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Kournikova wows 'em at French Open
Muster, Sanchez Vicario, Davenport advance, Pierce falls
Posted: Thursday May 28, 1998 08:42 PM
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Anna Kournikova has not won a tournament in her professional career (AP) |
PARIS (AP) -- Star-struck fans and rows of photographers focus on her long blonde braid, her purple fingernails and her bronzed skin that's nearly the color of the red clay courts.
It hardly seems to matter to them whether Anna Kournikova is winning or losing. But the 16-year-old Russian didn't come to the French Open to model. Mixing solid baseline strokes with soft drop shots, Kournikova advanced to the third round on a rainy Thursday with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win over Katarina Studenikova of Slovakia.
"I'm just a normal person, trying to be normal," she said, surveying an interview room packed with reporters and photographers. "I'm trying to play tennis. It's not my fault that you guys are all here. I mean, what can I do about it?"
While the 13th-seeded Kournikova looks ready for a stroll down the catwalk at a Paris fashion show, another 16-year-old -- Serena Williams -- embodies strength and athleticism on the court.
Williams, whose match didn't begin until dusk because of the rain delays, won 6-1, 6-0 over American compatriot Corina Morariu to join her older sister, Venus, in the third round. With Venus watching from courtside, the muscular Serena allowed only two points on her serve in the second set as she overpowered Morariu in the evening chill.
"It looked like I was having an easy time and doing everything well, but I was just wanted to make sure I stayed concentrated," she said. "I was just trying to make sure I didn't let her come back."
Serena, who next plays No. 15 Dominique Van Roost, said she was about to go shopping on the fashionable Champs-Elysees because she thought her match would be postponed by the rain. But she said she was sure Venus went shopping after the match to "buy something for me." When asked what Venus would buy for her, Serena said, "Maybe she'll just give me a bag of money today."
Time to go: Nicolas Kiefer of Germany grimaces during his loss to Thomas Muster (AP) | |
Light showers held up the start of play for more than three hours, further delaying several matches that were postponed Wednesday because of three long rain interruptions. Several seeds, including defending champion Gustavo Kuerten and No. 11 Michael Chang, had matches postponed until Friday because of the soggy weather. The forecast wasn't much better for Friday, with mostly cloudy skies and scattered showers expected for the fifth day of the tournament.
The 11th-seeded woman, Mary Pierce, lost 7-5, 6-2 to Spain's Magui Serna after leading 5-1 in the first set and was booed off center court. Pierce, who grew up in the United States, but has used her mother's French citizenship to play for France, was a popular French Open finalist in 1994.
"If I win I am the French Mary Pierce," she said of the crowd's boos. "If I lose I am the French-American Mary Pierce."
No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, No. 4 Aranxta Sanchez Vicario, No. 7 Conchita Martinez and No. 14 Sandrine Testud all reached the third round.
Men's winners included No. 10 Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands and two Spaniards, No. 12 Carlos Moya and No. 15 Felix Mantilla, as well as former French Open champion Thomas Muster.
No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, the 1996 French Open champion, lost 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, leaving only two of the men's top seven seeds in the tournament.
"I am going through a difficult period now," Kafelnikov said. "If I win the second set, it could have been different. But when the confidence is gone, it doesn't matter who the opponent is."
Jeff Tarango also was a loser, leaving only two of the original 12 American men in the tournament -- 1989 champion Chang and Jan-Michael Gambill, whose second-round match was halted Thursday by darkness. Among the U.S. losers so far have been top-seeded Pete Sampras, two-time champion Jim Courier and two-time finalist Andre Agassi.
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