THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: THURSday, JUNE 24, NO. 92

A day of five-set miracles
Chess junkie Taylor wants a rematch with Roddick
Dent: 'One day, if I'm playing a guy ranked 50 in a Grand Slam final and I'm ranked No. 1,
I don't want to go out there and say I have nothing to lose'

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA

Taylor Dent defeated Ramon Delgado, but has Pescosolido, and maybe Roddick, in his path.

FROM WIMBLEDON – On one of the busiest and most intriguing days in Wimbledon history, Taylor Dent went on court at 10 a.m. with 6-2, 6-3, 5-4 lead over Ramon Delgado and served the match within a couple minutes. He was hoping to nail four aces but only struck for three. The jocular American hopeful needed to get off court as quickly as possible because fate had that – after all 74 scheduled matches were postponed Wednesday due to rain – Thursday would chime like hells bells.

The gongs were loud and clear for nine-time winner Martina Navratilova, who was passed at leisure by Gisela Dulko in a three-set loss; and for '94 champ Conchita Martinez, who lost to Milagros Sequera of Venezuela. Venus Williams went down to (see Doubting Venus: the former great is slipping), but all the other leading men and women rose to the occasion, many in spectacular fashion.

Andy Roddick stormed past Wang Yeu-tzuoo, while Guillermo Coria completed a match that stretched over four days with a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over the towering Wesley Moodie of South Africa. Defending champion Roger Federer, crushed Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in just 54 minutes, while Lleyton Hewitt was just as impressive in waltzing past Georgia's Irakli Labadze 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.

Carlos Moya, Amelie Mauresmo, Jennifer Capriati, Greg Rusedski, Seb Grosjean, Rainer Schuettler, Tatiana Golovin, Paolo Suarez, Vera Zvonareva, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and an revived Robby Ginepri and Jan-Michael Gambill also advanced, among a gaggle of others.

But it was the miracle five-setters that held the attention of the sun-deprived tennis worshipers on Wimbledon's hallowed grounds. Of course "Mr. Five-Setter" Todd Martin, who roared past Guillermo Canas 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 9-7, in 3 hours, 43 minutes, registered the first one. The 33-year-old now has a 23-16 record in five-set matches in Grand Slams.

Then came Juan Carlos Ferrero, who fought off two match points and took out Stefan Koubek 8-6 in the fifth. You want more, how about Stefano Pescosolido's 10-8 in the fifth barn-burner over Dennis Van Sheppingen, or Dmitry Tursunov's 15-13 in the fifth-set cramper over Sargis Sargsian? Let's not forget Tommy Haas' incredible 8-6 in the fifth shoulder-acher over Anthony Dupuis. In the I-told-you-so dept., there's Anastasia Myskina's dicey 6-4 in the third-set win over Aniko Kapros, and in the who-would-have-known-she's-still-a -warrior dept., Smokin' Amy Frazier took an 8-6 in the third set TKO over Emily Smith.

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA

Ivanisevic continues to talk to himself but still wins.

BIG DAY FOR BIG GORAN
But in many ways, the day the day belonged to Goran Ivanisevic, who came back from the dead due to a rain delay after the third set and triumphed 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, to earn a match against the man who succeeded him as champion, Hewitt.

"I was saying a lot of bad things to myself, how bad I am, how stupid I am, what I'm doing," Goran said. "And that little rain came in the right time. I came to the locker room. Michael Stich came to me and he said, 'Listen, I'm commentating the match. Come on, man, do something.' And then I said, 'Okay, man, I didn't know that you are commenting on my match, now I going to do something.' After I came back, that was a different me. Sun was shining. I started to play much better."

See what a little sun can do for light starved grass, pale punters and glum players?

Dent the Chess Master Waitng to Check King Andy
Back to rainy Wednesday, where Dent spent most of his time playing chess with USTA coach Francisco Montana. He's such a chess-head that he said he trade tennis lessons with Gary Kasporov for a few tips on the Russian's chess master favorite opening move, pawn-d4.

"I love playing chess," Dent told tennisreporters.net said. "I'm a hacker. I have a good grasp on tactics but I'm an aggressive player and I tend to mess out ever so often. I love my knights and bishop so I try to get them out there in the first few moves so I can work my magic. Even when I get beaten down bad, I say it's so cool. Chess and tennis are the same where you go out there with a particular plan but nothing ever goes smoothly and you have to adjust."

Dent also plays with Gambill and his father, Chuck, and Ginepri's coach, Steve Devries. He and Montana are playing chess "doubles" against Ginepri and DeVries and Dent says they've got them cold.

Dent's girlfriend, WTA player Jenny Hopkins of Kansas (who, by the way is still in the women's draw and will face Mauresmo), isn't a chess aficionado, but not for Taylor's lack of trying. "She lost a bet to me so she had to play me once a week so I could teach her how to play. We sat down and she almost started crying, so I said don't worry about it. She started down looking down at the board and said, 'There's too many pieces. I can't play.' "

On to yellowball matters, where the Olympian-in-waiting Dent (he beat out his buddy Ginepri for the spot and says he feels "really bad for him") has to face Pescosolido on Friday and should he win there and will likely confront Roddick on Saturday. Recall that Roddick absolutely embarrassed Dent in the '04 Aussie Open.

"Against Andy, you can't afford to play like that," Dent said. "But I don't have any expectations. I hope I can execute my game. If I do, I'm tough to beat."

A true serve-and-volleyer, Dent has made noise here before, threatening both Andre Agassi and Hewitt, but he has yet to make it to the second week. He's says it getting tougher and tougher to impose his style.

"The courts slower and heavier and it's hard to serve and volley," he said. "To be successful, you have to hit the spots on your serve. It's like a good approach shot; if you hit a good approach, you see an easy volley, if you hit a bad one, you may not even see a volley. Plus, you have to volley solidly because you are not going to serve well every game. Sampras has won with that style and Rafter got far with it but the level of execution has to be extremely high."

Dent says that he's no longer really being coached by his father, Phil, who is merely here to watch him play and give him a few tips. Should he make it to Roddick, he'll need to be at the net a couple dozen times a set if he is to triumph.

"I need to hold a good amount of times and try to make him pass me as much as possible. If he can hold and pass me, that's too good," said Dent, who has beaten Roddick in the past and isn't intimidated. "But if I'm stepping on court, I'd like to win the match. I work too hard to go out there and be satisfied with a loss."

Many players outside the Top 10 approach matches against the elite with the psychologically suspect "I've gotten nothing to lose mentality." But not Dent, who grew up the son of Australian Open finalist.

"I don't like that mentality," he said. "Champions don't think that way. One day, if I'm playing a guy ranked 50 in a Grand Slam final and I'm ranked No. 1, I don't want to go out there and say 'I have nothing to lose.' Champions don't think that way and I've never thought that way."