Tumultuous season for Angela Haynes
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- The late defection of three top players from last week's Advanta Championships in suburban Philadelphia made room for an equal number of "lucky losers" -- players who lose in a qualifying tournament but are called on to fill holes in the draw.
One of them was 21-year-old Californian Angela Haynes, who took Lindsay Davenport's place, inherited her first-round bye and lost in straight sets to Slovakia's Martina Sucha in the second round.
Haynes, 21, had an encouraging summer, pushing her former Compton, Calif., neighbor Serena Williams to three sets in the first round at Wimbledon and reaching a career-high No. 95 in August. She is ranked 134th this week.
Because she is an African-American who shares a hometown with the Williams sisters, Haynes knows she'll be forever linked with them.
"That's bound to happen,'' she said. "If that's who the world's going to compare me to for the rest of my career, that's OK. You just have to keep working hard, going out and showing the world who you are.
"It was the greatest match of my career … I wish I would have won, but I'm satisfied.''
For now, however, that accomplishment has receded somewhat as Haynes tries to cope with a devastating personal loss.
In late September, just a few days before Haynes' birthday, her older brother Dontia (pronounced Dante like the Italian poet) died in a San Diego hospital from head injuries sustained when his motorcycle struck a car that had pulled out in front of him.
Dontia Haynes, 23, was scheduled to graduate next spring with a degree in psychology from San Diego State University. He competed for the Aztecs' tennis team for two seasons after transferring from the University of California-Irvine, and helped the team to a Mountain West Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Angela and her brother had a strong bond forged by their itinerant existence as up-and-coming tennis players. Their father, Fred, was their coach and chauffeur, working odd jobs to pay for room, board and entry fees as the siblings fought their way up the junior ranks. After Angela turned pro in 2001, father and son traveled with her to tournaments.
"We were like twins,'' Haynes said last week after a second-round doubles loss at the Advanta. "If you saw me, you saw my brother. He was graduating this year and he was going to come out and be my hitter. … We talked about playing mixed doubles.''
Haynes said she and her family are still in a state of shock, but after the funeral, she decided she needed to get her father and herself back to work. She played her first match in tears. The Advanta was her third tournament in the last month and she plans to enter one more this season, in Tucson, Ariz., where her sister lives.
"I had to get out of the house,'' said Haynes, who still lives with her grandparents in Compton, Calif., during the week and trains at the Home Depot Center in nearby Carson. She and her father share a home in Irvine on the weekends.
"My dad wasn't eating,'' she said. "It was a disaster. It was tough. But I knew my dad would be sick if we didn't get out.… He's a very strong person, and I've never seen him like this.
"My brother was always my number one fan. He was really proud of me, and that's what's pushing me to stay out there.''
A strange swan song: When Russia's Nadia Petrova walked out to address the Advanta crowd before her scheduled semifinal match with Elena Dementieva Saturday night, her words were partially (and inadvertently) drowned out by music from the hospitality tent at one end of the court.
Based on recent experience, the fans could have guessed what she was about to say: she was hurt. Bruised heel. Can't play. So sorry.
Instead, Dementieva graciously indulged ticket holders at Villanova University's Pavilion with an exhibition match against a willing volunteer, 75th-ranked Mashona Washington.
Petrova's scratch was the final disappointment for tournament organizers who had hoped to go out with a festive bang instead of being deflated by a slow talent leak.
Serena Williams canceled the rest of her season in early October because of an aching knee and ankle. Sister Venus withdrew with a sore knee three weeks later. Swiss star Patty Schnyder bailed on the eve of the event, citing a self-inflicted injury: a bruised and cut hand suffered when she whacked her racket on the court during a match the previous week.
Then, on the tournament's first day, two of the world's top players sent their regrets: No. 1 Davenport (flu) and No. 3 Maria Sharapova (right thumb). Like Schnyder, Davenport and Sharapova, Petrova had already qualified for the WTA season-ending championships in Los Angeles this week.
Dementieva faced off in Sunday's final against the only other walking and unwounded top-10 player remaining in the depleted field, defending champion and No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo of France. Mauresmo, who the day before ended rising Czech star Nicole Vaidisova's winning streak at 18 matches, kept her own string intact by prevailing for a third consecutive year in Philadelphia.
The 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory took nearly three hours, included several significant momentum shifts and was made possible in part by Dementieva's erratic service. Dementieva came back from a 4-1 deficit to go up 5-4 in the third set, but serving for the match, committed the last of her 14 double faults on break point to let that game and the title slip away.
The Russian had a great week overall, qualifying for the last slot in the WTA Championships and climbing three places in the rankings to No. 7 Monday.
Advanta CEO Dennis Alter brought a likeness of a swan out to the trophy presentation to commemorate what could be the last WTA appearance in that market for the foreseeable future. The tournament will be in Europe next year as the WTA Championships shift to Madrid, Spain.
Alter gallantly presented Mauresmo with his suit jacket, then, observing a tournament tradition that began a decade ago, converted the winner's cup into a giant tip jar by slipping in a $1,000 cash bonus he calls "walking-around money.''
Perhaps this year it was really thanks-for-sticking-around money.
The two players who persevered in Philly will have considerably less rest than several others who are expected to recover from their myriad ailments in time for Tuesday's start of play in Los Angeles. Mauresmo said she doesn't mind the tradeoff, especially since she managed to rebound from first-round losses in her last two tournaments.
"I really needed some matches under my belt, and some confidence,'' Mauresmo said. "That's what I wanted, and that's what I got. So I'm not going to complain about being a little bit tired.''
