Hewitt, V. Williams advance at Wimbledon

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Posted 1:42PM on Thursday, June 27, 2002

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - A day after three of the tournament's biggest names were beaten, top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt and Venus Williams restored some order at Wimbledon on Thursday, moving into the third round with straight-set wins. But upsets and surprises continued at the All England Club. Fifth-seeded Kim Clijsters, Hewitt's girlfriend, became the biggest upset victim of the women's draw so far, losing 7-6 (5), 6-2 to No. 48 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia. And 98th-ranked American Jeff Morrison ousted Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Centre Court. The 23-year-old Morrison got into the tournament as a ``lucky loser'' after Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew when his parents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Florida. With Ferrero out, six of the top-10 seeded players have been eliminated in the first two rounds. With Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Marat Safin eliminated Wednesday, Hewitt underlined his favorite's status by beating 165th-ranked French qualifier Gregory Carraz 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Court 1. Pumping his fists and displaying his typical feisty style, the Australian withstood a spirited challenge to record his second consecutive straight-set win in just over two hours. Williams, looking for her third straight Wimbledon title, followed Hewitt on Court 1 and beat Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 6-1. Williams lost serve in the first game, but broke right back and was in control the rest of the way. Adapting his hard-hitting baseline game to grass, Hewitt had only 13 unforced errors, 20 fewer than Carraz. He also served 11 aces, including four in a row near the end of the third set. The match turned in the second-set tiebreaker when Hewitt overcame a 5-2 deficit and won five straight points. Carraz missed an easy smash at 5-4 and had an apparent ace called out on the next point. With Hewitt through to the third round, No. 4 Tim Henman of Britain - the next-highest remaining seeded player - was set to face Australian qualifier Scott Draper later on Centre Court. Morrison lit up Centre Court with his athletic serve-and-volley game, spiky haircut and animated expressions, often smiling broadly and pumping himself up. Ferrero, a Spanish clay-court specialist playing in only his second Wimbledon, often found himself on the defensive against the lanky American. Morrison did show some signs of nerves. Up 5-1 in the second set, he squandered two set points and allowed Ferrero to get back to 5-5. But he broke for 6-5 and served out the set at love, finishing with an ace. At 3-3 in the third set, Ferrero saved four break points and two more at 4-4. In the tiebreaker, Morrison went down 4-1 but ran off five straight points to go up 6-4. He double-faulted on his first match point but converted on Ferrero's serve on the next point. Morrison, of Huntington, West Virginia, is playing in only his second Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the first round at the 1999 U.S. Open as a wild card. In women's play, Clijsters struggled throughout against Likhovtseva and committed a succession of unforced errors. Likhovtseva, who took Clijsters to three sets at the Italian Open in May, saved two set points at 5-4 in the first set. Clijsters went up 5-2 in the tiebreaker, but the Russian won five straight points to take the set. In the second set, Clijsters found it even more difficult to keep the ball in play. Although she broke back after dropping serve at 1-2, she was broken again for 2-4 and allowed Likhovtseva to break her again for the match. No. 6 Justine Henin of Belgium moved into the third round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Denise Chladkova of the Czech Republic. Henin lost to Venus Williams in last year's final. Also, 1994 champion Conchita Martinez beat No. 17 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-1, 6-3. In an early men's match, 18-year-old Croatian qualifier Mario Ancic - who beat seventh-seeded Roger Federer in the opening round - was beaten 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 by Jan Vacek. In one of the most extraordinary days at the All England Club, seven-time champion Sampras, 1992 winner Agassi and No. 2-seeded Safin all lost Wednesday - throwing the tournament wide open. Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion and current leader in the 2000 ATP Champions Race, was the first to go. The Russian had an 11-inch height advantage over 63rd-ranked Olivier Rochus, but the 5-foot-5 Belgian outhustled him on Centre Court and won 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1). Next went sixth-seeded Sampras, who dug himself into a two-set hole and fell 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 to 145th-ranked George Bastl on Court 2 - becoming the latest high-profile casualty on the ``graveyard of champions.'' It was the earliest Wimbledon exit in 11 years for Sampras, considered the greatest grass-court player. The loss came against a player who only got into the draw as a ``lucky loser'' following the injury withdrawal of Felix Mantilla. Then, No. 3 Agassi was swept in straight sets on Centre Court 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-2 by 67th-ranked Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand. By the time the day was over, landmarks had been set. Sampras and Agassi - the greatest American players of their generation - had never both lost so early at a Grand Slam tournament other than at the French Open. For the time in the Open era, at least five of the top-eight seeded men's players have been eliminated before the third round - No. 7 Roger Federer and No. 8 Thomas Johansson lost Tuesday.