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Fan favorites Seles, Williams, Hingis popular among crowds
Posted: Thursday June 01, 2000 12:07 PM
PARIS (AP) - The top three women's seeds in contention at the French Open are still winning -- with plenty of help from Roland Garros fans. Venus Williams, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis all won second round matches in straight sets Thursday and, for very different reasons, are emerging as among the most popular non-French players in the tournament. To the delight of a packed No. 1 Court, No. 3 seed Williams, battling back to form after a six-month injury layoff, overpowered Tamarine Tanasugarn off court with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win in 58 minutes. The American is upbeat about her chances of capturing her first Grand Slam despite admitting that her injury means she is playing at only 70-80 percent of er capacity. "It's getting better every day," the 19-year-old said. "A lot of the time I have won tournaments without being 100 percent." The Williams sisters are amongst the most popular players in France. Venus' big forehand winners were much in evidence against Tanasugarn, and had the Thai player shaking her head in disbelief on several occasions. At 26, Seles is an elder stateswomen at Roland Garros. The two-time U.S. Open champion, who won the last of her three French Open titles in 1992, would be an immensely popular winner after reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros in the last three years. This year, Seles has lost just five games in two matches. She was irresistible in a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi, ttacking her opponent's first serves and slamming a series of winners with her distinctive two-handed forehand and backhand strokes. "I've been playing really well. The last two matches were really good," Seles said. The recent Italian Open champion is working hard on striking early. "In Rome I had horrible starts to all my matches, going down 5-2 or 4-1. My coach really wanted me to improve on that," Seles said. That effort paid off handsomely against Gagliardi, who was in danger of a "double bagel" until the 10th game of the match. Off court, Seles says she is getting the support she needs. "It's been great to have people around me who I really trust and believe can help me, which I've been searching for since my father passed away," she explained. "I'm a strong person but you need guidance." Hingis had a far tougher match against German qualifier Julia Abe. After losing the first set 4-6, the scrappy Abe -- ranked 156 and playing her first Grand Slam tournament at 24 -- served for the second set at 5-4. Hingis raised her game and was cheered enthusiastically after winning the last three games. Despite her notorious outbursts during last year's final, which brought her boos and whstles from French fans, Hingis seems to have won over Roland Garros fans. "It was nice to play in front of the crowd today. I hope I made them happy because that is what we are here for," the top seed said. "People so far have been very nice to me. Since I have come, they have respected me."
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