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CNN Live At Daybreak

Wimbledon Begins Second Week

Aired July 01, 2002 - 06:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In tennis, Wimbledon begins its second week today with an unfamiliar cast of players for the men, but more familiar faces on the women's side.

CNN's Diana Muriel joins us live from Wimbledon, England -- good morning.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You join me here at a very wet and windy Wimbledon. The sun has just come out, but it's been raining pretty steadily through most of the morning. That hasn't deterred the fans though. They have been crowding outside the gates of Wimbledon all morning. The queue snakes back for around two kilometers, people waiting in hope of a returned ticket to see the play on Centre Court and Court No. 1 and the show courts here today. Some of them, indeed, have been camping out during the course of the night, hoping for those very rare returned tickets.

But play gets under way here today at Wimbledon with two British male players still in play. As you say, a lot of surprises last week with all of the 14 U.S. players being dropped out of the championship, quite a big surprise there.

But Tim Henman will be out there today. He will be playing on Court No. 1 against the Swiss player, Michel Kratochvil. He is ranked 45 in the world. Tim Henman playing Wayne Ferreira on Saturday, not an easy victory against the world No. 6 ranked player, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1. But Henman managed to prevail, and he will be here at Wimbledon today.

As will the other great hope for the U.K., which is Greg Rusedski. He will be meeting the Belgian player, Xavier Malisse. He is ranked 35 in the world ranking, and they will be on Centre Court in approximately an hour-and-a-half's time.

As far as the women are concerned, familiar faces still remain in here at Wimbledon. We've got Monica Seles out today. She will be playing against the Thai player, Tamarine Tanasugarn. She is on Court No. 3 today. She played on Saturday against the Japanese player, Ai Sugiyama, ranked 27 in the world. Not an easy victory for Monica Seles either. It went to three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. But again, Monica Seles prevailed, and the 28-year-old will be here today on Court No. 3 in about an hour's time.

Play on the outer courts starts an hour or so earlier than the play on Centre Court and Court No. 1. But with all of this rain that we have had this morning, it remains to be seen what the grass is like. Of course, the covers have been on, and the Wimbledon officials have been doing their utmost to keep the rain off the grass. Of course, it's a grass tournament at Wimbledon. And we will see how the play goes.

The other star of today is Venus Williams. She will be out there against Lisa Raymond of the U.S., and of course, she is the reigning Wimbledon champion, and that should be a great match -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Is the crowd behind the Williams sisters? Because maybe it's a pretty sure bet that those sisters are going to make it to the final round.

MURIEL: That's right. The sisters have been absolutely tremendous. Serena Williams is also playing today. She is taking on the Greek player, Eleni Daniilidou. She has had a fantastic round, although more erratic than her sister, Venus, perhaps; a lot of screaming and shouting on the court trying to psyche herself up for victory, which entertained the crowd. But these two are looking extremely powerful, extremely fit. They are very tall girls, and we have noticed that many of the shorter players are having difficulty against them.

So I think Venus is still the favorite to win Wimbledon for a third year -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Going back to the American men, Sampras, Agassi, Roddick, Dent, everybody out. What does that say about the overall state of men's tennis in America?

MURIEL: Well, it's been a real shock. I mean, many of these players were expected to at least appear in the second week. So it was a real shock to everyone. But some of the tennis commentators have been saying, you know, this means that men's tennis, anybody can play anybody, and there is all (ph) to play for.

Tim Henman, who is the great hope for the U.K., is taking things very steady. He has changed his serve slightly. He is focused very much on a match-by-match situation. And we'll see whether or not he can pull it off this year. Of course, we have seen him try and fail many times before.

But as far as the general state of men's tennis, it's an absolutely open game right now here at Wimbledon.

COSTELLO: OK. Thank you very much -- Diana Muriel reporting live for us from Wimbledon this morning. We appreciate it.

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