Boogert Lets Big Chance Slip Away : Tennis: Double fault is costly for No. 56-ranked player against Sabatini.

The ability to think your way out of trouble on a tennis court would seem to be an excellent trait. In practice, however, excessive thinking generally leads directly to trouble.

So it was for Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands, who found herself serving for the match against third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini Tuesday night in the second round of the Acura Classic at Manhattan Country Club.

Boogert, ranked No. 56, was playing the eighth-ranked Sabatini for the first time. Going against a top 10 player always carries extra incentive for the lower-ranked, as a victory carries bonus points that dramatically boost rankings.

All that and more was on Boogert’s mind when she was serving for the match at 5-4. Brain overload led to a double fault at game point. That lapse led to Sabatini’s 6-4, 3-5, 7-6 (7-2) victory.

“I was probably thinking too much about Gaby rather than concentrating on my serve,” Boogert said. “Experience has a lot to do with it.”

Sabatini, who has ample experience at playing from behind, has become a reluctant expert at such scenarios.

“In my career, I’ve won a lot of matches being down like that,” Sabatini said. “I’ve been in that situation many times. I know what to do.”

She knew to hold her serve and scrape her way into a tiebreaker, where her 10 years of tour experience carry their own sort of bonus points.

Sabatini was commanding in the tiebreaker, striking quickly. She held serve to go up 1-0, then jumped to a 3-0 lead when Boogert lost both her serves--the second on a double fault. She split points on her next two serves and suddenly Sabatini held a 4-1 lead.

“If you can get ahead in the beginning of a tiebreaker, it makes a difference,” Boogert said. “But in 10 seconds she was up four points.”

Boogert failed to gain a point on her next two serves and was facing match point with Sabatini serving.

Before a hushed crowd, Sabatini’s first serve was no good and as she tossed the ball for her second serve the chair umpire called for her to wait, while he directed a ball boy to move.

With her concentration shot, Sabatini double faulted. She recovered to win the next point and the match, but remained puzzled at the umpire’s untimely interruption.

“It was a crucial moment,” she said. “I didn’t feel good going into my second serve. It didn’t feel right. I just said, Forget about it. It was a bad call.”

Sabatini said she drew sustenance from the boisterous crowd, which, while applauding both players, clearly lavished its most vocal cheering on Sabatini.

The crowd’s allegiance was obvious to Boogert, who kiddingly told Sabatini after the match, “This is worse than playing Fed Cup in Argentina.”

Boogert was missing only one consistent element to her serve and volley game--she double faulted eight times, mostly at key moments. When she did crank in a tough serve and was able to follow it to net, Boogert shut down points quickly.

But her errant second serve was her undoing.

Boogert double faulted twice in the first game to give Sabatini a break and a cheery outlook in first set. The players exchanged a number of long baseline rallies, punctuated by Boogert’s infrequent but successful forays into net. She won the ninth game at love on the strength of three serve-and-volley points and a service winner.

The second set started with another service break by Sabatini, but this time Boogert broke back. Boogert held in the third game then the players traded back-to-back breaks again to draw even. Sabatini dropped her serve in the eighth game and that was enough to give Boogert the second set.

Boogert reversed the service-break trend in the third set by breaking Sabatini to start the set, but, despite excellent volleys, Boogert was unable to hold on to her tenuous lead.