By Foster Niumata
Two months ago Brett Steven was talking of eventually retiring.
Yesterday he was tipping his cap to a standing ovation after collecting his biggest scalp in 13 hometown Heineken Opens.
The only retiring by Steven at Stanley St was of the seeded threat from world No 26 Wayne Ferreira, terminated
in a quick hour following the demise of seventh seed Vince Spadea.
Alas, Steven's wildcarded countryman Alistair Hunt could not repeat his seed-upsetting heroics of last year, falling 1-6 5-7 last night to Brazilian Fernando Meligeni, who was a victim of Mark Nielsen last summer.
Steven, while encouraged by beating Swede Magnus Norman 6-0 in a practice set on Sunday, was mindful of his losing record to third seeded Ferreira, who beat Pete Sampras and Pat Rafter twice each last year. He also heard Ferreira was hurt.
Well, Steven's knifing 6-1 6-4 win, only his second in the Open since he was runnerup in 1996, confirmed he is in good nick, and Ferreira is hurt: he has a groin strain after beating Mark Philippoussis and Wayne Black last week in the mixed team's Hopman Cup in Perth.
"I haven't beaten anyone of Wayne's quality for six or seven months and I'm happy to do it at home," Steven told the 3000-strong crowd. "Wayne wasn't moving all that well but at the same time it's hard to finish off a match like that."
When 100th-ranked Steven came to the press conference room where his six-month-old daughter Emily was waking up in a pram, he said he was energised and enthused again after a rigorous get-fit programme.
"In November I was pretty discouraged about the year but I really put in a lot of hard work in December and I'm playing as well as I've ever played," Steven said. "It's just a matter of getting matches and taking chances, and this is a good step."
Ferreira, who withdrew from doubles, said: "If I was going to lose to somebody, I'm glad it was to him. I like Brett, he's a good friend of mine, and it's always nice to give your friends a free ride."
Nobody has given the South African, a third straight seeded first-round loser here, a free ride in return, except maybe in a golf cart.
Steven, not a bad golfer either, ought to bring a driver tomorrow to match the power of his next opponent Marat Safin, the 6ft 4in, 18-year-old from Moscow who fired the fourth fastest recorded serve during a sensational breakthrough year in '98.
Safin, the youngest player in the top-50, held back under 200 km/h and still blew away Gianluca Pozzi, the oldest player in the top-100 at 33, 6-3 6-2.
The Steven-Safin match can wait. In one of the great Super Tuesday schedules, 20th-ranked Felix Mantilla, a semifinalist last year, is followed by No 2 and titleholder Marcelo Rios, and controversial wildcard recipient Jim Courier.
Courier only arrived yesterday afternoon, after making the doubles final in Adelaide, where he was relieved to leave their record-breaking heatwave.
"The start of last year was frustrating because I played one match and then sat out the next six weeks because of an arm injury," said 78th-ranked Courier who plays 71st-ranked Adrian Voinea. "It's nice to head into 1999 feeling healthy. I'm looking forward to keep things moving in the right direction."
Pictured: New Zealand's Brett at Stanley St. PICTURE / FOTOPRESS
By Foster Niumata
Two months ago Brett Steven was talking of eventually retiring.
Yesterday he was tipping his cap to a standing ovation after collecting his biggest scalp in 13 hometown Heineken Opens.
The only retiring by Steven at Stanley St was of the seeded threat from world No 26 Wayne Ferreira, terminated
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