Two Fizzle Fast in France

By LISA DILLMAN

May 29, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PARIS — French Revision I, also known as the Great Draw Reshuffle, was supposed to benefit Venus Williams, pulling the dangerous Amelie Mauresmo into another quarter. Williams wouldn’t have to worry about Mauresmo until the semifinals, if at all, making her path considerably easier.

A day later, though, French Revision Deux took place and Mauresmo and Williams moved further from each other, tumbling out of the tournament. The second reshuffling also made it easier for Williams, or at least simplified her schedule. All she has left in Paris is doubles and watching her younger sister, Serena.

The latest jolt to the women’s tournament unfolded at the French Open on a warm, sunny afternoon Monday at Roland Garros. Jana Kandarr of Germany eliminated the fifth-seeded Mauresmo of France, 7-5, 7-5. About an hour after Mauresmo’s exit, on the other end of the grounds, Barbara Schett of Austria defeated the second-seeded Williams, 6-4, 6-4.

Only two of the top five seeded players are still in contention: Top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland and fourth-seeded Jennifer Capriati. Two other seeded players lost in the first round: Silvia Farina Elia of Italy defeated No. 13-seeded Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, and Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia defeated No. 9 Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-1, 6-3.

The biggest beneficiary of those four departed seeded players is No. 15 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia. Dokic won, 6-0, 6-0, in 39 minutes against Adriana Gersi of the Czech Republic.

But for French supporters, the Tauziat loss was one more insult on a very difficult opening day.

Optimism had abounded because Mauresmo was considered the favorite in many quarters. The banner headline in French sports daily L’Equipe was La Terre D’Amelie. The Land of Amelie worked on a couple of levels, playing off her popularity and the clay-court surface.

What it came down to was that Mauresmo may have been thinking about the French Open too much, and Williams didn’t appear to be thinking about it enough. Neither approach worked.

At least Mauresmo recognized her mistake. She never appeared truly comfortable, looking jammed on her backhand motion, and she squandered a 5-1 second-set lead and a set point against Kandarr. The high expectations and new position as tournament favorite unnerved the thoughtful 21-year-old.

“It’s hard to describe,” Mauresmo said. “It’s not an easy thing to put into words, but there’s a feeling of powerlessness, as well, in addition to the stress. In fact, you feel as though you’re being overwhelmed.”

Williams was not as loquacious. Her clay-court preparation has been spotty. She played only two tournaments, winning at Hamburg, Germany, and losing to Justine Henin in the third round at Berlin. She has played six tournaments in 2001.

“I played as much as I need to, as much as I wanted to,” Williams said. “I think I played a lot already this year.”

The temp approach has backfired in 2001. She went into the Australian Open with no tournament preparation and lost, 6-1, 6-1, to Hingis in the semifinals. Clay is a less forgiving surface, and Schett was aware Williams had not played since the loss to Henin.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to play Venus in the first round because she is more beatable than later on,” said Schett, who had been 0-4 against Williams. “. . . I knew it was a good chance. If I would only play 10 matches so far, I wouldn’t be very confident going out there.

“They [the Williams sisters] never play that much. That’s what always surprised me is they don’t play many tournaments and they always do so good.”

Schett had been playing quite a few tournaments and not faring well with that approach. She was 12-12 in 2001 with only two victories on clay, and Schett came here after a tough first-round loss to Maria-Jose Martinez of Spain in Madrid.

But Schett was once in the top 10 and has the game to do well on clay. Her mental toughness is another matter.

Last year, she led Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 6-0, 4-1, and collapsed in a sea of errors, losing the fourth-round match at the French Open.

She had uneasy moments against Williams too, squandering three match points before winning it on the fourth when Williams hit a service return long.

Williams had 43 unforced errors to Schett’s 35, and Schett had six aces, one more than Williams.

Williams’ powerful first serve never really found its range. She double-faulted seven times and kept misfiring on her backhand side.

The somber Williams could only shake her head and tour officials said she took the loss harder than most. It was the second time Williams has lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, the other being at Wimbledon in 1997.

“This is my fourth loss of the year,” Williams said. “Four losses too many, maybe.”

Said Schett: “I knew deep inside I would be able to beat her. Of course she didn’t play her best tennis. She made a lot of unforced errors. But who cares? I don’t.”

Mauresmo was hit by a rash of unforced errors too, committing 37. The 24-year-old Kandarr is ranked 56th and has advanced past the first round of the French Open only once before this year.

“It’s difficult to play somebody who’s like the hero here in France,” Kandarr said. “I’m not used to playing on Centre Court. Yesterday I was so down because I played quite bad in practice. I was desperate.”

Kandarr was raised in East Germany and has been better known for being the daughter of Petra Vogt, a world-class sprinter and European champion in the 100 and 200 meters in 1969. Kandarr joked about her heritage.

“Sometimes I think, ‘Why am I so slow on the court?’ I have a mother who was a sprinter,” she said, laughing.

On this day, she was just fast enough and good enough to ruin the French dreams of another female champion.

Monday, the land of Amelie had turned into the day of the Kandarr.

New regime: U.S. teenager Andy Roddick advanced easily. D10