Fame’s Fine, but Tauziat Seeks Top 5

Winning is nothing new to Nathalie Tauziat, the ninth-ranked women’s tennis player in the world.

Fame, however, is something else again.

The French-born Tauziat, who is seeded fifth at this week’s Acura Classic at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach, ranks below such big-name players as Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Venus Williams.

And competing on less than even terms against players of that stature has kept Tauziat out of the headlines.

Tauziat, who beat Chanda Rubin, 6-4, 7-5, in a first-round match Tuesday, has won $504,129 so far this year but even her victories over higher-ranked opponents haven’t made hers a household name.

On tennis’ biggest stage, for instance, the Wimbledon finals, Tauziat enjoyed the finest moment of her career.

In her native country, however, her advance through the tournament and ultimate loss to Jana Novotna wasn’t the top story.

“I was unlucky because of the World Cup soccer in France while I was in Wimbledon,” Tauziat said. “The French team won, which was good for us.”

For Tauziat, however, it was also another day on the inside pages.

Now, with the World Cup fading into history, her success finally has brought her some fame.

“When I’m [in France] now and I go outside, people recognize me on the street,” she said. “I enjoy it.”

Now, she’s looking to gain more recognition by moving up in the rankings.

“Being in the top 10 is my best achievement so far,” the 15-year tour veteran said. “I think I can make the top five.

“I need to win two or three tournaments and play well in grand slams. Why not win next year at Wimbledon?”

For now, though, Tauziat is concentrating on the Acura Classic. So far, she’s off to a great start.

Facing the 22-year-old Rubin, Tauziat overcame return problems with a dominating service game.

“I didn’t play my best tennis, but I played solid,” said Tauziat, who had six aces and won 83% of her first-serve points. “Chanda hits the ball hard and you don’t know what she’s going to do, so you have to concentrate more.”

Tauziat next faces Alexandra Fusai of France, who defeated 17-year-old Alexandra Stevenson, 6-3, 6-3.

In the evening match, 16-year-old and No. 21 in the world Serena Williams blew out Larisa Neiland of Latvia, 6-0, 6-0, in what may have been her best match as a professional.

“I’ve never had a 6-0, 6-0 before,” said Williams, who had four service aces and only one double fault. “I had a 6-0, 6-1 [as an amateur].”

Neiland had no aces and committed eight double faults.

The match, which lasted only 38 minutes, was easy enough for Williams that she had a little fun with the fans afterward.

When asked how much she could bench press, Williams said, “I don’t know how much but if you come down here I’ll do you.”

It will be back to serious business for Williams in the second round, however, when she faces seventh-seeded Sandrine Testud of France. Testud defeated Adriana Serra-Zanetti of Italy, 6-3, 7-5.

The other seeded player to take the court was No. 8 Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, who overcame an early scare to defeat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, 7-5, 6-2.

Also, 1997 French Open winner Iva Majoli of Croatia struggled to advance against Rita Grande of Italy, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Matches

$450,000 Acura Classic at Manhattan Country Club, Manhattan Beach:

STADIUM COURT, STARTING AT 10 A.M.

* Mary Pierce, France vs. Yayuk Basuki, Indonesia.

* Barbara Paulus, Austria vs. Monica Seles, United States.

* Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain vs. Ai Sugiyama, Japan.

* Nathalie Tauziat, France vs. Alexandra Fusai, France.

STADIUM COURT, 7:30 P.M.

* Martina Hingis, Switzerland vs. Iva Majoli, Croatia.