Net-Rushers, Claycourters Battle in Week 2 at Wimbledon

Posted on June 27, 2005

Monday features a full menu with all eight men's round-of-16 matches at Wimbledon, with the number of claycourt aficionados remaining in the field a testament to how All-England Club officials have successfully slowed the grasscourts to indoor-carpet speed over the years.

If that's too technical for you, just picture Pat Rafter or Pete Sampras chipping and volleying opponents to death, as compared to two women slugging out 25-hit topspin-only rallies from the baseline. Wimbledon now more resembles the latter, on both the men's and women's sides.

Three players remain of the final 16 on the men's side who retain the net-rushing spirit of a Rafter, Sampras, or Goran Ivanisevic: American Taylor "Acci-" Dent, Croatian Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, and Belarus' Max "The Beast" Mirnyi.

Dent, with his current physical and conditioning (and perpetual injury) challenges is not favored Monday against No. 3 seed and former Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt, who Dent has lost three of his four meetings with. For the better part of the last four months Dent has been suffering with a slow-healing ankle injury that has curtailed his conditioning, explaining his chunk-ified appearance. The No. 24 seed will have to fire on all cylinders to bother Hewitt, who just dispatched of another big-serving American in the third round in Justin Gimelstob.

The No. 10-seeded Ancic would be the overwhelming favorite against the rare fast-court-loving F-Lo were it not for the lefty wrench thrown into the equation. The two have never faced each other, and Lopez's formidable lefty serve and spin off the ground gave Marat Safin fits when the Russian went down in straight sets in week one.

The Beast's game fits poorly into the steady stream of passing-shot winners from No. 12 seed Thomas Johansson, who is 4-0 career versus Mirnyi, including a grasscourt win a couple weeks ago at Nottingham.

Cover up "The Championships" on the draw sheet and you'd think we're in the midst of the French Open with former Roland Garros champs Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Coria still around during Week Two. Unfortunately for Ferrero, "The Mosquito" is up for a swatting, lining up as the potential 33rd consecutive grasscourt win for the world No. 1 Federer. A consolation for Ferrero entering the match is wins over big hitters Hyung-Taik Lee and Florian Mayer last week, and three wins in his career over Federer on hardcourts.

Coria first displayed his grasscourt potential last year by reaching the final at 's-Hertogenbosch, and lived up to his nickname "El Mago" in the third round last week, coming from 0-2 sets down against Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer. Unfortunately for Coria he now faces No. 2 seed Andy Roddick who has won all four of their career meetings, with the lone consolation prize his stretching the American to three sets, twice, on hardcourts.

No. 21 seed Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez faces No. 31-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in what should be a spray-fest on Gonzo's part, though his forehand was set to kill in his previous-round win over No. 11 seed Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson.

Gonzo his only previous career meeting with Youzhny earlier this year on hardcourt in a four-set Davis Cup encounter, a nice mental edge to carry on the lawns.

California-Russian Dmitry Tursunov, along with Mirnyi the only unseeded player in the Sweet 16, tries to keep his run alive against No. 9 seed and perpetual second-week Wimbledon resident Sebastien Grosjean in a first-time meeting.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the No. 27 seed and the lone teen left in the draw, will bring his "Baby Fed" skills to bear on No. 18 seed and former runner-up David Nalbandian, who looked shaky in his five-set comeback win over Brit wildcard Andy Murray. Gasquet has lost both his career meetings with Nalbandian, both on clay.

Ferrero and F-Lo both are trying to become the first Spaniards to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Manuel Orantes in 1972.

The full run-down for Monday is (3) Hewitt vs. (24) Taylor "Acci-" Dent, (1) Federer vs. (23) Ferrero in the battle of No. 1s, (15) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria vs. (2) Andy "El Service" Roddick, (18) Nalbandian vs. (27) Gasquet, (9) Grosjean vs. Tursunov, (21) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (31) Youzhny, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi vs. (12) T.Johansson, in doubles highlights (2) Bryan/Bryan vs. Israel's (15) Erlich/Ram, and (10) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. (26) Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

"I've learned to believe that I, too, can be a dangerous player on grass," Coria says prior to his run-up with Roddick. "I want to be a complete player This is the most difficult surface for me, but it's a big challenge for me to be able to play well here."