Sanchez-Vicario’s Loss Assures New Winner

News alert: There will be a new French Open champion on the women’s side. The last remaining champion in the draw, three-time winner Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, departed Thursday in the second round.

That itself was not a huge shock, although the only other time she lost in the second round here was in 1990. The 29-year-old Sanchez-Vicario has had off-court difficulties, announcing earlier this month she was officially separated from her husband of less than a year, Joan Vehils.

But, surprisingly, Sanchez-Vicario was the one who came undone . . . against Amy Frazier. Frazier, no huge fan of red clay, beat Sanchez-Vicario, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, in 1 hour 46 minutes. Sanchez-Vicario had been the one to come back from a seemingly improbable deficit so many times.

The painfully shy Frazier, 28, who had won only five matches at the French Open in her career, is blunt about her abilities. “My game is pretty one-dimensional,” she said.

Frazier said she would rather have fun on the court than have a Plan B. She also realized Sanchez-Vicario was not her usual self.

“I don’t think she played anywhere near what she could play today,” Frazier said. “She made quite a few unforced errors that she would normally not make.”

Three of the leading candidates to win the tournament--top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland, No. 4 Jennifer Capriati and No. 6 Serena Williams--won second-round matches in straight sets. Hingis lost one game to Catalina Castano of Colombia, and Capriati dropped three to Tathiana Garbin of Italy.

Despite the wide-open draw and her recent success, Capriati is cautious.

“I’m not even looking ahead, I didn’t even know who I was going to play next round,” she said. “I get in trouble when I look too far ahead. You go in there and underestimate the player you are playing, and boom, you just lose.”

Capriati is two matches away from facing Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. Williams picked up her play, beating Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, 6-0, 7-5.

Following the match, she was in a loose mood, laughing off questions about reports in British papers regarding friction between her and older sister Venus and dismissed it emphatically, saying: “We never argue.”

She understood why fans are disappointed about their withdrawal from doubles. “I don’t want to play because it’s too many matches,” she said. “I don’t see what the big problem is. For sure, if they don’t like it, I will go to my utmost to play next year. You know, I really feel sorry for them because it’s a great joy to watch Venus and I together on the court.”

Serena covered a lot of topics, including questions about a friend, an NFL linebacker, who came to watch her play at a recent tournament.

“You guys are making me giggle. That type of stuff makes me giggle. The answer? No comment,” she said, laughing.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

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