Tough First Day for U.S. Women Despite Stephens Win
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Version 0 of 1. WIMBLEDON, England — The French Open, only a few weeks ago, was something of a coming-out party for the latest generation of American women. Fifteen were in the main draw, and four reached the fourth round, the most in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2004 United States Open. The success figured to continue at Wimbledon. Including the prohibitive favorite Serena Williams, there were 14 American women in the main draw at the All England Club, the most since 2006. But when the draw was announced Friday, there were signs this could be a less-charmed tournament for the Americans. Two of their brightest young hopes to make runs at Wimbledon — 17th-seeded Sloane Stephens and Jamie Hampton — were matched in the first round. Stephens is moving on after a 6-3, 6-3 victory, but will not have much company among her compatriots. Nine American women were in action Monday, and about two hours into the tournament, 26th-seeded Varvara Lepchenko had lost to the 152nd-ranked qualifier Eva Birnerova, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Vania King, Lauren Davis and Melanie Oudin followed Lepchenko out. Coco Vandeweghe took a set off eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a former Wimbledon champion, but she fell, too. In another all-American matchup, Christina McHale ousted Alexa Glatch, 6-4, 6-4. The woman who made the biggest splash was 19-year-old Monica Puig, who has lived in Miami much of her life but represents her native Puerto Rico. Puig, playing her first grass-court event as a professional, routed the No. 5 seed, Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-2. Errani, a French Open finalist and United States Open semifinalist, has not had much success on grass, never advancing past the third round here. She is the highest-ranked player Puig has beaten in her young career. Puig also defeated 11th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the first round of the French Open on her way to reaching the third round. She said her loss to Angelique Kerber, then ranked fifth, in the Round of 16 at the Brisbane event in January spurred her recent success. “I wasn’t able to close that one out,” said Puig, who won the first set and led by 5-2 in the third-set tiebreaker. “But obviously, that was one of the best lessons for me because I learned from it, and I closed out some pretty big matches.” There seemed to be little need for those lessons against Errani, as Puig controlled the match from the start, particularly with her serve. She had 38 winners to Errani’s 13. It was a complete performance reminiscent of Williams, one of her idols. “I try and use her as an example on the court, the way that she conducts herself, the aura she brings onto the court,” Puig said. “She intimidates the opponents and she’s able to maintain that level through the whole match.” The most promising tennis player to come out of Puerto Rico since Gigi Fernandez, Puig said that the support she has received from Fernandez, her federation and her home fans had helped her move forward and progress every day. “I was a late bloomer in the sense that I wasn’t the one who was getting results right away,” said Puig, who has risen to No. 65 after starting the year at No. 127. “Once I started to see that things were coming together, that I had a really special thing inside me for the sport, once all the puzzle pieces starting connecting, it was really meant to be.” The pieces did not come together for Hampton. In last week’s rankings, she was 41st, leaving her out of the seedings. But after reaching her first WTA Tour final last week at Eastbourne, Hampton became the third-highest-ranked American, jumping to 25th, eight spots below Stephens. If the draw had been this week, the matchup would not have been possible. Hampton, 23, and Stephens, 20, were contrasts in preparation. After reaching the Round of 16 at the French Open, Hampton played two grass-court tuneup tournaments. Stephens, who also advanced to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros, spent the past week practicing on grass at the All England Club. Hampton, who has two herniated disks in her back, acknowledged after the match that she was not feeling well, but that she did not regret playing Eastbourne. “It was more important for my body, more than anything, to show that I can play eight matches in a row,” she said. Hampton said the bigger factor was Stephens’s applying pressure on the big points and winning nearly all of them. Stephens was more solid on her first serve and took advantage of her break-point opportunities, converting four of six, including on match point. Hampton went ahead a break in the fourth game of the second set, but was immediately broken back and did not hold serve again. “I think I was really aggressive on my return of serve,” Stephens said. “I think that helped a lot.” By the end of the day, half of the American women were out of Wimbledon. But Stephens preferred to look at the bright side. “It is always disappointing when you play a Slam and end up playing someone from your own country,” she said. “It’s tough, but like we said, at least someone will win. So someone from the U.S. will be in the second round.” |