She’s Big, and Her Status Is Rising

Serena Williams’ size, as it turns out, does matter.

Her imposing, physical 16-year-old presence--always a popular topic on the tour--has become a major talking point at the Manhattan Country Club at Manhattan Beach this week.

That was especially so after she beat seventh-seeded Sandrine Testud of France on Thursday in the Acura Classic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, a second-round victory that set up an intriguing quarterfinal match today against top-seeded Martina Hingis.

“She’s kind of big, yeah?” Testud said. “She’s a strong girl. I won’t have a fight with her. Physically, Venus [Williams] and her are both very strong. You can see it.”

Hingis saw enough on Tuesday when she watched Williams win her first-round match, 6-0, 6-0. “She’s a big girl,” Hingis said, laughing. “She seems to be very pumped up and she really wants to play.”

Serena, who is listed in the tour media guide as 5 feet 10, 145 pounds, was asked if she agreed with the sentiments of her father, Richard, who had declared on local television that his younger daughter would beat Hingis.

“Depends which Serena shows up,” she said.

Serena Williams has a running joke of sorts in ‘98, frequently mentioning the good Serena and her alter ego, the bad Serena. So, if the good Serena shows up, will she beat Hingis?

“I think so,” Williams said. “ . . . I think I’ve eradicated that bad Serena. I haven’t seen her since Australia.”

The turning point for Williams came at an Australian Open tuneup event in Sydney. She beat Lindsay Davenport in three sets in the quarterfinals before losing to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the next round.

Another barometer of her progress came when she squandered two match points in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 [7-4] quarterfinal loss to Hingis at the Lipton tournament in March. Since then, Williams has reached the quarterfinals of two tournaments and the fourth round at the French Open and third at Wimbledon.

“I’m more mentally strong, and I know how to deal with those types of situations,” Williams said. “I’m going to have to be ready either way, because she’s No. 1 in the world and she’s had great results.”

Williams hasn’t had much tournament play since Wimbledon, just two matches at Manhattan Beach. Hingis, on the other hand, is playing in the second of three consecutive tournaments.

“Last time was a tough match, I wasn’t playing my best tennis [at the Lipton],” Williams said. “I know I’m going to have to pick up my game for her tomorrow because I didn’t play that well today either.”

It was enough despite a tenacious effort from Testud. The two-hour, 10-minute match was an entertaining struggle.

Williams fought off one set point in the seventh game of the second set, five more in the eighth game and six more in the ninth game.

Finally, Testud won it, 6-3, on her 13th set point.

Williams smashed an overhead, and Testud hit a cross-court backhand passing shot.

“Thirteen?” said Testud, who lost count of the set points. “Oh my gosh! Thirteen, it’s a lucky number.”

Williams found her groove, however, in the third set, breaking Testud in the third and fifth games to take a 4-1 lead.

The two other second-round matches were one-sided. Eighth-seeded Natasha Zvereva of Belarus defeated Magui Serna of Spain, 6-2, 6-1. Zvereva will play her friend and frequent doubles partner Davenport today in the quarterfinals. Davenport, who has won the last two tournaments, looked sharp early in her 6-0, 6-4 second-round victory over Julie Halard-Decugis.

There was one second-round upset as lucky loser Elena Tatarkova of Ukraine defeated sixth-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania, 6-2, 6-2. Tatarkova, who lost in qualifying, got into the main draw when Mary Pierce withdrew because of a strained right groin.

Defending champion and fourth-seeded Monica Seles is one round ahead of the other players; she played her quarterfinal match on Thursday. She moved into the semifinals by defeating fifth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-4, 6-4, in 64 minutes.

Today’s Featured Matches

STADIUM COURT, STARTING AT 11 A.M.

* Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (3) vs. Elena Tatarkova.

* Martina Hingis (1) vs. Serena Williams.

STADIUM COURT, STARTING AT 7 P.M.

Lindsay Davenport (2) vs. Natasha Zvereva (8).