A day of rain in Beijing cooled down the ongoing China Open as 11 ATP matches were postponed on Tuesday.
In one of only two matches played, seventh-seeded Taylor Dent of the United States outclassed Australia's Peter Luczak 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round.
Seen as one of the future US superstars, the 23-year-old grabbed the attention of the tennis world when he recorded the fastest serve of the year at a mind-boggling 144 miles per hour at Wimbledon in 2001.
His big serve party on Tuesday had a slight opening setback with five double faults in the first set, but the American soon got his form back and showed his great serve-and-volley skills, sealing a blank of break points against his opponent.
Few tennis players choose to play most of the time at the baseline, but Dent, one of the few serve-and-volleyers in the ATP tour, still firmly believes that he can become one of the best players in the world using the traditional tactics of tennis legend Pete Sampras.
"When I serve well, I'm tough to beat," said Dent. "I'm very happy with my serve. These conditions suit my game."
Dent used that superb serve-and-volley game to overcome Luczak, winning 37 of 49 serving points in a match that lasted just one hour and five minutes.
In another court, Israel's Noam Okun seized all three of his break points, routing England's Arvind Parmar 6-3, 6-2 to capture his first victory at the China Open.
The remaining matches were rescheduled for Wednesday.
Indian qualifier Prakash Amritraj became the lucky recipient of a first-round spot as an injury forced Hicham Arazi of Morocco to pull out of the first round.
That might be good news for China's wild card Lu Hao, who should have had a tougher match against Arazi.
The sudden rain proved to be a headache for the less-than-experienced Chinese organizers, who failed to react quickly. Fans and reporters waited four hours for a decision on the postponement and rescheduling.
ATP Public Relations Director Iggy Javanovic asked Chinese fans to be patient. Pointing to the Wimbledon Open, where rain frequently halts play, he noted that that tournament is more than 100 years old while the China Open is less than one year old. Fans at Wimbledon are told quickly of the weather and game outlook, but organizers have more experience and rely on computers for accurate weather information.
The rain started to fall in Beijing at about 12:40 PM, but postponement of remaining matches and cancellation of the scheduled Tuesday evening opening ceremony were not announced until a press conference was held at 4:20 PM.
Javanovic expects improved organization to come with experience. "Even though it is the first time that Beijing hosted a major tennis event, I had phone calls from the BBC, CNN and German TV, all asking me about the tournament here," he said.
Javanovic believes the China Open is a sign that the world's most populous nation will be hosting more tennis tournaments in the future. He noted that tennis is new sport in a growing market, and stated that the ATP plans to work with the government, promoters and local people to develop a long-term strategy for development of the sport in China.
The US$500,000 China Open has attracted big ATP names like former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya and finalist Guillermo Coria; former US Open champ Marat Safin; top-10 stars David Nalbandian and Rainer Schuettler and Asia's No. 1 Paradorn Srichaphan.
Javanovic pointed out that Asian economies and sports have become very strong, but tennis is still fresh in the region. The big names in tennis, who have played extensively in the US and Europe, think that they should now play in Asia and in China, he said.
The China Open, which started on Monday, is scheduled to conclude on September 26,
(China Daily September 15, 2004)
