Trip ends too soon for Thompson twins

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Christian and Catrina Thompson got their first taste of the Big Apple over the weekend and they're leaving with bittersweet memories.

The 16-year-old twin sisters from Las Vegas lost their first-round U.S. Open juniors doubles match to Tatiana Golovin of France and Linda Smolenakova of Slovakia, 6-4, 7-6 (5), at the USTA's National Tennis Center Monday afternoon.

Playing before their parents, some other friends who made the trip from Las Vegas and a few dozen curious onlookers, the sisters combined for 13 double faults.

The sisters had ample opportunity to beat Golovin and Smolenakova, but unforced errors and nerves eventually got the best of them.

The double faults could partly be explained by the fact that Catrina, who has tendinitis in her shoulder, recently had a cortisone shot that didn't help much. As she served at 4-5 in the tiebreaker, she double faulted giving Golovin and Smolenakova their first match point. Christian then hit a volley winner to make it 5-6 and on their second match point, Christian hit a forehand return into the net.

"I think we were pretty nervous," Christian said. "At least I played like it."

They also played with dogged determination, refusing to give up even when they were down 4-1 in the first set. Catrina and Christian often played Australian doubles, something that is very rarely seen at the professional level these days, much less in juniors.

The pair withstood a barrage of heavy-hit groundstrokes while playing at the net and showcased their incredibly quick hands.

"The other team played pretty well, but I don't think we played quite our game," Catrina said. "It was a great experience, but hopefully we get a chance to come back.

"Maybe we'll get a chance to win a match. That's what we really wanted."

The sisters, who hoped to extend their mini-vacation, are juniors on the Bishop Gorman High tennis team.

Because all juniors have access to the players lounge and the locker rooms where the professionals play, the twins delighted in seeing some of their favorite tennis icons.

"Everybody was there," Christian said excitedly. "The first day we walked in, Yevgeny Kafelnikov was talking on the phone. ... Venus was there and I got her picture."

They even saw one of their crushes, Andy Roddick, who recently celebrated his 19th birthday.

"I was too shy to speak to him," Christian said.

For at least one weekend, the sisters experienced in some ways what it was like to be a professional. They had access to the best facilities, ball persons on their court for the matches and got to practice on the same courts as the pros do.

The most interesting thing about the women's locker room?

"There are a lot of dogs in there," Christian said. "Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario has her dog and so do a lot of other players.

"We've seen Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and just about everybody."

Las Vegan Andre Agassi, Graf's boyfriend, defended his soulmate.

"The reason why I will speak to that is because I have actually answered that and addressed that before I had the privilege of spending my life with her," Agassi said. "You know, there are four surfaces. To dominate on each one I think puts one in a position to argue the greatest of all time. To dominate on all of them is quite a feat, not easy to do. She did that. I think those things speak for themselves. I have spoken on that years ago."