Rubin’s Victory Not a Pretty One

INDIAN WELLS — The State Farm Evert Cup limped out of the gate Friday, with the day’s most promising matchup bringing to a thudding halt any momentum generated during the tournament’s first day.

In 2 hours 32 minutes of grueling tennis--for spectators--15th-seeded Chanda Rubin outlasted Amy Frazier, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), in a match that each player made valiant efforts to throw away.

Rubin, the winner, committed 70 unforced errors. Frazier had 67. The opposite side of that equation was equally negative--Rubin had only 26 winners and Frazier only 22. Of the 255 points played, 137 were unforced errors.

“Definitely, it wasn’t my best match,” Rubin said. “I’m happy to have pulled it out. It was a real up-and-down match. Not my best.”

It was a warm day at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, and while Rubin had a ready excuse, jet lag, she chose not to utilize it. Rubin spent last weekend in the Netherlands with the losing U.S. Fed Cup team and said she feels fine, albeit sleep deprived.

Rubin saved the sleepwalking for the second set against Frazier, ranked No. 31.

Rubin began well, breaking Frazier in the first game of the first set, then broke again in the seventh. Frazier broke back in the next game, but Rubin answered with another break to win the set.

The second set mirrored the first, with Frazier breaking in the first game. That set the serving tone for the rest of the match. Frazier broke in the ninth game and held in the 10th for the set.

The third set was a mess, with both players spraying shots around the court, usually outside the lines, and the serving as shaky as ever.

Rubin was down, 0-2, in the tiebreaker, but unforced errors from Frazier came to her rescue, including match point.

With no wind, it was curious that serving was a difficult task for both players. There were 45 break points. In the third set alone, each player had her serve broken five times.

“My serve was not good,” Rubin said. “That hurt me through the second and third set. I lost most of my serves--that’s not something you want to happen.”