ESPN.com - Wimbledon 2002 - Morrison surprises Ferrero
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Thursday, July 17
Morrison surprises Ferrero

WIMBLEDON, England -- A day after three of the tournament's biggest names were beaten, top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt restored some order to the men's draw at Wimbledon on Thursday, moving into the third round in straight sets.

Jeff Morrison
Jeff Morrison Morrison turned pro in 2000 after his junior year at Florida, where he beat James Blake as a sophomore in the final of the NCAA tournament.

Also advancing was Tim Henman, who revved up his latest bid to become the first British player to win the men's title since Fred Perry in 1936 by beating Australian qualifier Scott Draper in four sets.

But upsets and surprises continued at the All England Club. American Jeff Morrison, ranked 98th, beat ninth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Centre Court.

Morrison, 23, got into the tournament as a "lucky loser'' after Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew when his parents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Florida.

"You see guys going on big courts and beating seeded players -- it makes you realize that you can achieve the same thing if you are playing as well as you can,'' said Morrison, a former NCAA singles champion at the University of Florida. "And that's what happened today.''

A few hours after Ferrero's loss, No. 10 Guillermo Canas of Argentina squandered a two-set lead and lost a marathon five-setter to Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5, 10-8.

Seven of the top-10 seeded players -- and 10 out of the top 14 -- have been eliminated in the first two rounds.

With Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Marat Safin eliminated Wednesday, Hewitt underlined his favorite's status by beating 165th-ranked French qualifier Gregory Carraz 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Court 1.

Pumping his fists and displaying his typical feisty style, the Australian withstood a spirited challenge to record his second consecutive straight-set win in just over two hours.

"I didn't lose a service game all day,'' Hewitt said. "Even though I wasn't as sharp as normal, I was still able to get my service games under my belt, then have a go at his service game.''

Henman, at No. 4, is the next highest seeded player left in the draw. He overcame a slow start against Draper to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 on Centre Court.

With "Henmania'' gaining momentum by the day, fans waved the Union Jack and red-and-white English flags of St. George. They even did the wave on a few changeovers.

Hundreds of other fans sat on a grassy slope -- dubbed "Henman Hill'' -- and followed the match on a huge TV screen.

Henman shook off his usual English reserve and took on the "Tiger Tim'' persona, repeatedly pumping his fists and trying to fire up the crowd.

After ripping a cross-court backhand pass to end the match, he swung his right arm in an uppercut motion worthy of Tiger Woods and let out a roar. The crowd erupted and gave him a standing ovation.

Adapting his hard-hitting baseline game to grass, Hewitt had only 13 unforced errors, 20 fewer than Carraz. He also served 11 aces, including four in a row near the end of the third set.

The match turned in the second-set tiebreaker when Hewitt overcame a 5-2 deficit and won five straight points. Carraz missed an easy smash at 5-4 and had an apparent ace called out on the next point.

With Hewitt through to the third round, No. 4 Tim Henman of Britain -- the next-highest remaining seeded player -- was set to face Australian qualifier Scott Draper later on Centre Court.

Morrison lit up Centre Court with his athletic serve-and-volley game, spiky haircut and animated expressions, often smiling broadly and pumping himself up.

Morrison, of Huntington, West Virginia, is playing in only his second Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the first round at the 1999 U.S. Open as a wild card.

Morrison turned pro in 2000 after his junior year at Florida, where he beat James Blake as a sophomore in the final of the NCAA tournament. Playing mainly in lower-tier Challenger events, he has moved from No. 359 in the ATP rankings to the top 100 in the past 12 months.

"This morning I woke up and I was a nervous wreck,'' Morrison said. "The first 30 minutes of the match, I was a little awe-struck, but I kept holding serve. Then, after that, I was playing the match. I really got myself up by the fact that I was playing on Centre Court, in the place I dreamt of playing.''

Ferrero, a Spanish clay-court specialist playing in only his second Wimbledon, often found himself on the defensive against the lanky American.

Up 5-1 in the second set, Morrison squandered two set points and allowed Ferrero to get back to 5-5. But he broke for 6-5 and served out the set at love, finishing with an ace.

At 3-3 in the third set, Ferrero saved four break points and two more at 4-4. In the tiebreaker, Morrison went down 4-1 but ran off five straight points to go up 6-4. He double-faulted on his first match point but converted on Ferrero's serve on the next point.

Earlier, 18-year-old Croatian qualifier Mario Ancic -- who beat seventh-seeded Roger Federer in the opening round -- was beaten 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 by Jan Vacek.

In one of the most extraordinary days at the All England Club, seven-time champion Sampras, 1992 winner Agassi and No. 2-seeded Safin all lost Wednesday -- throwing the tournament wide open.

Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion and current leader in the 2000 ATP Champions Race, was the first to go. The Russian had an 11-inch height advantage over 64th-ranked Olivier Rochus, but the 5-foot-5 Belgian outhustled him on Centre Court and won 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1).

Next went sixth-seeded Sampras, who dug himself into a two-set hole and fell 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 to 145th-ranked George Bastl on Court 2 -- becoming the latest high-profile casualty on the "graveyard of champions.''

It was the earliest Wimbledon exit in 11 years for Sampras, considered the greatest grass-court player. The loss came against a player who only got into the draw as a "lucky loser'' following the injury withdrawal of Felix Mantilla.

Then, No. 3 Agassi was swept in straight sets on Centre Court 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-2 by 67th-ranked Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand.

By the time the day was over, landmarks had been set.

Sampras and Agassi -- the greatest American players of their generation -- had never both lost so early at a Grand Slam tournament other than at the French Open.

For the time in the Open era, at least five of the top-eight seeded men's players have been eliminated before the third round -- No. 7 Roger Federer and No. 8 Thomas Johansson lost Tuesday.

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