WIMBLEDON, DAY 4

Big-hearted Pierce redirects bumpy career

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM WIMBLEDON – There are few players who are as different oncourt and off as Mary Pierce, as fierce a hitter and staredown artists as there is in the game and at times, as soft-spoken and sensitive a woman that you'll ever meet in the pressroom.

Pierce has had a hellish road since winning '00 Roland Garros and it all started here at the All-England two weeks later, when she tore up her rotator cuff. Since then, the big blonde has been a shadow of her former self, dealing with an emergency room surgeon's list of injuries, including aliments in both ankles, a chronically bad back and abdominal strains.

"It's just weird how my career has gone. I felt like when I won the French Open, I was starting to play my best," said Pierce, who upset No. seed Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 6-1 and moved into the third round. "From that point on, not much has happened in the last three years. Just imagine having a few injuries and not being able to go to work every day. It was difficult. There was one time where I was doubtful if I would be able to play again. I'm especially emotional and sensitive. I take things very to heart, and I do things with my heart."

At age 28, Pierce knows the clock is ticking. She's bagged two Grand Slam titles (including the '95 Australian Open), won fifteen crowns and, by year's end, could enter the $7 million dollar prize money club. But she's loves the sport and likes being in the elite mix. Merely winning a few matches here or there won't satisfy her.

But what she really missed was the thrill of competing and the wonderful feeling you get when your body allows you to fire a ball back on the full stretch.

"What I missed the most was the sun and sweating, being out and exercising and just being able to run and jump. When I can't exercise, I just don't feel good," she said.

LONG AND HARD HISTORY
Mary has come along way since she first started on tour, when she a super shy and confused girl who was under the dominating thumb of her abusive father and coach, Jim. She eventually broke away from him and took control of her life, involving herself in a long engagement with New York Mets second baseman Roberto Alomar, that ended in a trying breakup a year and half ago.

While her conditioning hasn't always been top notch – she went through a partying phase and she has gone through a slew of coaches – Pierce never considered herself a natural athlete who was bound to prosper. She grew up poor and spent many nights sleeping in the back of her dads' Cadillac when they drove across the U.S. to junior tournaments.

She fought with the French tennis Federation (her mother is French and she trained there for two years as a child) but eventually made up with them, became a key part of their Fed Cup team and was fully embraced by the French public after she won Roland Garros. All she knows how to do is work, even when it seems like the world is against her.

"With talent, you take things for granted. I never took things for granted," she said. "I just didn't realize how easy it was for me before (the injuries) because it seems a lot harder now and having to start from zero again. The older you are, the more difficult it is."

Against the big-hitting Daniilidou, Pierce was torrid off the ground and showed the same kind of pinpoint returning that once brought her to No. 3 in the world. Her legs look a little heavy and her arms aren't as cut as they used to be, but the 5-10, 150-pounder still looks like she could pick up the front end of a bus. But Pierce knows the game is moving ahead and quick and strong 6-foot-tall girls are dropping out of trees.

"The game's gotten a lot better," she said. "The girls are a lot stronger, move better, hit harder."

Given how much money she has earned, Pierce could have retired any time the past couple years, lived comfortably and waiting for her probable Hall of Fame induction. But she still wants to be noticed on court, which is why she's willing to gut it out despite being burdened with a body that is likely to keep breaking down the rest of her career.

"I feel like all I need to do is be healthy and fit again and I can be even better than before," she said. "Motivation is not a problem for me."

In the next round, the No. 83-ranked Pierce will face veteran Lisa Raymond, a tough foe on grass. Pierce has no illusions that she's a title contender here, but a visit to the second week isn't out of the question and that will do wonders for her confidence.

"I'm just taking it match by match and trying to do my best," she said. "I wasn't sure if I was gonna come and play here or not. I know I'm not at my best form right now. I'd like to be able to give myself at least six months. That's what I need to be back to where I want to be. I still have to not try to get ahead of myself."