By Paul Martinez
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. The main draw of the Pacific Life
Open began Wednesday with veterans dashing the hopes of several young upstarts
in first round WTA action.
On Center Court, 19-year-old
Czech Katerina Bohmova jumped out to a four-game lead over Lisa Raymond in
the first set to win 6-2. But Raymond recovered to take the second set 6-4.
Bohmova, who qualified in by defeating top seed Maria Elena Camerin, was
serving for match point in the third but Raymond broke her to force the tiebreak.
The 32-year-old the showed her experience to put her away 7-5.
Sixteen year old wildcard
Alexa Glatch of nearby Newport Beach was recently the subject of a Sports
Illustrated article which decried the deplorable state of American juniors
tennis. The article forecast a dim future for USA on the international scene,
unless scouting and development was vastly improved.
Unfortunately, the alarmingly
thin Glatch did not do much to disprove the article, and it was all she could
do to not go down in love sets on Center Court to the visibly faster, and
more experienced Slovakian Martina Sucha. Glatch likely is still shaking
effects of a motorcycle accident last November and lack of practice
-- the Open was her first tournament since then.
The youngest player in the
draw, 16-year-old Anna Tatishvili did not have much luck against American
Jamea Jackson, herself only 19. Jackson's speed and experience was too much
for Tatishvili, who was playing in her first WTA event.
The Pacific Life Open is
no longer a mandatory WTA event, however, the majority of the top players
have committed to play. Absent this year are Australian Open winner Amelie
Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Williamses, Kim Clijsters (ankle), and
former title holder Daniela Hantuchova. Seeded play begins Saturday, however
many of the top seeds were already present practicing. The top eight seeds
attended the WTA All Access Hour, an event where media can get quotes and
photos.
Tournament Info:
The Pacific Life Open
began Monday, March 6 with the start of the women's qualifying draw. The
women's main draw and men's qualifying draw begin on Wednesday, March 8 and
the men's main draw begins on Friday, March 10. The tournament will run through
Sunday, March 19.
The first major combined tennis
event of the season on U.S. soil, the Pacific Life Open will be held March
6-19, 2006 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. In 2005
more than 280,000 fans attended, making it the fifth largest tennis tournament
in the world. This year's event will again feature over 250 of the top men's
and women's players and will be broadcast for more than 44 hours of live
and tape-delayed coverage on ESPN2. For tickets and info call the box office
at (800) 999-1585 or visit
www.PacificLifeOpen.com.
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