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 Suprisingly easy Paes stuns top seed Ferreira at Hall of Fame Tennis
Posted: Thursday July 08, 1999 09:57 PM
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- On a day that saw three of the remaining four seeded players lose, defending champion Leander Paes beat top seed Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 Thursday in the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. No No. 1 seed has won this tournament since it became an official tour event in 1977. Paes was able to extend that streak with the help of the wind and Ferreira's increasing level of frustration. "Wayne's a fantastic player, but he had a rough day," said Paes, a noted doubles player. "The elements are difficult here, and whoever handles them better is going to win." The elements were most apparent on serves. Paes, who uses a low toss, lost only 11 points on his serve and wasn't broken. Ferreira's high tosses got caught in the wind, leading to unpredictable results. The South African had no aces and five double faults. When the ball was in play, he dumped his drop shots into the net and flailed at overhand volleys. Moreover, the only player in this tournament ranked in the top 50 threw his racket three times and received a code violation for slamming a ball into the stands. He also injured a ball girl when he accidentally struck a shot into her neck. In a fitting conclusion, Ferreira double faulted on match point. "It was tough with the wind; I didn't get any rhythm with my serve. And it was tough being behind all day," Ferreira said. "It was one of those days when I wish I just got the hell out of here." Paes, the Wimbledon doubles and mixed doubles champion, played the same solid game he used to win at Newport last year, converting delicate drop shots, firm volleys and compact ground strokes. Although his serve was dominant in terms of points, Paes was unhappy with his first-serve percentage. Recalling baseball's Mark Fidrych, Paes appeared to talk to some tennis balls early in the second set, urging them to land in the service box. Paes claimed that he was merely talking to himself, but acknowledged that "I have been known to talk to ball before." The only remaining seed is fourth-seeded Australian Andrew Ilie, the world's 59th ranked player. He defeated Christian Vinck 6-4, 7-5. Fifth seed Sargis Sargsian, the tournament's 1997 champion, lost to grass-court specialist Laurence Tieleman 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. Although the match was tight, it seemed only a matter of time before Tieleman won because Sargisian had to work much harder to hold serve. "My serve is annoying on grass because there is a lot of slice," Tieleman said. "It has a good little kick."
In the other singles match, Wayne Arthurs outlasted
seventh-seeded Daniel Nestor 6-7 ( 6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
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