Thursday was marathon day in the $315,000 Volvo/Chicago tennis tournament, and John Ross, who has been called ”Marathon Man,” proved best in the long run.
The unseeded Ross scored what he called ”my best win ever over the best player I`ve ever beaten.” He outlasted No. 4 seed Eliot Teltscher 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in a two-hour, second-round battle at the Pavilion.
On a day and evening filled with long, tough three-set struggles, defending champion Tim Mayotte, seeded No. 2 behind Jimmy Connors, had to go the limit to turn back unseeded Horacio de la Pena, a 21-year-old left-handed shotmaker from Buenos Aires.
Pena successfully smashed service returns at the feet of the onrushing Mayotte and outfoxed the world`s No. 9 player with skillful drop shots. Mayotte finally prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and moved into Friday`s quarterfinals. Ross, 24, earned his ”Marathon Man” tag last year when he surprised himself by qualifying for the U.S. Open after he had already entered a tournament scheduled on the same days in Rye, N.Y. He competed in both events, zipping from Rye to Flushing Meadow on a motorcycle.
Ross played only one match Thursday, but he could have used a scooter to get back under some of the deft lobs tossed up by Teltscher, 29, once ranked among the world`s top 10 players.
Ross, a booming server and aggressive net-rusher, fought Teltscher through a final set that included long deuce games of 16, 8, 12, 10 and 14 points.
At the finish, after Ross broke Teltscher`s serve to take a 5-4 lead, he relied on his ninth ace of the match plus three other unreturned serves to move into the quarterfinals against Scott Davis, who knocked off No. 6 seed Ramesh Krishnan of India.
No. 7 seed Dan Goldie, a Davis and South Africa`s Gary Muller each advanced by winning a three-set shootout. Muller knocked off countryman Christo van Rensburg, the No. 5 seed, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.
Teltscher and Ross were slated to start earlier in the afternoon, but their match didn`t begin until 5:09 p.m. because the first three matches took a total of seven hours.
”I got out here at 12:30,” said Teltscher, currently ranked No. 31 in the world. ”I was stale when we finally started. This isn`t an alibi. But a baseball player doesn`t have to sit around five hours.”
Five years can be almost a generation between tennis players. At least Ross spoke that way about Teltscher.
”I watched Eliot on TV when I was growing up,” said Ross, a recent Southern Methodist graduate. ”He`s been in the top 10 . . . the best I`ve ever beaten.”
Ross, who had knocked off 16-year-old Michael Chang in the first round, used his big serve to rush out to a 5-1 first-set lead. He won 18 points while serving in the set, and half came directly off his serve, three on aces and six on unreturned serves.
Teltscher`s adroit use of topspin lobs helped him win the second set and square the match.
”For a couple of games, he just toyed with me,” said Ross. ”I never saw anyone hit so many topspin lobs.”
They knocked in just half their first serves in the final set. Teltscher had 22 of 45, Ross 23 of 45. Ross had an 18-5 record on points on which he got his first serves in, 9-13 after missed first serves.
”I don`t think I tired,” said Ross. ”Maybe I was hitting first serves that were too risky, but when you get in a long match like that, your adrenalin carries you through.”
Up a break and leading 4-3 in the final set, Ross blew a 40-0 lead and allowed Teltscher to deuce it, break him and even the set 4-4. While fans waited for the younger pro to crack, he rallied from a 15-40 deficit and broke right back.
”At a time like that,” Ross said, ”you can think, `I just lost it,`
and you`ll go on and lose it. I wouldn`t allow myself to think that way.”
