(26 July 1996; Day 07)
France's Mary PIERCE, the No. 12 women's singles seed, fell in a dramatic three-set second-round battle with Argentina's Ines GORROCHATEGUI, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in Olympic tennis competition Friday at Stone Mountain Park. PIERCE became the second women's seed to exit the championships, as 15th-seeded Martina HINGIS of Switzerland was eliminated in her second-round match on Thursday.
PIERCE appeared to have control of the match early in the first set, going up one service break to take a 2-0 lead. But a break back by GORROCHATEGUI put her back on serve, and she broke PIERCE again at four games all.
"I started out fairly well," PIERCE said. "I was up 2-love, but my serve wasn't there and I missed a lot of easy forehands, which is usually one of my favorite shots. I made a few mistakes when I shouldn't have; I didn't make her play enough or move enough. And that was really important."
PIERCE's frustration's were evident during a crucial break point for GORROCHATEGUI, who then held serve to take the first set, 6-4. PIERCE came back quickly and dominated the second set, 6-1, but began to lose intensity as the third set got underway.
It appeared as though GORROCHATEGUI had siphoned the energy out of PIERCE's racquet as she sprinted across the court to return seemingly unreachable drop shots. A burst of adrenaline kept her on-court even during the changeovers, and she soon was serving for a 5-2 lead.
"I was too calm in the second set," GORROCHATEGUI explained. "I put so much energy in the first set that I was too calm in the second. It wasn't good for me. I needed to feel my pulse a little bit and she was also taking a little too much time in between (points). So I wanted to rush her a little bit."
But GORREOCHATEGUI may have rushed too early in that final set, allowing PIERCE to capitalize on unforced errors to hold serve and then break back to 4-5. What followed was the Frenchwoman's best service game of the match, as she notched four consecutive points to bring the match even at five games all.
The turning point came in the 11th game of the third set, during a drop-shot rally on break point against GORROCHATEGUI. Both players scampered from the baseline and volleyed across the court until the Argentinian let loose a passing shot on the run for a winner, bringing the center court crowd to its feet.
"That was the point of the match," PIERCE later reflected. "I was on the forehand side of the court and hit a backhand, but I don't know why I bounced it in the first place. I should have taken the ball in the air, which would have given me the break and I could have served for the match."
But instead, it was GORROCHATEGUI who held serve at 6-5 after PIERCE's errant forehand cost her a second break point. Two more forehand errors and another strong passing shot set up the first of two match points for the Argentinian, who responded with a nervous backhand return into the net.
On the final point, PIERCE's forehand failed her one last time, and the ball sailed long to give the match to GORRACHATEGUI.
"I didn't take my chance that first moment," GORRACHATEGUI said of the first match point. "But I knew I would have another chance to win. I thought I couldn't lose the match, I really wanted to win, and that was the key for me."
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Melissa Horton.
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |