Morrison Stays on Unlikely Roll

He could be working for his father in Huntington, W.Va., checking out the pipes in the family’s waste, water and sewage treatment business.

All things considered, Jeff Morrison would rather be at Wimbledon. Giving new meaning to the phrase “lucky loser,” Morrison grabbed the spotlight Thursday with an electric, energetic performance in his first appearance on Centre Court, defeating ninth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (5). He had never won a Grand Slam match before this tournament.

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are out of Wimbledon. Morrison, who lost in qualifying but got in when Tommy Haas withdrew, will play No. 18 Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands in the third round Saturday.

Morrison, 23, served and volleyed with ease, showing great comfort and touch on grass. He also displayed a sense of humor, laughing and leaning on the net when he missed a relatively easy overhead.

“Last night when I found out [about Centre Court], I was excited,” said Morrison, the 1999 NCAA champion from Florida. “This morning I woke up and I was a nervous wreck.”

Morrison heard a few shouts of support, using his nickname “Ship.” It was given to him when he was in high school in West Virginia, not exactly a tennis hotbed, before he left for an academy at Spartanburg, S.C. A spectator yelled out during one of his matches that he was like a battleship because of his fighting spirit.

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Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King spoke about her dispute with Jennifer Capriati, the events leading up to King’s kicking Capriati off the team.

“I just want to make it very clear that I asked for closed practice and they would not stick with it,” King said of Capriati and her coach. “Also I think you need to know that twice she left the team on the Sunday before the week and on the Wednesday and she kept breaking rules all the time.

” ... [The] media has not quite understood that I did not want her not to go practice some more. That was not the issue at all. The issue was that the [individual] coaches could not practice with the players because it’s a team event that week and I can’t have four coaches and four players on the court.”

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Martina Navratilova returned to Centre Court and won her first-round doubles match with Natasha Zvereva. She inspired admiration with her recent singles victory at Eastbourne at age 45.

Navratilova would most certainly be given a wild card at Wimbledon if she wanted a spot. She said she wouldn’t just for the sake of novelty. There is also the issue of her TV commentating schedule.

But the idea of Navratilova playing singles at Wimbledon has been an issue in the tennis world and among her fans, who were excited by her form and showing at Eastbourne.

“Who knows?” she said. “I’m not ruling anything out.”

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Security became an issue when two fans got on Centre Court and started playing after Monica Seles’ victory. Seles was gone before the intruders took the court.

The men were taken away by security and apparently left the club before further questioning. All England Club officials, bothered by the lapse, released this statement:

“We are treating this matter very seriously. It was extremely irresponsible. We will be reviewing our security procedures.”

Serena Williams has a very visible personal security guard who was also with her at the French Open, following a recent episode involving an overzealous fan.

“I think more than ever you have to be, these days, very careful of what you do and where you go and what time you do it and if you do it alone or with someone else,” said her sister Venus Williams. “And you have to be very conscious about who’s looking at you.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

American Dreamers

U.S. players went 10-4 in the first round of the Wimbledon men’s draw, but only three of those 14 players remain after two rounds. Andy Roddick is the sole remaining seeded player. A look:

*--* ANDY RODDICK

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Seeded 11th, Roddick plays No. 23 Greg Rusedski of Britain, who will have a raucous crowd behind him. Rusedski, a big left-hander, is known for his booming serve.

*--* TAYLOR DENT

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He faces another left-hander--Australian Wayne Arthurs--who plays similarly to Rusedski but is not quite as strong from the baseline.

*--* JEFF MORRISON

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Sjeng Schalken, the 18th-seeded player who ousted Michael Chang, is next for Morrison.