By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 26, 2008

WIMBLEDON, England, June 25 -- In previous Grand Slam appearances, fledgling American tennis pro Bethanie Mattek has warranted coverage all too often for what wasn't covered.

Flesh, in a word.

The Minnesota native developed a flair for splashy fashion after relocating to South Florida as a young teen to focus on honing her game. And that penchant for making a statement with her on-court attire led to such memorable outfits as leopard-print shorts and tank top at the U.S. Open one year, and skimpy white gym shorts and tube top, paired with knee-high soccer socks, at Wimbledon another year.

But Mattek is taking a different tack for her third Wimbledon appearance, sporting an all-white dress so conventional it hasn't courted comment. And she's drawing notice, quite happily, for her game, which has landed her in rare company.

With her 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 over Vera Dushevina of Russia on Wednesday, Mattek joined three former Wimbledon champions as the only American women to advance to the third round this year: four-time champion Venus Williams, 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport and two-time champion Serena Williams.

While Venus Williams and Davenport secured their third-round passage on Tuesday, Serena Williams joined them on Wednesday, cruising past Polish wild card Urszula Radwanska, 6-4, 6-4.

For Mattek, 23, it's a career-best Grand Slam showing. And she sees nothing quirky about it.

Mattek achieved her career-high ranking, 67th, earlier this month. And she won 20 of her 24 matches entering Wimbledon, including a strong run on a grass-court tuneup in Birmingham, where she reached the semifinals.

"I'm really enjoying it," said Mattek, who splits her time between her parents' home in Boca Raton, Fla., and her own in Phoenix.

She also has company this year at Wimbledon. It's the first time her boyfriend, Justin Sands, 25, a former college football player at Albany, has come to a tournament to watch her compete. She loves the bear hugs after the victories. And she got a great laugh after hearing that a good friend had to hush Sands after he cheered when Mattek's opponent double-faulted during her first-round match.

"He was sorry," she said.

Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, who hits two-fisted shots both from her left and right sides, is Mattek's next opponent.

Every player fortunate enough to appear in Wimbledon's 128-player draw wants to play on Centre Court. But it's a privilege awarded only the few -- the respective men's and women's defending champions, a handful of top seeds and, naturally, British hopefuls.

For past champions, being exiled to side courts, as invariably happens during the two-week tournament, is a bitter pill.

Serena Williams played her second-round match on the cramped confines of Court Two on Wednesday, a venue known as "the graveyard of champions" for all the upsets there.

"Didn't want to go out on the Court Two," Williams said, "but I was happy to get it over."

Former world No. 1 Marat Safin had the honor of playing on Centre Court on Wednesday, but it was because his opponent was third-seeded Novak Djokovic. For his opening-round match on Monday, the 75th-ranked Safin was sent to Court 11 -- so far from the hub of activity at Wimbledon, Safin griped, that it may as well be at another club.

"You don't have any challenges there" without the Hawk-Eye instant replay system, Safin said. "The chair umpire may be half sleeping. But you need to get through these matches to be able to perform well and have a chance on the Centre Court."