By Charles Bricker
Sun-Sentinel

June 27, 2002

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND -- "Si se puede."

Those were the words Jeff Morrison's girlfriend, Colette Duke,
imparted to him as he left their rented Wimbledon house for his
second-round match Thursday.

Si se puede. It can be done.

"That's what Rudy [Vargas] used to say to me all the time,"
Morrison said after he stunned French Open runner-up Juan Carlos
Ferrero 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (5) in the second round for the biggest
win of his career.

Vargas was more than Morrison's first professional coach. He was
a friend and an inspiration, and when Vargas died in a car
accident on a highway near Tampa in April 2001 it left the tall
young former NCAA champion from the University of Florida in a
deep funk for nearly three months.

There are no funks for Morrison at Wimbledon, though. Only
exhilaration and some healthy anxiety.

"Last night when I found out I was going to play on Centre
Court, I was excited. This morning, I woke up, I was a nervous
wreck," Morrison said.

"But when you grow up playing tennis, that's what you dream of
-- playing on Centre Court."

Ferrero, seeded ninth, is no grass-court player. But you can't
use that to detract from Morrison's supremely clean performance.
He served and volleyed relentlessly, leaving Ferrero little time
to set up for his usually lethal passing shots. He hit great
approach shots and decisive volleys.

And he was never better than the brilliant point he played with
Ferrero serving at 40-30 in the opening game of the second set.
After making three defensive retrievals in the corners, Morrison
went far to his left and, with Ferrero closing on the net,
struck a delicate short-angle crosscourt backhand that was hit
with such precision it forced Ferrero to twist awkwardly to try
to wrist the ball back.

Ferrero's shot landed in the alley for deuce, and Morrison went
on to break.

It was a very big point.

"That point has got to be right up there with the greatest
points I've played," said Morrison, 23, who shares an apartment
in Tampa with fellow pro and doubles partner Mardy Fish. "To hit
it under those circumstances and hear the crowd erupt...I found
myself doing things that were awesome because you're on that
court. It definitely can raise your level of play."

Morrison was extremely happy as he moved from interview to
interview after the match, but for just a moment he wanted to
talk about Vargas.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him,"
Morrison said.

And then he repeated the magic words one more time, as if it
would become a mantra as long as he remained at Wimbledon.

"Si se puede." It can be done.

Tennis anyone?

Fans waiting to see Tim Henman's second-round match were treated
to some extra tennis when two spectators walked onto Centre
Court and started hitting a ball back and forth.

Wearing white shirts and baseball caps, the men played for
several minutes before returning to the stands, where they were
led away by security. The men ran away from security personnel
and escaped from the grounds before they could be questioned,
Wimbledon officials said.

Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said he believes one of the
men was Karl Power, who made headlines last year when he wore a
Manchester United soccer uniform and lined up alongside the team
before a Champions League match.

Power, who also impersonated a cricket player in August during
England's match against Australia, couldn't be reached to
comment.

"We are treating this matter very seriously," Wimbledon
organizers said in a statement. "It was extremely irresponsible.
We will be reviewing our security procedures. It would be a
shame if a few show-offs were to risk ruining the Wimbledon
experience for all other well-behaved tennis fans."

Krajicek's comeback

The blur of Richard Krajicek's long arms and legs as he
scrambles to the net after his service returns are back and the
men's tour is going to have to deal with him for the rest of the
year.

It has taken the 6-foot-5 Dutchman more than a year to get fit
enough to compete at a high level and he looked very good in
beating James Blake in five sets in the second round. But he
still has a ways to go, and he knows it.

"Mentally, I was happy. But slowly I got a little more tired and
I started moving less and less," Krajicek said. "James started
playing better and a little bit smarter. The good thing was I
toughed it out until the end [11-9 in the fifth]."

Wire services were used to supplement this report.

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