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Dementieva seeks to salvage season
By Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
So, too, was she new to English tennis' jargon. At one point she was asked whether she had an agent. "Is that a boyfriend?" she responded endearingly. By the time the Open had ended, she'd had her star turn. Dementieva reached the semifinals and played a superb second set before losing to Lindsay Davenport. Suddenly she became a stronger Russian prospect than a certain you-know-who. Within weeks, she had a sponsor and agent -- and knew enough to decline comment when asked about a boyfriend. A silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics, she finished the year exacting revenge on Davenport at the Chase Championships and ranked No. 12. With a bullet. The daughter of an electrical engineer and a graphics-arts teacher, Dementieva took her ascending status in the same loping strides she betrays on the court. She returned home to Moscow to work on her English and fitness during the offseason. For fun, she continued playing chess with her brother, a pasttime that sustained her through the monotony of the tour. Though armed with a new sponsor contract and more than $750,000 in winnings, she made no impulse purchases. "Maybe when I'm done playing, I'll buy myself some jewelry," she said with a shrug Tuesday. "But I didn't want to change as a person. I didn't want things to be different." Still, they were. Suddenly heralded as a future Grand Slam champion, Dementieva was a marked woman. Players paid attention to her game, got hip to her tendencies, and realized that beating her would earn them bonus points. A new deal with Yonex meant junking her trusty Prince and adjusting to a new stick. She's also endured a series of injuries and a crisis of confidence that has caused her to fail to close out matches against lesser players. The result: A year that's closer to a sophomore slump than a breakthrough. Coming into the Open, Dementieva was seeded respectably at 11th but still hasn't won a tournament; plus, she has been an upset victim at all three Slams. "It's definitely not been a great year," she said. The humility, graciousness and self-deprecation that further separated Dementieva from the other tall, blonde Russian -- she once characterized her second serve as weaker than her grandmother's -- are still in evidence. Though clearly improved from last year, her English, she claims, "is still not good." After a more or less routine 6-3, 7-5 win over Yoon Jeong Cho on the Grandstand Court Tuesday afternoon, she sheepishly downplayed it as "so-so." Was she happy to get through her first match? "Not so happy because she was breaking my serve all the time." Does she reflect fondly on last year's feat? "No, because I don't want to think about how many points I have to defend." Among the brigade of talented young Russians, whom does she predicted will be the first to win a Slam? "Not me." Modesty aside, that's hard to imagine. Dementieva hits groundstrokes off both flanks that pop, has graceful footwork, and possesses a serve that -- her protestations to the contrary -- is improving. Watching Marat Safin, another Russian who walked away a celebrity after last year's U.S. Open, Dementieva knows how fleeting confidence can be. A few more routine wins, and perhaps her form will resurface. "I know I can play," she says. "I just have to do it." It's an apt comment for someone who was wearing store-bought Nike apparel one day and was a star on the make the next.
Half volleysPete Sampras on his chances of winning his first event of the year at Flushing Meadows: "I expect to do well here. I still feel like I'm one of the strong favorites." ... Fifth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero was nearly bageled in the first set but came back to beat Arnaud Di Pasquale in the day's best match, 1-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-0. ... Nicolas Escude, a player to watch, drilled last year's Cinderella Fella, Seoul brother Hyung Taik-Lee, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. ... Not lost in the locker room: Sampras played in the day session while Andy Roddick got the coveted night match. ... Elena Bovina lost to Adriana Gersi in a surprisingly lopsided match. ... The oldest player in the draw, Gianluca Pozzi, lost to American Jack Brasington. ... Taylor Dent's draw looks a whole lot better now what Sebaatien Grosjean has been eliminated by Mariano Zabaleta, a former top-20 player who's battled injuries for most of 2001. ... Pat Rafter's win over Bob Bryan Monday was Rafter's first U.S. Open victory since winning the title in 1998. ... Clad in the kind of midriff-showing top that looked like it came from the Malibu Anna collection, American Ashley Harkleroad lost to fellow American Meilen Tu in three sets. ... New addition to the food cul-de-sac: a lobster roll for $15.75.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim will file daily reports from Flushing Meadows. Click here to send a question to his Tennis Mailbag.
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