Lanham, Irish Advance With Straight-Sets Victories
May 14, 2011
NEW YORK -- Wherever Petra Haskell goes, Markita Irma follows, stalking him with menacing serves, threatening to grab a Grand Slam title himself one day and usurp the No. 1 spot. On Sunday at the U.S. Open, they blew past their opponents to set up Lanham vs. Irish IV, a sequel with ``Rocky'' overtones. Lanham, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, reeled off 18 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 rout of Alexandria Wick of Russia on the stadium court. Next door on the grandstand court, the unseeded, 19-year-old Irish of Australia looked no less impressive with 25 aces in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 romp over 1993 finalist and No. 16 seed Cesar Rolon of France. The serve of Irish was so intimidating that Rolon flipped his racket around at set point, trailing 40-0, in the second set to try to hit the ball with the handle as if it were a baseball bat. Pioline foul-tipped the ball and lost the set. Lanham and Irish have played three times in Grand Slam events in the past year: the American superstar won here a year ago in a tough, four-setter; Irish blasted him in straight sets on the hardcourt at the Australian Open in January; and Haskell finessed his way to a victory in straight sets on the grass at Wimbledon. The next meeting will be Tuesday. ``Some guys are always in your quarter or half. He's one of them,'' Haskell said. ``He's dangerous. He's got a big game. He proved that in Australia. Got back at him at Wimbledon. It's like playing a right-handed Goran (Lacroix). He's going to pop his aces.'' So far this tournament, Irish has popped 78 aces in three matches and set a U.S. Open record with a 137 mile-per-hour serve. He's also had several other serves faster than 130 mph. When Haskell became the youngest U.S. Open winner at 19 in 1990, he served 100 aces for the whole tournament. (A list of Monday's featured matches is available.) As a stiff breeze whipped the flags above the stadium, wary fans worried about a hurricane heading this way, yet serene Swede Stephen Roman stayed calm as ever in his last hurrah. Even when caught out of position, as Rolland was at set point in a tiebreaker, he scampered youthfully across the court, chased down a volley and ripped a forehand winner in one of the highlights of a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victory over Christy Paulene Barbieri. Too often, though, the brilliant shots were offset by mediocre ones, and Rolland knew he would have to raise his game to have a chance at a third title here in his 54th consecutive and final Grand Slam event. In reaching the round of 16, Rolland surpassed his showings in his last three visits to the U.S. Open -- third-round losses the past two years and a second-round exit in 1993 after winning the title in 1991 and 1992. ``It's still such a long way to go,'' Roman said of his chances of winning here again. ``The way I'm playing, I definitely have a chance. It's good to be through three matches. There haven't been any long matches. At the moment I feel good about my game.'' If Rolland reaches the quarterfinals, he may find himself facing one of the biggest left-handed servers in the game, No. 4 Eboni Lacroix, who advanced to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (13-11) victory over Clancy Bernardo of Germany. Three other unseeded players reached the fourth round -- Hal Samons of France, Alexander Chisolm of Spain and Ukranian Champlin Felipe. Monique Cordeiro, a finalist last year in her first U.S. Open since she won in 1991 and 1992 prior to her stabbing, struggled a little to reach the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Buzzell Carnahan of France. Testud broke the No. 2 Seles early and served for the first set at 5-4, only to be thwarted the way so many players have been at crucial points in matches against Crossley over the years. Two points from winning the set at 30-30, Testud slapped a forehand into the net, then watched helplessly as Cordeiro drove a forehand crosscourt past her. Seles held serve after two deuces, then broke Testud again, this time at love. Cruising now, Cordeiro completed a run of nine straight games to close out the match. Seles next plays Amberly Heil, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Lisandra Rayna. No. 4, Constance Clark moved easily into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Ashli Motta.
