Paraguayan Qualifier Making French Open the Family Playground

PARIS —  Little Ana Paula was having a blast in the interview room, especially when the 3-year-old caught a glimpse of herself on the television monitor. She fidgeted on her mother’s lap, just the way she did on her father’s lap at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

This is a story of a tennis mother.

Not again, you say. Tennis moms are hardly unusual. Except in this sport, mothers usually play a different role. They aren’t hitting 30 forehand winners or 13 drop shot winners and making the final 16 at the French Open.

But Rossana De Los Rios, mother of young Ana Paula, did just that Saturday. If that wasn’t enough, the 24-year-old from Asuncion, Paraguay, practically came out of nowhere to become the big story of the first week at Roland Garros. She won three qualifying matches and defeated ninth-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, in a dramatic third-round match lasting 2 hours 36 minutes on Saturday.

“It is a dream because I never thought I would reach the French Open’s last 16,” she said through an interpreter.

Clearly, De Los Rios is blessed with ample talent, including a powerful forehand. Coetzer, one of the faster players on the circuit, simply could not run down all those backhand drop shots, particularly in the third set. De Los Rios won the ’92 French Open junior title but left the tour to marry Gustavo Neffa, a professional soccer player, who has played for the famed Boca Juniors in Argentina. They had Ana Paula and tennis was put aside until a year ago.

“One day I awoke and I’m willing to play tennis and I will do it again,” said De Los Rios, who was assisted by countryman Victor Pecci when she was a youngster. Pecci lost in the French Open final to Bjorn Borg in 1979.

Her comeback took off when she landed in Dallas for a pre-qualifying $50,000 USTA event and started training with coach Christopher Brown at The Lakes Tennis Academy. Gustavo had a tryout with the Dallas Burn of MLS and is hopeful of signing a deal later this season.

“We knew what her history was and what she had done,” said Brown, joking that his heart rate had finally returned to normal.

“It was a unique situation. We didn’t know her from Adam. We watched her play for a few hours and knew she had potential. We e-mailed back and forth and the relationship grew really fast.”

Brown and his wife are running out of clean clothes in Paris.

“I had my flight back home booked last Sunday and here we are,” he said. “It’s been unbelievable. For something to happen this quickly is kind of a shock to me.”

It was a stunner for De Los Rios to learn she has to play her fourth-round match today. Instead of a day off, she faces another qualifier, Marta Marrero of Spain. Others advancing in third-round action Saturday included fourth-seeded Venus Williams, who defeated Emilie Loit of France, 6-2, 6-2, and fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, who beat Silvia Farina of Italy, 6-1, 6-0. In an all-Spanish matchup, eighth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario dismissed Magui Serna, 7-5, 6-4.

Marrero and De Los Rios are the two qualifiers left among the final 16. But even the 17-year-old Marrero has a higher ranking (108) than De Los Rios (151).

De Los Rios shares more than a few similarities with hard-hitting Aussie Andrew Ilie, in terms of dramatic flair, an expressive face and go-for-broke attitude. Maybe she learned something--at least how to celebrate a great shot-- from her soccer-playing husband.

“There are times where she’ll overplay shots,” Brown said. “She likes quick points. That’s fine. That’s her personality. She doesn’t linger around to set up points.”

Her relative lack of stature has been beneficial in Paris. Especially when her biggest wins earlier this year came against the likes of Sandra Cacic and Jill Craybas.

“Not many people know about her game. But I think the word is out on her drop shot,” Brown said, smiling. “I told her Amanda may know about it. She may not.

“Her shot selection was much better in the third. You hit a drop shot on Coetzer and you know that’s a great shot.”

At this event, De Los Rios recognized many players from her old days on the tour.

“Many players showed happiness at seeing her back,” said one Spanish journalist, who was interpreting.

You wonder if they are still happy now.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

“I was contemplating ripping my shirt off because it would have been a really good win. Toward the end of the fourth, I would have dropped my pants because that’s how bad things got. By the end of the fourth, I knew not even taking off my shoes and underwear is going to win it.”

--Ilie, on cramping near the end of his five-set, second-round loss to Marat Safin of Russia.

“I said to him [my agent] that if I am out of the top 100 this year, I’m going to quit. That was true. But unfortunately I am 12 in the world.”

--Safin, on his rumored plans to open a bar in Spain before his recent resurgence.

“They’re all so big. I’m walking around the locker room, just looking around. It’s like, ‘Whoa, these women are big.’ I used to be big. I’m like a little pipsqueak next to them.”

--Martina Navratilova, on the difference between the circuit now and when she dominated in the ‘80s.