Williams’ Best Shot Falls Short

There are rare moments when Venus Williams goes from the drawing board to the tennis court, and even fewer when the greatest player in the world looks as if she just got in the way.

One of those moments came Wednesday night at the Acura Classic, when Williams, the 16-year-old much talked about but seldom seen, lost to Steffi Graf, 6-4, 6-4, in a third-round match at the Manhattan Country Club.

It was Williams’ 14th professional match, and if you asked the 5,514 in attendance, it is doubtful most would know the final score. A victory. A loss. No matter. The future of women’s tennis played against someone from Germany.

Williams was crowned on center court by the fans, and most obviously by herself. She played well, thinks she could have played better and wasn’t awed by her opponent.

“None of it was very difficult,” Williams said. “None of her game made me go, ‘Whoa.’ ”

Said Graf: “There were some amazing points. I saw her play only once before and she looked slow, but she was a different player today. She really goes with her shot and has incredible range for being so tall.”

Williams may have been right at the start when she won the match’s first six points. But when Graf was through sizing up Williams, she broke the teenager’s serve to go up, 2-1. Williams broke right back and then held for a 3-2 lead, relying on a solid return that Graf said surprised her.

But Williams’ second serve cost her when Graf broke at 4-3 and then served out to take the set.

Graf broke Williams to start the second set and again in the seventh game for a 5-2 lead. Williams didn’t quit, breaking Graf and holding serve to make it 5-4, highlighted by two aces. But Graf reeled off four consecutive points to win the match in 81 minutes.

Despite winning, it was as if Graf was just an annoying sister.

The questions were about the future, not the present, where Graf--ranked No. 1 in the world--advances to a quarterfinal match tonight against Amy Frazier and Williams--ranked No. 192--goes home.

But Graf didn’t demand anything. She was kind, talking up Williams’ game, her potential. But she balked at comparing Williams to herself at that age, also at a likeness between Williams and 15-year-old Martina Hingis.

“It is difficult,” Graf said. “Others who saw me at that age should make that comparison. And Martina is a different player because of her size.”

Two hours before facing Graf, Williams was wandering around the venue. She stood before a big board looking at the draw, she read newspaper clippings tacked to a wall and watched a minute of a doubles match on center court.

One of the players competing was Davenport, who remembered her first match against a great player this way:

“First I was saying to myself, ‘You have nothing to lose,’ but pretty soon I was in the middle of the match saying, ‘Please let me win a game.’ ”

Williams never had to said that. She played the best player in the world and never said, “Whoa.”

And when it was done, Williams and her entourage left calling the match a victory of sorts because they had nothing to lose. They also promised a time when all will be gained.

It seems only Graf knows that time is not right now.

Acura Classic Notes

Second-seeded Anke Huber advanced, but not in the same fashion as compatriot Graf. Huber dropped the first three games to Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands, ranked 55th, and lost the first set. Erratic play dominated the second set when Huber lost serve twice and Boogert three times. But Huber, No. 5 in the world, was quicker to settle and jumped on Boogert’s weak second serve to take the second set and the third for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory. “It took me a while to get into it, but I had to keep on fighting,” Huber said. “My return was better and I put pressure on her.”

Former UCLA standout Kimberly Po advanced to the third round by defeating Petra Begerow of Germany, 6-2, 6-3. She will next play seventh-seeded Karina Habsudova.