French Remain a Frustration for Stevenson

All there was between Alexandra Stevenson and a high-profile second-round match against her childhood friend and emerging icon, Venus Williams, was a little-known French player barely ranked in the top 100.

The nationality of the opponent should have been a hint. Stevenson vs. Williams will have to wait for another day. Sarah Pitkowski, ranked 95th, rallied from a 4-2 third-set deficit to beat Stevenson, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in Wednesday’s first round at the Tennis Masters Series.

Stevenson, a wild-card entry, said she has had problems, real or imagined, against French players in the past. Her mother, Samantha, said at Wimbledon last year that both her daughter and she had physical and verbal confrontations with French players on the tour. The players denied the Stevensons’ assertions.

Pitkowski, however, has stayed far from that fray. Here, at the Tennis Garden, she regrouped after losing the first set and forced Stevenson into making errors.

“It was very disappointing because the match was mine, and I let it go,” said Stevenson, who said she was bothered by tendinitis in her feet. “The girl played like it was a Grand Slam. She played really well. She didn’t deserve to win, though. If I would have held my serve and not made the shots I messed up on--a couple of volleys, approaches--it would have been a different story.”

Pitkowski didn’t agree. “If she thinks that, that’s good for her. I think that I push her to do mistakes,” she said, looking slightly irritated. “She made mistakes, but I pushed her to do the mistakes.”

She spoke some more about Stevenson, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1999 and has struggled since then, tumbling to No. 117.

“Stevenson, I don’t have to tell you what she is,” said Pitkowski, referring to what she viewed as the American’s brashness. “You can just read the paper about what she said about everyone. I hope she doesn’t [talk] too much against me because she doesn’t like too much about the French girls.”

Among those advancing in other opening-round matches were Iva Majoli of Croatia, Angeles Montolio of Spain, Rita Grande of Italy, Barbara Rittner of Germany, Elena Bovina of Russia and Sylvia Plischke of Austria. Majoli, the 1997 French Open champion, defeated Marlene Weingartner of Germany, 6-4, 6-2. The resurgent Majoli had dropped to No. 163 at the end of 1999 because of injuries but is now ranked 47th. Mirjana Lucic of Croatia withdrew because of tendinitis in her right wrist.

“I’m healthy now,” she said. “I’m feeling great. I feel like I’m more mature now. Maybe, in a way, those two years I didn’t play much helped me. I’m 23 now. I feel like a veteran, but I think I still have some years to play.”