Sprightly Spirlea springs a surprise on stuttering Serena

Spirlea had collided with Serena’s older sister, Venus, during a changeover while losing in the semifinals last year. The incident led Spirlea to curse Venus Williams after that match, and Richard Williams, father of Serena and Venus to label Spirlea “a big, tall white turkey.”

Richard Williams also said at that time that Spirlea “ought to be glad it wasn’t Serena she bumped into. She would have been decked.”

But there were no fireworks or fistfights last night. The layers carefully avoided each other at changeovers, though they exchanged only a perfunctory handshake after the match.

“Tonight was not mynight. That was the best she served in her career. I didn’t play that well. She had a lot of big serves I was not able to return,” Williams said. I’m pretty disappointed. I didn’t plan on losing today or in this tournament.”

With the score 5-5 in the third set, Spirlea used two passing shots to set up the service break. Venus stared at the ground in the stands, expressionless and stunned. Spirlea said there is no animosity between her and the Williams family. But when asked whether she was friendly enough to go out to dinner with Serena, she demurred. “I don’t have time for dinner tonight,” she cracked. “I’ll call her and have her in my room for room service.” Spirlea’s next opponent will be No 3 Jana Novotna.

Moya maya

French Open champion Carlos Moya climbed back from the brink of elimination, overcoming three third-set match points to beat former French Open champion Michael Chang in a marathon five-setter.

Moya, the 10th seed, avoided becoming the only men’s seed to fall Thursday byfighting off three match points when trailing 4-5 in the 10th game of the third set and battling on to defeat Chang 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3 in the final second-round match of the men’s draw.

The Spaniard, who had never before come back from a two-set deficit, cashed in the only break point he had in the fifth set, to go ahead 5-3, and then closed out the three hour, 49 minute match — the tournament’s longest so far — in the next game when Chang sent a backhand service return long.

“It was one of the most dramatic matches I ever played,” said Moya, who finished his night’s work at 1:35 a.m. (1105 IST).

“It was a long match, long rallies. I feel very happy now.”

On Chang’s three match points, Moya went on the offensive and charged the net forcing Chang to pass him to end the contest. “At that moment, you think everything is lost. But at that moment, I knew I had to take risks,” he said.

Chang, whose injury-plagued season has reduced him to unseeded status one year after reaching the opensemifinals as the second seed, is renowned for his stamina and success in five-set matches, holding a 21-10 record in five-setters entering the tilt.

But it was Moya who proved the strongest at the most critical points. The 22-year-old Spaniard was down a break in the fourth set but pushed on. In the fifth set, he eluded nine break points held by Chang before cashing in at his own first and only opportunity.

The final points tally from the epic told the story of how closely contested the match was. Chang won a total of 187 points and Moya 186.

Only once before had the 26-year-old ever squandered a two-set lead — at the 1991 Wimbledon Championship, when he lost to Tim Mayotte in the first round.

HOW THE SEEDS FARED

(Seeding in prefix)

Men’s singles (third round): 3-Patrick Rafter (Aus) bt David Nainkin (SA) 6-1, 6-1, 6-1; 14-Goran Ivanisevic (Croat) bt Paul Haarhuis (Neth) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4; 12-Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) bt Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

Secondround: 5-Richard Krajicek (Neth) bt Alex O’Brien (US) 6-1 7-6 (7-5) 6-2; 11-Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 7-6 6-2 1-6 7-5; 13-Tim Henman (GBR) bt Felix Mantilla (Spa) 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-4

Women’s singles (third round): 5-Venus Williams (US) bt Larisa Neiland (Latvia) 5-0 retired; 13-Amanda Coetzer (SA) bt Barbara Schett (Austria) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Second round: 8-Steffi Graf (Ger) bt Mirjana Lucic (Cro) 6-1 6-1; 11-Patty Schnyder (Swi) bt Mary Joe Fernandez (US) 6-1 7-6 (7-3); 3-Jana Novotna (Czech Rep) bt Sandrine Testud (Fra) 6-2 6-3; 6-Monica Seles (US) bt Anne Miller (US) 6-3 6-3

Men’s singles: (2nd round): Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Francisco Clavet (Spa) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-1; Byron Black (Zim) bt Fernando Vicente (Spa) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 7-5; Nathalie Dechy (Fra) bt Gala Leon Garcia (Spa) 6-4 6-4; Oliver Gross (Ger) bt Sergi Bruguera (Spa) 6-1 6-3 6-4.