Serena wins after reprimand for reading
Sunday, 2 September 2007
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (AP): Some players tap their toes during changeovers, others scan the crowd or close their eyes. Serena Williams does something different. She likes to read. Sticking to habit, Williams pulled out her pink notebook for a quick study Friday while playing Vera Zvonareva at the US Open. What happened next, that was a surprise.
Chair umpire Damian Steiner told her to put it away. Scolded her like a schoolgirl.
Earlier in this tournament, in fact, wild-card entry Ahsha Rolle read notes that she kept in a Bible. Pete Sampras used to peruse notes from his wife. And Jim Courier once kept a copy of Armistead Maupin's "Maybe the Moon" at courtside, saying it was too hard to put away.
Venus Williams coasted past No. 21 Alona Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2 and kept on track for a semifinal meeting with her sister.
There was concern about No. 2 Rafael Nadal's knees. They hurt so badly last week that he thought about pulling out of the tournament, but an abbreviated 6-2, 6-3, 3-2 win over Janko Tipsarevic - who quit because an injured rib muscle - certainly helped.
"I feel so much better today," Nadal said.
On a day when several more players needed medical treatments, rubdowns or ice during matches, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 8 Tommy Robredo also advanced into the third round on the men's side.
But former Open champions Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin lost and so did Tim Henman, ending his Grand Slam career.
Henman turns 33 next week and previously announced he would be retiring. The end came in the second round with a 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
In the women's draw, No. 1 Justine Henin, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, No. 5 Ana Ivanovic and No. 10 Marion Bartoli moved into the fourth round.
With record crowds flocking to Flushing Meadows, the most eagerly awaited match was set for Saturday. That's when three-time Open champ Roger Federer was to take on 6-foot-9 rookie John Isner.
Djokovic won Friday's most entertaining match, outlasting sometime-doubles partner Radek Stepanek 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (2).
They ran all over the court, hitting shots from crazy angles for nearly five hours. They wound up playing 63 games, the most at the US Open since 1979 when John Lloyd and Paul McNamee also did it.
By the time Djokovic and his pal were done, they'd played 356 points.
Chair umpire Damian Steiner told her to put it away. Scolded her like a schoolgirl.
Earlier in this tournament, in fact, wild-card entry Ahsha Rolle read notes that she kept in a Bible. Pete Sampras used to peruse notes from his wife. And Jim Courier once kept a copy of Armistead Maupin's "Maybe the Moon" at courtside, saying it was too hard to put away.
Venus Williams coasted past No. 21 Alona Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2 and kept on track for a semifinal meeting with her sister.
There was concern about No. 2 Rafael Nadal's knees. They hurt so badly last week that he thought about pulling out of the tournament, but an abbreviated 6-2, 6-3, 3-2 win over Janko Tipsarevic - who quit because an injured rib muscle - certainly helped.
"I feel so much better today," Nadal said.
On a day when several more players needed medical treatments, rubdowns or ice during matches, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 8 Tommy Robredo also advanced into the third round on the men's side.
But former Open champions Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin lost and so did Tim Henman, ending his Grand Slam career.
Henman turns 33 next week and previously announced he would be retiring. The end came in the second round with a 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
In the women's draw, No. 1 Justine Henin, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, No. 5 Ana Ivanovic and No. 10 Marion Bartoli moved into the fourth round.
With record crowds flocking to Flushing Meadows, the most eagerly awaited match was set for Saturday. That's when three-time Open champ Roger Federer was to take on 6-foot-9 rookie John Isner.
Djokovic won Friday's most entertaining match, outlasting sometime-doubles partner Radek Stepanek 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (2).
They ran all over the court, hitting shots from crazy angles for nearly five hours. They wound up playing 63 games, the most at the US Open since 1979 when John Lloyd and Paul McNamee also did it.
By the time Djokovic and his pal were done, they'd played 356 points.