About two hours before this match got underway, I was looking for a place to eat my lunch and found a table over by one of the practice courts. I noticed two players were warming up there, but it wasn't until I sat down that I realized they were Florencia Labat and Rika Hiraki. I quickly finished my hot dog and went up for a closer look. A few Japanese people showed up for a while to watch Hiraki, but otherwise it was just me out there with my iced tea and my camera. Flo was in very good spirits.
As they were getting ready to finish up, the guy retreiving balls on Rika's side (maybe a coach, I don't know for sure) announced "it's match point -- the winner buys dinner!" Florencia and Rika then played a formal singles point, with Labat serving and Hiraki eventually hitting a forehand wide. "I guess it'll be Japanese food!", the guy exclaimed. Flo agreed to play a second point, but it also ended on a Rika error. As they were leaving, Florencia jokingly asked the guy, "So, are we gonna win today?"
A win would be unlikely on this day -- Flo and Rika would have to get past #4 seeds Martina Hingis and Mary Joe Fernandez. Florencia had lost to Mary Joe in doubles at Indian Wells (the previous stop on the WTA Tour) and had suffered a heartbreaking 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 singles loss against her at the '96 Lipton. Flo also had a little bit of previous history with Martina, having lost to her in singles at the '95 Canadian Open. I think this was the first time they'd faced off in doubles, though, and it definitely was the first time I'd been able to watch them on opposite sides of the court. Not a big deal to anyone else, but quite a happening for me: Martina and Florencia happen to be my two favorite players.
This was also the first time I'd seen Florencia on a big court. The Grandstand was packed for this one, meaning Flo was out there in front of many more fans than usual. She claims to not get nervous in these situations, however, and it showed early in the match. In fact, the Hingis/Fernandez team seemed more out of sorts. On the second point of the match, a backhand by Florencia went right between the #4 seeds, each thinking the other was going to take it. Labat and Hiraki capitalized on that miscue, scoring a very surprising break of Hingis. Flo was the next to serve. She faced a break point, but fought it off with a service winner that was too much for Hingis. Flo won the game two points later by hitting a half volley which landed on the baseline. To the utter amazement of the capacity crowd, Labat and Hiraki had taken a 2-0 lead.
Fernandez held at love to make it 2-1, but Flo and Rika picked up right where they left off in the next game, taking a 40-15 lead. However, Rika put a backhand into the net for 40-30. A long rally on the next point ended with a Hingis forehand volley winner for deuce. Flo followed by hitting the line with a backhand crosscourt winner to get the advantage. The heavy underdogs were hanging in with the big stars, matching them stroke for stroke. And then it all fell apart. Martina and Mary Joe took the next three points and the break, as a Hiraki double fault ended the game. Goodbye lead -- it's 2-all.
Hingis and Fernandez only lost one point in each of the next two games. The crisp volleys from both Martina and Mary Joe were simply too much. Game Seven ended with a truly great exchange in which Hingis, Labat, and Fernandez (in that order) all hit nice volleys...but the rally and game ended when Hiraki's backhand volley landed in the net. Hingis and Fernandez went up 5-2, then took the first three points of the next game for a 0-40 lead on Hiraki's serve. Set point #1 disappeared when Martina missed a service return and set point #2 also went by the wayside on an errant forehand by Mary Joe. The third time was the charm, though -- another blown volley by Hiraki closed out the 6-2 set.
The Swiss Whiz's remarkable touch at the net was on display early in the second set. She hit a couple terrific volleys in the last point of the first game, which ended on a Hiraki error. The 16-year-old's knack for returning serve (ATP star Goran Ivanisevic says she has the best return he's ever faced) became apparent in the next game. She whipped one of Flo's serves for a winner to go up 15-40, then completed the break when Mary Joe placed a backhand in the corner. Flo and Rika took a 0-30 lead against the Hingis serve in the following game, but proceeded to drop four straight points and go down 3-0.
It was more of the same from then on. Hingis nearly crashed into a linesman unsuccessfully chasing a ball in the fourth game, but she came away from the incident with a big smile on her face. A few points later Florencia badly missed a backhand overhead to make the deficit 4-0. A break point against Hingis in the next game went the way of the dinosaur when Flo hit a return wide. There were some great rallies in the sixth game of the set, but the results remained the same. Labat missed a forehand wide to end the 6-2, 6-0 win for Hingis and Fernandez. Sheesh, where did that 2-0 lead go? Florencia and Rika can at least be happy this drubbing was over quickly.
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