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U.S. Open notebook This Austrian is the Schett
Posted: Friday September 03, 1999 08:37 AM By Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated NEW YORK -- She plays Martina Hingis about as well as anyone this side of Venus Williams and has already beaten Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario twice this year. Yet Barbara Schett would make a perfect candidate for the old American Express commercials: Do you know me? I'm the 12th-ranked women's tennis player in the world. Well, no, we don't know Barbara Schett, but don't feel too bad if you've never heard of the 23-year-old native of Innsbruck, Austria. She's quietly move into the top 15 this year, rising from No. 83 in 1995 to 38th in '97 to 23rd at the end of 1998. Schett is seeded No. 12 at the Open and has a fantastic shot to reach the quarterfinals, a place she's never visited at a Grand Slam. "I've had a look at my draw and I think it is very good," says Schett, who has never gotten past the third round at the Open. She faces Virginia Ruano-Pascual in the third round. A potential match with the unseeded Irina Spirlea could follow after that. "I play match by match, of course, but I think this is going to be my best U.S. Open ever," she says.
Schett, the daughter of a chief officer of a bank and a bank secretary, began playing at age 4. Oddly, in the WTA media guide Ben Johnson is listed as one of the athletes she admires, though she's quick to point out she had been unaware of his checkered Olympics history and wanted it removed when she found out. (Curious, to say the least, but the lock of the tournament is that you won't see that fact under her PERSONAL entry in next year's guide.) If Schett gets to the quarterfinals she'll encounter Venus Williams, the irresistible force so far at the Open. The first time the two met was in the second round of the 1998 Wimbledon, with a scared Schett melting like strawberries and cream on a sunny day. Williams breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 win. "I was a little bit nervous being at Court No. 1 for the first time," she said. "But now times have changed and I am feeling more confident. I am sure I will play a lot better against her." Can Schett pull off the upset of the tournament? Doubtful. She doesn't possess any big weapon to scare Williams, but if Venus is off her game and Schett plays the way she does against Hingis ... well, let's say it's not as much of a longshot as Steve Forbes' candidacy. "I would like to end in the top 10 this year," Schett says. Count on it. She was a young American ... The folks at the USTA love to pitch American journalists stories about the star-spangled young hopefuls at the Open. The problem is most of these players (for now let's pick on Erika de Lone, Melissa Middleton and Lilia Osterloh, all first-round losers) have less of a shelf life than Charlie Sheen's latest movie. Tara Snyder, however, could be staying with us a little longer than usual this tournament. The 22-year old was impressive in a 7-5, 6-3 win over Mirjana Lucic in the second round and moves on to face Amelie Mauresmo in a matchup of power-hitting baseliners. The two faced each other in the first round on the red clay at Roland Garros, where Mauresmo, buoyed by thousands of French fans screaming "Amelie, Amelie," scored an easy 6-3, 6-3 win. Now that the setting has switched to hard courts and away from the Gaelic-block-party atmosphere, Snyder has a legitimate shot to score an upset and advance to the fourth round. "She hits a heavy ball," says Snyder of Mauresmo. "I wouldn't say as much as Lucic, whose ball is coming in heavy . It's more of a line drive. I think I moved well [against Lucic], which is going to be a key against [Mauresmo]. I need to continue to progress with the way I'm playing." Snyder's progressed up the WTA rankings since turning pro in 1995. She ended last year ranked an impressive No. 33 but has played middling tennis for most of 1999 and has seen her ranking drop to its current No. 56. She did win a silver medal at the Pan Am Games this summer but played sparingly on the American hard courts, her best surface. Against Lucic, a dangerous young player destined for greatness if her fitness and mindset ever get sound, Snyder played the bigger points far sturdier and wasn't intimidated by her opponent's power from both sides (Lucic, remember, has been touted as the next Steffi Graf ). Clearly, one of Snyder's best assets is her ability to move. She ran a mile and a half in eight minutes and 50 seconds at the U.S. National Tennis Team camp four years ago, one of the fastest times ever recorded for a tennis player. She hits a heavy ball off both her forehand and two-handed backhand. "Breaking into the top 20 is my next goal," she says. First things first. Snyder has a real opportunity here because of Mauresmo's failing health. The 15th seed has been nursing a sore ankle all year and injured her leg at New Haven. ("It's a little stretch, something," says Mauresmo. "You can't really give 100 percent.") Still, Mauresmo, she of the well-sculpted shoulders that belong in the Louvre, will be mega-dangerous even at half-speed. Snyder has never reached the third round of a Grand Slam, and a win over Mauresmo would be the biggest of her career. Novotna likely awaits in Round 4. Nets and rackets Trash-talking at the Open: After breezing past Sarah Pitkowski in the second round, Hingis was asked if she was disappointed she would never get to play Steffi Graf again. "Of course I would love to play her and win once more." Asked about Richard Williams' prediction of an all-Williams final, Hingis replied that the Williamses "always have a big mouth. They always talk a lot." Serena Williams' response to Hingis dissing her Pops: "That's just her problem. She's always been the type of person that -- she says things, she just speaks her mind. I guess it has a bit to do with not having a formal education." Stay tuned. This won't be last of this. ... My U.S. Open price-gouging selection for Round 2: The meatball hero at the Pasta, Pasta concession stand. The price? $8.75. They should change the name of the stand to Ripoff, Ripoff. ... A blue-ribbon tennis panel (including Tracy Austin, Billie Jean King and SI's Frank Deford ) was selected to compile the 20 most memorable moments at the U.S. Open. No. 1? The 1984 epic Super Saturday that began at 11:07 a.m. and ended 12 hours and seven minutes later. Each match (the women's final and men's semifinals) went the distance, including the women's final in which Martina Navratilova defeated Chris Evert 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The No. 8 selection -- and first solo women's moment -- was the arrival of Evert as a 16-year-old in 1971. She reached the semifinals in her coming-out party before losing to King in the semis. ... Don't Call It A Comeback Dept.: Patty Schnyder looked pretty good grinding out a tough three-set win over Lisa Raymond Wednesday. Her groundstrokes were deep and her fitness level seems to be improving. She may even give Sánchez-Vicario some trouble, though no media member or tennis insider I talked to gives her a shot to win that match. Which makes me like her that much more. ... You know a sport is getting hotter when the tabloids start taking serious notice. Making its way around the media center was the Sept. 7 issue of The Star, featuring a two-page spread beginning on Page 3 under the heading "Love, Set and Match: Meet The Sexy Glamour Girls Of Tennis." ... Stat me: Since 1968 (the Open era) only one No. 1 seed has lost prior to the semifinal round (King in 1973). Feel free to pencil Hingis into the semis anytime you wish. Richard Deitsch is a Sports Illustrated reporter.
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