Unknown American pulls Wimbledon upset

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Posted 6:57AM on Friday, June 28, 2002

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - With Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi gone, another American man made the most of his time on Centre Court at Wimbledon. None other than Jeff Morrison. Morrison, ranked No. 98 and playing in only his third Grand Slam match, jolted ninth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (5) Thursday to reach the third round. ``This morning I woke up and I was a nervous wreck,'' Morrison said. Then the 23-year-old West Virginian walked onto the court in sheer wonder. ``I was looking around a lot, just saying, `Oh, my gosh, here I am,'' Morrison said. ``Who would have ever thought that I would be here?'' Morrison made the draw after Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew last week when his parents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Florida. Now, Morrison is one of only three American men left in the tournament, along with No. 11 Andy Roddick and Taylor Dent. Eleven other Americans were bounced in the first two rounds, including seven-time champion Sampras and 1992 winner Agassi. ``You see guys going on big courts and beating seeded players - it makes you realize that you can achieve the same thing if you are playing as well as you can,'' Morrison said. ``And that's what happened today.'' But not without a few nerves. ``The first 30 minutes of the match, I was a little awe-struck,'' he said. ``But I kept holding serve. My confidence was gaining. I really got myself up by the fact that I was playing on Centre Court, in the place I dreamt of playing.'' On Friday, No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov is the highest-seeded man scheduled to play, facing Xavier Malisse of Belgium in a third-round match. But the day's feature encounter figures to be Roddick against big-serving Greg Rusedski. The only remaining former champion in the draw, 1996 winner Richard Krajicek, was paired against Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, who took out Agassi in straight sets. On the women's side, No. 2 Serena Williams - projected to meet sister and two-time champion Venus in the final - was to face Els Callens. No. 3 Jennifer Capriati was set to play Daja Bedanova. Morrison was a refreshing presence on Centre Court with his athletic serve-and-volley game, youthful exuberance and animated expressions. He often broke into a big smile, even after losing points. ``I'm at my best when I act like I did out there today,'' he said. ``I think I was very fortunate to be able to act that way and enjoy the experience and to live the moment. I found that smiling is a great way to relieve stress.'' With West Virginia not exactly a tennis hotbed, Morrison left after his junior year in high school and moved to a tennis academy in South Carolina. He then went to the University of Florida, where he won the NCAA singles title as a sophomore in 1999, defeating James Blake in the final. He turned pro after his junior year. Since then, Morrison has played mainly in lower-tier Challenger events, climbing up the rankings from No. 359 to the top 100 in the past 12 months. ``For me, six months ago, six weeks ago, I would have never fathomed beating a top-10 player on a Grand Slam court,'' he said. ``So exciting.'' While Morrison revels in his new success, the expectations are building for Britain's Tim Henman as he pursues his latest bid to become the first homegrown men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936. Henman, who has made the semifinals three times in the past four years, is under intense pressure to go all the way this time in what is the queen's golden jubilee year. Henman appears to be relishing the moment. On Thursday, during his four-set win over Australia's Scott Draper, he was ``Tiger Tim,'' pumping his fists, shouting encouragement and feeding off the crowd. ``I know how advantageous, how positive they can be,'' Henman said. ``And I'm going to use everything I can. ``As we've seen so far, the standard's so good in the men's game. You've got to take everything you can. And they (fans) certainly help me a great deal.'' Draper said the crowd support could actually work against Henman. ``How could it not?'' he said. ``You've got to be human. He can feel the pressure. I sometimes thought, `Glad I wasn't Tim Henman.''' Draper believes Henman won't get past top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt if they meet in the semifinals as projected. ``Tim has the weight of the nation, which isn't easy,'' Draper said. ``On some points I felt sorry for him. He had a game point serving for the set, misses a first serve and everyone is saying, `Oh, God.' Tough. Must be hard to get rid of that. ``He's experienced at it. He's done it many years now. Maybe that's just a feeling at home for him. I don't know. But I'll back Lleyton at this stage.''