WIMBLEDON, England - Mary Pierce.
Jelena Dokic.
Chanda Rubin.
Remember them? They're among the talented players in women's tennis, and right now they're playing in semi-obscurity at Wimbledon.
With much of the tennis world focused yesterday on the upsets roiling the men, few are taking notice of the women methodically moving along.
While nothing has occurred to upset the conventional wisdom that the women's title will ultimately be decided in a final matching Venus Williams and her younger sister, Serena, some interesting things have been going on beneath the surface.
Pierce blasted fellow Frenchwoman and No. 8 seed Sandrine Testud, 6-3, 6-4. She may have lost a step or two, but Pierce still has power and went to 6-1 vs. Testud.
Dokic, the No. 7 seed from Yugoslavia, was racing through her match against Kveta Hrdlickova when she hit a bad patch in the second set, was two points away from defeat in the third, but finally won, 6-0, 4-6, 8-6.
Tucked in Serena Williams' quarter of the draw, Dokic could prove an obstacle. She showed her grass-court ability in her 1999 Wimbledon debut, upsetting then-No. 1 Martina Hingis.
Rubin is also in the same quarter of the draw and continued to burnish her grass-court credentials with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 14 Iroda Tulyagonova.
No. 2 Serena Williams and No. 3 Jennifer Capriati also easily advanced.
Some big hitters survive
The bottom of the men's draw is looking pretty barren after yesterday's upset. Among the players left are two big-hitting servers, Wayne Arthurs of Australia and Taylor Dent, who meet in the next round, and two smaller players, Arnaud Clement of France and Belgium's Olivier Rochus.
Meanwhile, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the No. 5 seed from Russia, rolled past France's Nicolas Thomann, 7-6 (8), 6-2, 6-2. Also stealthily moving along is Australian Mark Philippoussis, who upset No. 14 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Another veteran who has scored a surprise is Richard Krajicek, the last men's champion in the field. A Dutchman in only his third match of the year because of elbow problems, he outlasted No. 29 James Blake, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 11-9.
"It's unbelievable," said Krajicek, who had 30 aces. "What I expected is that I could not rely on my serve so much because I had to take it easy. For me, it's difficult to take it easy."
McEnroe says little
John McEnroe voiced his displeasure but didn't respond specifically to allegations by his former wife, actress Tatum O'Neal, that he used steroids while he was on the pro tennis tour.
O'Neal spoke about McEnroe on ABC's 20/20, which is scheduled to air tomorrow, in response to his new autobiography, You Cannot Be Serious. O'Neal also said that McEnroe used cocaine and marijuana - but only off the court. The two divorced in 1992.
"I made it pretty clear, if you read the book," said McEnroe.
Attendance high
Wimbledon set a record for single-day attendance, with sunny skies attracting 42,457 spectators to the All England Club. The previous daily record was 41,440, set on the first Thursday last year.