So women's golf have discovered a 13-year-old who will play as an amateur in this week's US Women's Open Championship. The youngest player ever to qualify for such a major event would find herself somewhat more comfortable on the international women's tennis circuit. Morgan Pressel, who may not become a golf professional until she is 18, could look at the bottom half of the draw at Roland Garros and check out the only remaining seeds - potential soul mates all.
Elena Dementieva, a 19-yearold Russian and the highest teenage seed, was beaten in two sets but the three remaining favourites are 18-year-olds, Justine Henin from Belgium and Jelena Dokic. Dokic, a Yugoslavian who recently renounced her Australian citizenship, could actually win here but she is not the youngest. Kim Clijsters, the Belgian 12th seed, is 17-years-old and along with the other two came safely through the second round of the French Open yesterday.
At 16 Dokic made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, at 17 the semi-finals and last month she won the Italian open in Rome by defeating Conchita Martinez, last year's beaten finalist here in Paris.
Since turning 18, Dokic has been allowed to enter any tournament she wishes. Prior to that the WTA limited the number of events in which she could compete in order to reduce the chances of burn out.
Yesterday, in the steeply-banked and airless amphitheatre of court two, Dokic walloped American Marissa Irvin 6-1, 6-2. With a clever mix of power play from back court coupled with a number of tasty drop shots, even the quickest of back court players would have reconsidered chasing such teasers in stifling heat. Ask twice Roland Garros winner Sergei Bruguera. He withdrew leading Michael Russell complaining of sun stroke.
"I've worked hard on clay and I don't get as tired," said Dokic. "Winning in Rome was big for me because you can say you won a title and get that off your back. I've tried to do a lot of physical work on clay. I've had a lot of matches coming into the tournament and I think that makes a difference."
Henin hastily despatched Argentinian Paola Suarez 6-3, 6-4 while Clijsters took just 81 minutes and two sets to end the run of Mariana Diaz-Oliva. Dementieva, the most likely of the four to advance, lost in two sets to 22-yearold Slovak Henrieta Nagyova.
Keeping on the youth theme, American prodigy Andy Roddick announced his arrival on the Grand Slam scene when he got the better of veteran compatriot Michael Chang in a gruelling five-set second round tie.
It was the 18-year-old Roddick's 12th straight win on clay following two tournament victories in the US earlier this month, but none came harder than against the evergreen Chang.
In a match that lasted three hours and 50 minutes it all came down to a dramatic and incident-filled fifth set in which Roddick fought off the effects of debilitating attacks of cramp to run out a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 winner.
His reward was an enticing third round tie against sixth-seeded Australian dynamo Lleyton Hewitt and a place as the new American folk-hero in the hearts of the Parisian public.
Hewitt, who had complained about tiredness in his first round match, whistled into round three, dropping only four games against Nikolay Davydenko. Like Roddick, 20-year-old Hewitt has yet to win his first Grand Slam.
Britain's Tim Henman threatens to break his own unrewarding record on the clay in the men's draw. Yesterday he took only three sets to beat Sjeng Schalken and line himself up a third round match. Henman has never before progressed past the third round in his six previous visits.
Defending champion Gustavo Kuerton was well inside his comfort zone as was fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, both of whom won in three sets. Yevgeny Kafelnikov took four sets against American Cecil Mamiit but swept aside his dismal form coming into Paris.
"It's quite a nice feeling to rebound that quickly from basically playing pathetic 10 days ago. It is a factor that age and experience come into play."
