Serena takes NYPD arrest of stalker in her stride

As Serena Williams, the Wimbledon champion, advanced to the quarter-finals of the United States Open last night with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Daja Bedanova, of the Czech Republic a German who has stalked her around the world was facing the possibility of a year in prison.

Albrecht Strohmeyer, a 34-year-old from an affluent Frankfurt family, was arrested outside the National Tennis Center on Friday evening and appeared at Queen's Criminal Court on Saturday. Judge Lenore Gerald ordered Strohmeyer to be held on $3,000 (£1,980) bail and barred him from contacting Williams or coming near her.

Rain delayed the start of play from 11am to 5.30pm. and the Williams-Bedanova clash was the only match finished by the time new showers suspended action at about 7pm. So people paying a minimum of $48 per ticket got to see 42 minutes of tennis.

If just one match is completed in a session, according to the Open's policy, no credits for tickets to next year's tournament need to be given.

Play was called off for the night with matches involving Lindsay Davenport and Andy Roddick washed out completely. Among matches halted in progress: Four-time Open champion Pete Sampras was trailing 1997 finalist Greg Rusedski 5-4, on serve in the first set; No. 3 Tommy Haas won the first set 6-4 against No. 29 Thomas Enqvist; Gustavo Kuerten won the first set 6-1 against Nicolas Massu; and 11th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova led No. 8 Justine Henin 6-1, 1-2.

The last time an entire day at the Open was rained out was Sept. 4, 1988

After waiting six hours to get on court because of rain delays, Williams won her fourth-round match in only 42 minutes, hitting 35 winners and conceding only five points on her serve ­ her only unforced errors. She has dropped only 10 games in the tournament so far.

Bedanova, ranked No 20, not only made little impression on her opponent's serve, but also she double-faulted three times on break point in losing the first set after 18 minutes. At that stage she had won only one point off the Williams serve, in the fourth game. Williams hit three aces in winning the opening game of the second set. Bedanova held for 1-1, but was subsequently broken for 3-1 and 5-1. Williams then served out the match.

The Strohmeyer incident is the latest involving stalkers on the women's tour. Günter Parche, a deranged Steffi Graf obsessive, was given a two-year suspended sentence after stabbing Monica Seles in back during a tournament in Hamburg in 1993. Dubravko Rajcevic, a Croatian-born engineer with an Australian passport, was sentenced to two years in prison in Miami in April 2001 after pestering Martina Hingis with declaration of love. El-Sayed Ali, an Egyptian who called Graf "the love of my life" was removed from the stands at Wimbledon in 1998.

Strohmeyer was said to have shown up on at least 11 occasions at hotels or at tournaments where Williams was competing and shouted, "I love you". In February he registered at the hotel where Williams was staying in Scottsdale, Arizona, and left messages and packages for her at the concierge desk. He was arrested after he stripped off his clothes at the hotel's front desk and demanded to see Williams.

In May, Strohmeyer was arrested at a tournament in Berlin after standing near the court and shouting out his love. A week later he was arrested in the lobby of an hotel where Williams was staying in Rome, and during the French Open he spent most days outside Williams' Paris hotel. In July. Strohmeyer was arrested in London after he was seen at Wimbledon and was found loitering outside the house where Williams was staying.

The United States Tennis Association warned Strohmeyer to stay away from the US Open and provided the police with his photograph. Michael Esposito, of the NYPD, saw Stohmeyer ­ "a dishevelled-looking man with long brown hair and a scruffy beard" ­ watching Williams from about 40 feet away as she warmed up for her third-round match against Nathalie Dechy.

Captain Ted Lotti, of the Queens district attorney's office, said Strohmeyer did not say anything to Williams, and Williams was not aware of his presence. Strohmeyer had a backpack full of clothes and $207 in his pocket. He told the police he was unemployed. "He was very calm, very polite," Lotti said. "We know he flew up from Washington on Thursday. He said he slept in Central Park that night."

Richard Williams, who has coached his two youngest daughters, Venus and Serena, to the summit of the sport, said yesterday: "I don't think Serena is as worried about all this as I am."

Yesterday's rain delays left Britain's representatives, Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman, wondering when they would be able to press for a place in the fourth round of the men's singles. Rusedski started his match against Pete Sampras on Arthur Ashe Stadium and served for the opening set at 5-3. He held two set points, but netted a backhand volley as Sampras returned serve on his third break point. Play was halted as rain returned after half an hour with Sampras about to serve at 4-5. Henman was due to meet Juan Ignacio Chela, of Argentina, after the Rusedski-Sampras match.

There was time to reflect on the opening week of the championships, which saw Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, among others, advance to the last 16 of the men's singles and the women's tournament move towards the sharp end. The challenge for places in the quarter-finals brings the promise of fascinating contests between the rehabilitating Martina Hingis and the ageing, but competitive Monica Seles; the simmering defending champion Venus Williams and her revitalised compatriot Chanda Rubin; and Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo, both keen to prove themselves winners rather than gallant losers.

Hewitt, the Wimbledon men's singles champion, the defending US Open champion, and world No 1, has been doing his best to improve his public image while demonstrating why he is the finest player in the game. The 21-year-old Australian's breathtaking shot-making and speedy footwork have continued to draw admiration, and so far he has managed to curb his temper and to keep his foot out of his mouth.

It is not easy to shake off controversy, however, and Hewitt's comment about a line judge during his second-round match against the American James Blake last year, lingers. At a crucial point of his re-match with Blake in the third round on Saturday, a woman in the crowd shouted: "James, don't let him win, he's a racist."

Blake did as much as he could to deny Hewitt victory, but for no reason other than he wanted to win himself. After Hewitt had prevailed, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, Blake shook his hand, congratulated him on being a great champion, and apologised for the negative shouts from one or two of his fellow New Yorkers. As a colleague remarked, Blake's personality is worthy of the mantle of Arthur Ashe.