Few Players Are Enjoying Their Day in the Aussie Sun

Chris Woodruff had an urgent message for the ball kid during the changeover after the fifth game in the second set.

“My red drink out of the cooler, please,” he said.

Ninety seconds on the changeover wasn’t enough. The beverage never came and Woodruff was just like another customer, a victim of bad service. If that happens at a sidewalk cafe, well, the answer is to leave a smaller tip and never return.

But the solution at the oven-baked Australian Open isn’t quite as simple. Skipping a round of beverages on this very warm Saturday--the air temperature was close to 100 degrees and on the on-court number approached 125--and it could cost a player a game or even a set.

The weather remained hot for the second consecutive day, rising quickly from 82 degrees to 98 by mid-afternoon, according to officials. Players were taking proper precautions, eating bananas and icing down. Unlike the day before, no one had to retire from a singles match because of heat exhaustion and a rapid heartbeat, the way David Prinosil of Germany had to do against Andre Agassi in the second set.

“I was feeling it. I was just saying to myself, ‘Just take your time. Take deep breaths,’ ” said Evie Dominikovic of Australia, who lost her third-round match against Rita Grande of Italy, 6-3, 6-4.

“But I mean it was hot for both of us. It wasn’t just hot for me. I was just thinking, ‘You can get through this. She’s hurting at the other end.’ ”

Nearly everyone seemed to be bothered by the heat or some sort of minor ailment. Third-seeded Venus Williams, who defeated Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-1, in the third round, had her right knee taped for support.

“Well, it was very hot,” Williams said. “I didn’t really want to make my stay too long but sometimes you do end up staying out there little longer than what you propose in the beginning. But today was pretty fortunate.

Seventh-seeded Mary Pierce of France, a champion here in 1995, was not as fortunate. She had her left thigh wrapped and had to leave the court for an injury timeout after losing the first set to Paola Suarez of Argentina. Suarez kept her nerve, prevailing, 6-3, 6-2. She has lost only 11 games in three rounds.

One seeded player on the men’s side lost in third-round action. Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden defeated 10th-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Woodruff had a chance to score a major upset against fifth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia. The American took the first set and had service breaks in the second and fourth sets but let the match slip away.

Kafelnikov, a finalist last year and champion two years ago, is the master of winning marathon matches as he defeated Woodruff, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3, in 2 hours 38 minutes. Fourth-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden had a brief scare against unheralded Alex Calatrava of Spain, winning, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in 2 hours 35 minutes. The multi-national Calatrava, who has lived in Germany and Spain, went to high school in Palm Springs and trained under coach Jose Higueras.

The other top women advanced in straight sets: top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland, No. 6 Serena Williams, No. 10 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa and No. 13 Amelie Mauresmo of France.

Mauresmo has not gone past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since reaching the final here two years ago. She will play Venus Williams in the fourth round on Monday and her advancement this time at the Australian Open has been much quieter.

Two years ago, she celebrated her victories by acknowledging her girlfriend, Sylvie Bourdon, in the stands and decided to speak openly about their relationship with the French press. What should have been a proud moment--reaching the final against Martina Hingis--turned tabloid when Hingis spoke about Mauresmo and Bourdon, saying: “She’s here with her girlfriend. She [Mauresmo] is half a man.”

Mauresmo split with Bourdon last year and her biggest problem has not been intrusive publicity but serious injuries. She has been troubled by an injured lower back and had to withdraw from the Sydney event last week after beating Monica Seles.

The back has not troubled Mauresmo in the first three rounds. She defeated a resurgent Iva Majoli of Croatia, 6-4, 6-2, under hot and windy conditions. It was like playing with a hot hair dryer blowing on the court.

“It was very windy, so it was tough to find a rhythm and play a consistent game,” Mauresmo said.

She displayed a subtle sense of confidence when asked about playing Williams in the fourth round. They have not played in three years. It was pointed out that Williams, the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, has improved a lot since then.

“Yeah, me, too,” she said, smiling.