva then sabatoged her lead, double faulting for 15-40 and drilling a forehand into the net to be broken for 3-2. Habsudova took advantage, closing out a love hold with a forehand winner down the line. At 3 all in the second, there was no telling where this battle of unpredictable sluggers was headed.

Maleeva got back to hitting sharp forehand winners in an easy hold for 4-3. Habsudova nearly matched her, going up 40-15. Streaky as ever, Karina made four unforced errors in a row to lose the game and trail 5-3. Magdalena jumped all over this opportunity to close out a minor upset over the #14 seed. Maleeva blasted a forehand winner to complete a very impressive love hold for the 6-3, 6-3 triumph. Karina Habsudova bounced herself out of the '97 du Maurier Open with a rather dreadful performance, but give Maggie Maleeva credit for a strong finish.

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy vs. Naoko Kijimuta

The last (and first) time these two met in singles was at the '96 du Maurier Open, Kijimuta scoring a surprise victory over bigger, stronger Schultz-McCarthy. It looked like a repeat was in the making when I headed over to Court 1, Kijimuta already leading 6-4, 1-0. Brenda has the biggest serve in women's tennis, though, and she showed it off in a forceful hold for 1-1. Kijimuta held just as easily for 2-1 and Schultz-McCarthy matched that for 2-2. The tension was building, although there weren't many fans present to feel it -- the Monica Seles match on Centre Court had largely siphoned off the crowd.

Schultz-McCarthy hit a big backhand winner for a 0-30 lead in the fifth game of the second set. Down 15-40, Kijimuta hit a forehand which was called long via overrule. Brenda trailed 30-40 in the following game, but she solidified the break for 4-2 and earned another one for 5-2. After going up 40-15, Schultz-McCarthy had double set point on her racquet. She sent a terrible forehand volley long for 40-30, but converted set point #2 with a service winner. The #12 seed seemed to be more or less in the groove as the third set began.

Brenda's chances looked even better when Kijimuta double faulted to go down 0-30. Schultz-McCarthy then netted a very easy looking volley, though, and was less than pleased with the effort. She hopped up and down and shouted "Come on! Make that shot!" Naoko went on to hold for 1-0. Schultz-McCarthy started hopping again after double faulting for 30-30. By missing a pair of tricky forehands, she got down a break at 2-0. Kijimuta held easily to take a 3-0 lead and was on the verge of a commanding two break lead with a 30-40 edge in the fourth game. Brenda would fight off two break points, though, and earn the hold with back-to-back aces.

Schultz-McCarthy challenged her Japanese opponents with deep groundstrokes in the following game, breaking at 15 to make it 3-2. Her usually formidable service game was not getting the job done, though. She netted a forehand to get behind 15-40, angrily slamming her racquet. She then barely even touched the ball on a low backhand volley attempt, taking her to 4-2. Kijimuta got into trouble on her own serve, though, trailing 15-40 when her forehand passing shot went barely wide. Schultz-McCarthy blew the first break chance with an ugly chipped service return, but won it on the next point with a jumping backhand volley winner.

At 4-3 in the 3rd, with more big Schultz-McCarthy serves on the way, this match seemed poised to go right down to the wire. Brenda just could not connect with her vaunted first serve, though. She double faulted for deuce and missed a forehand to get down break point. Another would-be double fault was avoided when chair umpire Erol Okutan overruled a second serve which had been called long. Kijimuta didn't react at all, quietly earning the break anyway with a perfectly placed topspin lob.

Two more Schultz-McCarthy racquet tosses earned a code violation and seemed to sap the last of the Dutchwoman's energy. A couple really lame forehand errors concluded a love hold for Naoko Kijimuta, who scored a Canadian Open win over Brenda Schultz-McCarthy for the second year in a row -- 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Like the Habsudova loss, though, it was hardly a major upset. Brenda's game remains a raw work in progress and it was out of order for too much of the third set.

Anke Huber vs. Florencia Labat

I won't suggest that everyone in the crowd was as excited about this matchup as yours truly, but the stands were packed. While the seats rapidly filled up, Australian chair umpire Leanne White inspected the first set of balls. She found one which was not to her liking and quipped, "you wouldn't even give that to the dog." It was replaced and Huber and Labat finally arrived, squaring off for the first time since a three-set battle last year in Los Angeles.

The keys to this match seemed obvious. Labat would employ her steady baseline game and get a lot of balls back; Huber would either win the match with winners or lose it with errors. The first two games were a fitting microcosm of that all that theory entails. Huber opened by breaking Labat at love with a pair of powerful winners, then got broken at love on four errors. The German righted herself after that hiccup, though, and made it clear who was the much harder hitter. Huber's punishing groundstrokes continually forced weak Labat replies and it was quickly 3-1. Huber threw in some more errors, though, allowing Florencia to hold for 3-2.

Anke added an ace to her repertoire in the following game, a relatively easy hold for 4-2. Then at 15-15, Labat gracefully sent a forehand down the line for what would have been her first clean winner of the afternoon. It was called out, though, much to Labat's chagrin. "You cannot make that mistake," she insisted. "It's so clear that it's right on the line." She was unnerved enough to double fault for 15-40. Huber then took the game with a forehand winner and overpowered Labat again in serving out the 6-2 first set.

The clean slate seemed to agree with Labat, who closed out her best game of the match with a surprising ace. She then got a look at a potentially big break point up 30-40, but lost it by netting a backhand. Labat got a second break point, but Huber dismissed it with a rare volley winner. Labat got a THIRD break point, this one accompanied by a second serve, but a big Huber forehand forced Labat into a lunging backhand error. Anke went ahead to hold for 1-1. Florencia somehow managed a second serve ace early in the next game, but she would scream "oh nooooooo!" after sending a backhand wide to get down 15-30. She drew oohs and ahhs with a magnificent over-the-shoulder forehand on the next point, but lost it when a too cute drop shot bounced before even reaching the net. A pair of Huber errors brought the game to deuce, but a pair of Huber winners completed the break for 2-1.

Labat had her chances in the next game, reaching deuce before losing it on a wide forehand. The Argentine was getting her fair share of balls back, but she was also making some uncharacteristic errors. That was all the help Huber would need, because she was in very good form on this afternoon. The #8 seed broke for 4-1 and held for 5-1, dropping only one point in each game. Never scoring a groundstroke winner in the entire match, Labat was virtually blown off the court in the final game. A nice Labat smash got it to 15-30, but two Huber backhand winners did the last of the required damage. Despite a few loose points, Anke Huber never really let Florencia Labat into this bout and left on the long end of a convincing 6-2, 6-1 verdict.