chanda loses at the us open

Back in Dallas, with a Chanda Rubin update. Sadly, as I’d feared, Venus proved to be her undoing in the fourth round. But Chanda put up a hell of a fight, losing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Chanda even had two break points at 5-5 in the third, but her endurance just wasn’t there to pull it out — not surprising, since she’s coming off major surgery. Says the AP:
But the 14th-seeded Rubin, who’s had two operations on her left knee since January 2001 and appeared to be gasping for air after longer rallies, finally succumbed to Williams’ constant pressure.
Rubin sent a forehand wide on the first break point, then put another forehand into the net to close a 17-stroke rally. She threw her head back, sighed, and staggered along the baseline.
”I gave myself a chance in the match. As a competitor, you want to go out in every match and do that,” Rubin said. ”But it’s disappointing not to win it when the chances were there. You look up — you’re right there for the match.”
Of Rubin’s seven main draw losses in 2002, five came against players who have been ranked No. 1: the Williams sisters, Davenport, and Seles.
Earlier in the week, Pam Shriver said that since coming back to the tour in May, Chanda’s been the third best woman in the world. Too bad she keeps playing the top two. (Alas, Chanda’s done for the entire tourney: she and doubles partner de jour Natasha Zvereva lost in the third round to Hingis/Kournikova. Did I mention I have no nude photos of Anna Kournikova here? Really, I don’t.)