Mathieu blossoms
Georges Homsi
Thursday, May 30, 2002

Paul-Henri Mathieu upset his experienced countryman Fabrice
Santoro in four sets 7-5 6-1 1-6 6-4 to gain a third round
berth on Thursday.

20-year-old Mathieu, who is coached by former Roland Garros
quarterfinalist Thierry Champion, has always been known as a
player who had not yet proved able to tame his raw talent.

But he showed on Thursday that he might well be blossoming at
the highest level.

Santoro initially surged to a 4-0 lead against a hesitant
Mathieu. But the younger of the two Frenchmen came back strong,
firing his huge forehands from all corners of the court, and
serving extremely well. He captured the first set 6-4.

In the second, everything seemed to be going Mathieu's way.
Seeming lost, Santoro vainly tried to shorten the rallies by
attacking the net. But Mathieu was making no mistakes. He stole
the set 6-1.

Visibly tired from his efforts, Mathieu slowed down a little,
allowing a determined Santoro captured the third set 6-1.

The fourth set was the most intense, both players producing
some very high quality tennis. Mathieu broke in the second game
to take a 3-0 lead. But Santoro came back to even at 3-3, holding
three break points in the seventh game.

On the first, Mathieu caressed a drop shot that hit the net and
dropped dead on Santoro's side. On the second, he was wrong-footed,
fell down, but got back up and fired an incredible forehand passing
shot that left Santoro helpless. A forehand error from Santoro
ruined his last chance for a crucial break.

To add to the drama, and in the very next game, Mathieu was suddenly
struck by cramps after hitting an overhead. He benefited from a
three-minute time-out where he received treatment for the ailment,
sufficiently recovering when play resumed.

Leading 5-4 and by now intensely pumped up, Mathieu took a 40-15
lead. On the first match point Santoro hit a double fault - his
third of the match - to offer his young opponent the victory.

Mathieu is in the third round of a Grand Slam for the very first time.
He will now meet another artist of the courts, the Czech Republic's
Jiri Novak. This time though, he will benefit from the total support
of the crowd.