Quarterfinal quirk

Bartoli surrounded by seeds in Key Biscayne

Jennifer Capriati had 21 winners in her 55-minute rout of fellow American Sarah Taylor. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- In charming fractured English, 18-year-old Marion Bartoli neatly summed up the challenge of playing against Serena Williams.

"She win everybody," Bartoli said.

That's why the path to a title at the Nasdaq-100 Open is about to become a whole lot tougher for Bartoli, who has led a charmed life since arriving at Key Biscayne.

After winning two qualifying matches, Bartoli drew a wild-card entrant, a lucky loser and a qualifier in the first three rounds -- and beat them all. She won again Monday when No. 7-seeded Lindsay Davenport strained her right hamstring in the second game and was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-0.

That gave Bartoli a berth in the quarterfinals Tuesday against defending champion Williams, who improved to 14-0 this year by beating Iroda Tulyaganova 6-0, 6-4.

Second seed Venus falls KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) -- Venus Williams overcame eight match points but couldn't sustain a last-ditch rally as she lost to fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 7-6 (2), 6-1 Monday at the Nasdaq-100 Open. The fourth-round upset spoiled a potential quarterfinal showdown between the No. 2-seeded Williams and American No. 6 Jennifer Capriati. Advancing instead was Shaughnessy, who is seeded 23rd and beat Williams for only the second time in their seven meetings. "I'm so happy," Shaughnessy said. "It's not even going to sink in for a little while." Shaughnessy fell behind 3-0 before she began to dominate, whipping shots into the corners that put Williams on the defensive. Shaughnessy won the final four points in the tiebreaker, then raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before Williams dug in. She saved four match points in the sixth game, then four more in the next game. "You don't want to know what was going through my mind," Shaughnessy said with a laugh. "I definitely took too long to finish it there. I was a little nervous and didn't go for a couple of shots." Williams made forehand errors on the final three points, slapping a shot 6 feet long on the ninth match point. Shaughnessy thrust both fists to the sky with glee, then happily walked to the net, where Williams greeted her with a smile and a handshake. "I always felt like I could do it until I ran out of time," Williams said. "It's just back to the drawing board."

"It's very exciting," said Bartoli, who hails from the small town of Retournac in central France. "Nothing to lose, just to enjoy to play against the No. 1 in the world."

As if to underscore the challenge she faces, the WTA Tour honored Williams in a stadium court ceremony Monday as its player of the year for 2002.

"Always some people say, 'Serena Williams is unbelievable. She plays so well,'" Bartoli said. "But I'm going to see what is it really to play against No. 1."

Other quarterfinal matchups include No. 3 Kim Clijsters against No. 9 Jelena Dokic, and No. 4 Justine Henin-Hardenne against No. 12 Chanda Rubin.

Monday's fourth-round results were a poor commentary on the depth in women's tennis. In seven matches, the losers won a total of 17 games.

Rubin notched the most impressive victory, beating No. 8 Amelie Mauresmo 6-0, 6-2. No. 6 Jennifer Capriati ended a strong run by American compatriot Sarah Taylor, winning 6-1, 6-0. Both matches took less than an hour.

That's good advice for Bartoli, who has enjoyed success before at Key Biscayne. She won the Orange Bowl 16-and-under title here in 2000 and reached the 18-and-under semifinals in 2001.

At the Nasdaq, she has yet to play a full match against anyone ranked in the top 90, but her showing will vault her into the high 60s next week's rankings, a career best.

Monday's match wasn't much of a test. Davenport said she first hurt her hamstring Sunday and aggravated the injury in the early going against Bartoli.

"She was playing well," Davenport said. "But I didn't feel like I could do that much to combat it."

Bartoli employs an unorthodox playing style, hitting with two hands off both sides and boldly standing well inside the baseline to receive serve. She might be wise to wear a protective mask against Williams' 120-mph delivery.

Williams has followed Bartoli's climb in the rankings, in part because their fathers are friendly. Walter Bartoli, a doctor, first met Richard Williams at a tournament in Paris last year.

"I've seen her play a lot, actually," Serena Williams said. "I like to watch the young girls play. She's young, tenacious, enthusiastic -- the way I used to be."

Williams smiled as she spoke, amused by her role as a wily veteran at the age of 21.

 

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