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There was a
moment during Thursday's quarter-final in Sydney when
tennis fans got a glimpse of the Patty Schnyder
aficionados know as the female Marcelo Rios.
Like the Chilean, Schnyder is a leftie with a lot of hair
and a lot of panache.
And like the former men's No. 1, the 26-year-old Swiss has
what might politely be described as a mercurial
temperament.
The 2004 Australian Open semi-finalist was trailing 1-3,
15-30 in the third set against world No. 6 Elena
Dementieva, with the Russian serving. Both players had
arrived at the Sydney International on a hot streak.
Schnyder had just picked up her ninth WTA title on the
Gold Coast and 2004 French and US Open finalist Dementieva
had beaten Venus Williams in the final of an exhibition
tournament in Hong Kong.
World No. 14 Schnyder clearly had designs on maintaining
the winning form she hopes will finally net a grand slam
title this year - with the Australian Open large in her
sights.
But the stifling heat was tearing at both players and,
when a double-fault call was overruled by the chair
umpire, Schnyder's temperature quickly soared. Among the
loud mutter of German words that followed, one - "schiess!"
- did not need much interpretation.
Within seconds, Schnyder's sense of injustice overflowed
when Dementieva made the most of her reprieve with a rare
second-serve winner. Suddenly and loudly, Schnyder smashed
her racquet into the court, leaving a colourful scar at
her feet. Those close enough heard a sharp snap.
Ignoring her broken wand, Schnyder moved across to receive
serve and promptly won the point before walking calmly to
her bag to retrieve a new racquet. Nothing could retrieve
her broken resistance, though, as Dementieva closed out
the match 6-1.
"That was the match there," said Schnyder half an hour
later, when the contentious point was recalled. Asked
whether her temperament worked against her at such
moments, she shrugged.
"You can plan all you like, but you can't always be in
control of your emotions on court," she said.
Indeed. One brings to mind her match against Conchita
Martinez last April, when she was so infuriated by the
Spaniard's habit of looking for the winning ball that she
withdrew her hand at the net after a straight-sets loss.
That Martinez (8-2) has had the wood on her, stretching
back to the 1996 Olympics, did not help. But if you are
thinking Schnyder might be contrite, think again.
"I respect Conchita, but I had to let her know how I felt
straight afterwards," said Schnyder. "She's a good enough
player not to do those things."
As for any sense that the WTA Tour is one, big family,
Schnyder is not one for sentimentality. She and Martinez
have never been friends. "You can't be friends with
everyone on the tour - that's just not realistic," she
said.
Rather than look for friendship among her peers, Schnyder
leans heavily on the support of her husband of 13 months,
Rainer Hoffmann. His companionship has been a big factor
in Schnyder belatedly feeling comfortable with her calling
as a tennis pro on the world circuit.
In 2002 she began putting it together again and now, with
retirement not too distant, she is racing to make up for
lost time.
"A couple of things have changed in my private life," said
Schnyder by way of explaining her present form and state
of happiness. "I've developed as a person and my whole
life is more settled. And I'm sure tennis is what I want
to do now."
Fans who enjoy their tennis dished up with finesse can
hope only that Schnyder's new-found focus enables her to
leave a lasting mark on the game. Thus far she has reached
a slam final four only once in 34 outings. But, just as
low-bouncing Wimbledon is a bust for her (one third-round
appearance in nine visits), the high bounce of the Rebound
Ace courts in Australia suits her game.
While she hesitates to make any bold predictions beyond
navigating the opening two rounds - the rounds that have
ended half her slam campaigns - Schnyder is in no doubt
that she is a better player than when she started. "I feel
I have more wins in me," she said. "I can't play the whole
year as consistently as other players, but when I'm on my
game I can beat anybody."
She would dearly like to get her game working in
Melbourne, in a country where she feels at home. After
last year's semi-final experience, she amended her
official WTA profile from "also loves Australia" to read
"Loves Australia and would like to live there after tennis
career".
There's another reason to win in Melbourne. As Jennifer
Capriati found, gifted players will not stop hearing
questions about their "lost" years until they complete the
redemption tale by winning a slam. The same applies to
Schnyder.
"It's funny how long it sticks with you," said Schnyder.
"When no one in Switzerland was talking about it any more,
I was still being asked about it."
With a little help from the same fire in the belly that
took Rios to the 1998 Australian Open final, the next
fortnight could put an end to that. |
