©Colette Lewis 2007—
Philadelphia, PA—
It was an ideal day to get in the mood for Wimbledon. The ever-darkening skies made rain seem inevitable, the cool breeze demanded a jacket, and the Grass Courts’ schedule, already in disarray from heavy showers on Tuesday, didn’t need any more reminders of the tribulations of an English summer.
Fortunately, the gloom never produced any precipitation, and the singles semifinalists were determined. Even the first round of doubles was completed.
When we arrived shortly after 11 a.m., No. 6 seed Dennis Nevolo had already vacated one of the lush green courts, (no Wimbledon dead-brown patches at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, even three days in), taking a 6-1, 6-1 victory over unseeded Sam Garforth-Bles. Although this is Nevolo’s first experience with grass court tennis, he’s adjusting quickly, and he told me afterward that he’s finding that thinking and improvising are his best bets, given the eccentricities of the surface.
The quarterfinal match between Bradley Klahn, the No. 2 seed, and Ryan Harrison, No. 7, was extremely tight, with Klahn pulling it out, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). Serving at 5-6 in the second set, Harrison managed to fight off at least five match points before holding, and with a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak, it looked as if momentum was on his side. But Klahn continued to punish Harrison’s second serve, often with outright return winners, and Klahn took the next five points and six of the next seven to earn the victory.
No. 5 seed Ryan Lipman ousted top seed Drew Daniel and unseeded Dennis Kudla put an end to lucky loser Andrew Landwerlen’s run with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) victory.
Because of rain earlier in the tournament, girls’ top seed Mallory Cecil played two singles matches Wednesday, winning the first, but falling to unseeded Emily Fraser in the quarterfinals 6-1, 6-4. Fraser will play Gabriela Paz, the No. 2 seed and 2006 Grass Court doubles champion, who reached the semifinals with a straight set win over unseeded Beatrice Capra. Tara Moore, the No. 3 seed. defeated No. 8 Zaruhi Harutyunyan to set up a rematch with Paz, whom she defeated in April’s International Spring Championships in Carson.
The semifinals in singles will be played on Friday, while two rounds of doubles are scheduled for Thursday.
(I apologize for the incomplete scores; the TennisLink website, which I usually rely on for details, hasn't been updated.)
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