AT 2006 MECCO CUP $25K WOMEN’S PRO CIRCUIT TOURNAMENT
ALLENTOWN,
PA. JUNE 15, 2006 * No. 1 seed Stephanie Dubois survived a 3 hour, 35
minute epic match against rising American Mary Gambale in three long,
rigorous sets. It was a match that featured Roland Garros-like marathon points,
up-and-down play from both players, and even an underhanded serve. Gambale
played much of the match positioned several feet behind the baseline,
frustrating Dubois with her ability to counter-punch Dubois’ flat groundstrokes
with high percentage “moon ball” shots. At times, an impatient Dubois seemed to
rush to end points, leading to unforced errors. The tactic clearly worked in
Gambale’s favor early in the match, as she was able to take the first set 6-4,
appropriately on a netted forehand volley error by Dubois. Though the final two
sets went Dubois’ way 7-5, 7-5, her comeback was anything but routine. The
margin of error for Dubois never increased as Gambale continued her
counterpunching tactics. Gamble was not going to lose the match on unforced
errors, so it was up to Dubois to walk the fine line between over hitting and
precision shot making. But the 153rd ranked player in the world found her
world-class form just in time to persevere through to advance to Friday’s
quarterfinal round, where she will face 2004 MECCO Cup semifinalist Raquel
Kops-Jones.
Kops-Jones
got through a tough match with Julie Ditty that “only” lasted 2 hours, 34
minutes. Kops-Jones played steady, consistent tennis throughout the match
despite terribly windy conditions on Court 11. Though Kops-Jones jumped out to a
4-1 first set lead, Ditty won four consecutive games and served for the set at
5-4. Ditty was unable to serve it out, however, and the first set ultimately
went to a very close tiebreak, won by Kops-Jones 7-5. Ditty came storming back
to win the first five games of the second set, ultimately serving it out to win
the set 6-1. Ditty continued her hot streak, jumping out to a commanding 5-2
lead in the deciding set. Though the match was seemingly in-hand for the hottest
player on the USTA Pro Circuit (the reigning Pro Circuit Player of the Week),
the aforementioned wind played havoc with the left-hander’s game. Still playing
smart, consistent tennis, Kops-Jones went on a four game winning streak of her
own to take a 6-5 lead, on-serve. Ditty held serve at 5-6 to force the match
into a deciding tiebreak. The third set tiebreak was just as close as the first
set tiebreak, with Kops-Jones again prevailing 7 points to 5, this time to put
away the match 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(5) to move ahead to a quarterfinal encounter
with Dubois.Two more seeded players went down today, as both no. 3 seed Angela Haynes and no. 7 seed Ansley Cargill, a MECCO Cup quarterfinalist in 2005, were upset in their matches. Cargill, taking to Court 11 after her doubles partner Ditty’s loss, faced a red-hot Valerie Tetreault. In another grueling match (2 hours, 21 minutes), the Canadian Tetreault defeated Cargill 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(5). Though Cargill and Ditty are both eliminated from the singles draw, they remain alive in doubles after their 6-3, 6-0 victory over Mary Gambale and Mami Inoue early this evening.
Haynes,
wearing a brace on her ankle this week, never really seemed physically
comfortable or mentally confident on the court today. Her Bulgarian opponent,
Dimana Krastevitch, was well equipped to take full advantage of the hobbled
no. 3 seed, winning 6-4, 6-4. An elated Krastevitch explained after the match
that the key was “that I was more consistent than her and maybe able to better
concentrate.” Indeed, she was mentally well prepared for today’s match against
the former world #95, noting, “I knew if I wanted to win against Angie, I’d have
to play my best tennis.” She did that just and will look to continue to do so
when she plays fellow “seed-killer” Valerie Tetreault in an 11 AM quarterfinal
encounter on Court 7.It was a relatively routine day for at least one seeded player as no. 5 seed Carly Gullickson defeated impressive wild card entrant Ashley Weinhold 6-2, 6-3. This match was a true example of a final score not being indicative of the competitive nature of a match. Weinhold was unable to convert nine break point opportunities in the first set, including six break points with Gullickson serving up 3-2 in the sixth game. After going on to take the first set, Gullickson quickly jumped out to a two break, 3-0 lead in the second. Weinhold fought valiantly, breaking Gullickson’s serve twice in the second set, including at 2-5, but was then broken serving at 3-5, stamping Gullickson’s ticket to the quarterfinals. Weinhold never seemed to psychologically recover from the six failed break chances at 2-3 in the first set. Gullickson later described that as “the most important game of the whole match.” As the 2006 MECCO Cup moves toward Championship Weekend, Gullickson feels good about the state of her game. “I feel like I’m serving pretty well and I just have to take one point at a time,” she explains. “Hopefully everything comes out good.”
In other second round singles action at Westend Racquet Club:
- Christina Fusano looked very impressive in defeating Nicole Leimbach 6-2, 6-3.
-
No. 2 seed Varvara Lepchenko was stretched to three sets by rising young
American Julia Cohen, but came through 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1 in the evening
feature match on Court 9. The defending MECCO Cup champion will play Fusano in
the quarterfinals.- Qualifier Melissa Torres-Sandoval continued her run at the 2006 MECCO Cup with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 win over fellow qualifier Salome Devidze. She moves on to face no. 5 seed Gullickson in what promises to be a highly competitive quarterfinal match to begin play Friday at 10 AM on Court 9.
-- Jon Blitzer