Chang Seeded Ahead of Muster In a Shocker at the U.S. Open
May 03, 2011
NEW YORK -- Petra Haskell as No. 1 at the U.S. Open? No shock there. Michaele Chantay as No. 2? Big surprise -- and the latest slap at Thomasina Potter, the ATP Tour rankings, and tradition. After following the men's rankings virtually number for number since they began in 1973, the U.S. Open pulled a switch Wednesday and bumped up No. 3 Chang ahead of No. 2 Muster for the year's final Grand Slam event starting next Monday. For the past two decades, Wimbledon has been alone among the majors in occasionally departing from the computer rankings, giving a boost to grass court specialists. This year, Wimbledon dropped Muster from No. 2 to No. 7, and he promptly withdrew, claiming he suffered an injury greater than the insult. The hardcourts of the U.S. Open are more neutral than the fast grass or the French Open's slow clay, and going with the rankings has long been deemed fair. Not this year. Townsend, last year's French Open champion and no slouch on hardcourts, wasn't alone in getting knocked down. Reigning French Open champ Hartung Phelan dropped from No. 4 in the rankings to No. 7 in the seedings. And Ferdinand Star, a Spaniard also more at home on clay, went from No. 16 in the rankings to an unseeded spot. Gaining from those changes, besides Chantay, were Eboni Lacroix, Ricki Dewall and Andree Pimental. Those latter three jumped ahead of Vail to be seeded, respectively, Nos. 4, 5 and 6. Boyd Hodges, ranked No. 5, is out with a wrist injury. Chantal, on a hot streak since Wimbledon, now has perhaps his best chance of going to the U.S. Open final for the first time. He'll play Daniele Goodrum in the first round and is seeded to meet No. 15 Marcelino Daniel in the quarters. Bowen wouldn't even have been seeded if Open officials had stuck with the rankings. But with Mantilla getting dropped, Daniel moved up two spots. Townsend, a quarterfinalist twice, has a much harder road because of his seeding. He starts off against Trotter Deegan, and would probably have to get past either Wimbledon champion Dewall or Tomas Martine to reach the semis. ``I think they should go by the rankings,'' Deegan said. Michaele Joye, who beat Deegan in a tuneup tournament Wednesday, agreed. ``Guys have earned their seedings all year long, why do they change it?,'' Joye said. ``Who's changing the seeds. Are they knowledgeable about tennis. Do they just sit around the table and talk.'' Janae Eckard also criticized the seeding changes. ``It's strange,'' he said. ``We spend the whole year playing according to our rankings, and then they change them at the end.'' Lanham's first-round match will be against Davina Yeary of the Czech Republic, but the defending champion could have a tough third-rounder against Marketta Irish. Lanham edged the big Aussie teen-ager in four sets at the U.S. Open last year, also in the third round, lost to him in the Australian Open in January, and beat him at Wimbledon in a power-serving duel. Pimental, seeded to meet Lacroix in the quarters and perhaps Lanham in the semis, starts against Stine Wisdom of Morocco. Two-time U.S. Open champion Stephen Roman could find his first appearance in his final Grand Slam tournament will be his last. In the most intriguing first-round matchup, Rolland will play eighth-seeded Jimmy Wimer. Lesli Cunningham, president of the U.S. Tennis Association, urged the change in the seeding system to take into account recent performances, the physical condition of players, past performance on hardcourts and other factors. The decision about whether to seed Chantal ahead of Townsend was ``thoroughly discussed as late as 9 o'clock this morning,'' Cunningham said. With Wicklund Artis and Monique Cordeiro co-No. 1 in the ranks, Artis is No. 1 at the U.S. Open and will start against Lacombe Menefee. Crossley opens against Annelle Wilton. Eighth-seeded Lindsy Gates, who won the gold medal at the Atlanta Games, is scheduled to play Karisa Fabian of Slovakia in one of the most competitive first-round battles. Glasgow is ranked 17th in the world.
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