Washington Sets the Pace for Americans

Even as his countrymen are falling around him, MaliVai Washington keeps going. Washington became the first American to reach the second week of Wimbledon by defeating Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, Friday during the tournament’s first rainy day.

Washington, who grew up in New York, conceded that Wimbledon came late into his consciousness as a tennis player.

“I don’t know when I really became aware of it,” he said. “The biggest coming of awareness was the U.S. Open, to tell you the truth. I think, for me, being an American, if I had my choice of winning a slam it would be the U.S. Open. Without a doubt, I think Wimbledon is the most prestigious of the four slams. But I remember when I was little going to the U.S. Open and watching [Jimmy] Connors and going with my dad and my sister and my mom. Watching and thinking, ‘Jeez, these guys are like icons.’ You thought these guys were the best thing in the world.”

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Doug Flach, the unseeded American who sent Andre Agassi home, was sent home Friday. Thomas Johansson of Sweden defeated Flach, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

Flach was upbeat, having enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame.

“You kind of get used to it,” Flach said, laughing while sitting in a cramped room under Centre Court. The setting was a far cry from his main interview room debut after he defeated the third-seeded Agassi.

Flach entered the main draw through qualifying and after this experience--in which he quadrupled his yearly earnings--the Atlantan will return to the satellite circuit. His hope for the summer is to get a wild card into an ATP Tour event.

“I don’t expect anything to better this, beating Andre Agassi at Wimbledon,” Flach said.

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The women’s draw lost another seeded player when No. 11 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands lost to Sabine Applemans of Belgium. Applemans withstood Schultz-McCarthy’s vaunted serving to win, 7-5, 3-5, 12-10.