Nadal Continues Hot Streak, Three Seeds Out at Palermo

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
In Bastad, 17-year-old Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal says he's not ready to win his first ATP title yet, but his game said the opposite Wednesday when the Spaniard punished former TMS-Hamburg winner Albert "The Dropshot Dragon" Portas 6-0, 6-4 to reach his first ATP quarterfinal. "I beat Portas in the Barletta final in April, and I expected today's match to be tougher," said Nadal, who has bitch-slapped virtually all his fellow countrymen in 2003. "I don't see myself as a winner yet. My results this year have happened much faster than I could ever imagine. I have more confidence even when meeting top players now." Seeds advancing Wednesday in Bastad were Nadal's next opponent (6)Lapentti (d. Voinea), (5)Zabaleta (d. (WC)B Rehnquist), and (4)Youzhny (d. Squillari in three). At Gstaad the three seeds in action made it through, but not without resistance, with (1)Novak beating Mathieu in three, (4)Gaudio beating Burgsmuller in three, and (6)Chela beating Lopez in three on the red dirt. No seeds completed matches in the depleted Newport field.

Seeds on court today in Bastad are Arazi vs. (2)Robredo (first meeting), and (1)Moya vs. Soderling. On court in Gstaad are Sanchez vs. (7)Corretja, C.Rochus vs. (2)Schuettler, (8)Stepanek vs. Kratochvil, and (1)Federer vs. Lisnard (first meeting), and in Newport it's (4)Ginepri vs. van Scheppingen, and (8)Melzer vs. Knowle to finish.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Three seeds were uprooted Wednesday in Palermo, with (1)Serna (l. to Cervanova), (2)Chladkova (l. to Meina Garrigues), and (6)Pisnik (l. to (Q)Voracova) sent home. Advancing were (4)Srebotnik (d. (WC)Vinci), (8)Razzano (d. Klara "Kooky" Koukalova), and (9)Safina (d. Barna). With the "top seeds" (as it were) out, Palermo gets real ugly, with today's line-up featuring Schaul vs. Safina, Schiavone vs. Ad. Serra Zanetti, Nagyova vs. Loit, and Voracova vs. Redak.

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
How will history judge Martina Hingis, who amazingly became No. 1-ranked at the age of 16, like Pete Sampras won everything except the French Open, then retired at the grand old age of 22?...Club Fed on Hingis: "Martina is still very well liked...but of course there was a lot of jealousies because she was so young, so famous, so rich, so good...it's tough for Swiss people to accept that."...We think it was tough for everyone to accept that she was a snotty, haughty, arrogant, spoiled little girl...Romania's Davis Cup squad for September's World Group playoff against Ecuador will feature players from this year's Wimbledon boy's event in winner Florin Mergea and semifinalist Horia Tecau...Andy Roddick has committed to play the Japan Open in September, where the prize money differential is $690,000 for the men and $170,000 for the women, take that Billie Jean!...ATP officials discovered that an electrolyte replacement product dispensed to players by ATP trainers may have been contaminated with the prohibited substance nandrolone -- doh!...Subsequently, since the ATP realized it has been playing dope dealer, it announced that player Bohdan Ulihrach's two-year suspension, fine and loss of ranking points have been dismissed, and Ulihrach is immediately eligible to play professional tournaments. "I am extremely pleased that this episode in my life is now behind me so I can return to doing what I love to do most: play tennis," said Ulihrach, who about this time should be lining up his lawyers. "I am very glad and satisfied that the tribunal has confirmed what I stated from the outset; that I am innocent of these charges. I want to thank those who supported me throughout this period." Seriously, who cares...As expected, Venus and Monica pulled out of the Fed Cup tie against Italy. Venus has been suffering with a bad stomach pull while Seles continues to be hampered with a injured foot.