| | Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England -- Score one for the Charlie Brown of
tennis.
|  | | Vince Spadea won his first match of the year despite losing two tiebreakers Monday. |
Vince Spadea, forever optimistic even as he lost and lost and
lost again, ended the longest losing streak in tennis history at 21
matches Monday with a five-set upset of Greg Rusedski in the
opening round at Wimbledon.
In a six-hour ordeal, including two hours for a rain delay,
Spadea showed all the stubbornness and resilience that has carried
him through the merciless drubbings of the past eight months as he
carved out a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory over the
14th-seeded Briton.
On a day when Pete Sampras played big to begin his quest for a
seventh Wimbledon title, and Anna Kournikova captivated the crowd
with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 upset of No. 10 Sandrine Testud, Spadea came
up with the biggest shots, the gutsiest effort and most dramatic
triumph.
Not only did Spadea conquer his losing streak, but the
25-year-old Floridian did it on his worst surface at a Grand Slam
tournament where he had won only a single match in five years. He
did it, moreover, in the face of a packed, partisan crowd in the
Court 1 stadium, where shouts of "C'mon, Greg" rang out on nearly
every point.
When it finally ended in chilly, gathering darkness at 9:03 p.m.
after Rusedski's final volley sailed long on the fifth match point,
Spadea raised his arms, looked around at the crowd to take in the
moment, then smiled at the heavens as if he had just won Wimbledon.
"It was worth the wait, huh, people?" Spadea said. "It
doesn't ever come until the time when you're not ready for it. Then
all of a sudden you're just, like, 'Oh, my gosh, what's happened to
me?' But it was outrageous. I thought I won 16 times, man. I felt
like freaking. The guy got every first serve in."
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VINCE'S VICTORY
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Vince Spadea's ATP Tour record 21-match losing streak -- which spanned eight months -- ended Monday with a a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory over Greg Rusedski in the first round of Wimbledon.
Spadea's last win was over Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5), in the quarterfinals of the Lyon tournament last October.
Spadea then suffered four more losses in 1999, and lost his first 17 matches of 2000 before beating 14th-seeded Rusedski.
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Rusedski, who reached the fourth round last year and the
quarterfinals in '97, was widely considered one of a handful of
players capable of challenging Sampras on grass.
Spadea joked that he just wanted to wait for a big occasion to
break his streak, but the truth is any occasion would have suited
him. Even his parents, who follow him all over the globe, deserted
him this week once they found out he was playing Rusedski in the
first round.
"My parents went home two days ago," he said. "I think they
saw the draw and said, `Vince, man, good luck to you, boy. Just use
that racket speed, but I don't know if that will help you.' They're
in Miami, on the Internet, breaking that keyboard."
Instead of his dad hugging him, John McEnroe gave Spadea a big
hug in the locker room.
"It's been a rough patch in my life in tennis," Spadea said.
"It didn't really faze me so much. I was trying to enjoy my life a
little more, trying to improve my tennis game, not going in the
right direction. Everything wasn't clicking.
"I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Hey, man, you've
just got to go out and do it. I'm not scared of anyone, you know. I
can lose to anyone, but I can go out and battle. Because I got
game."
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Sampras' back holds up through Wimbledon opener
Serena Williams shakes off rust for first-round victory
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