Federer Reaches Gstaad Quarters

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
After a bumpy start, Roger Federer has made the smooth transition to clay in Gstaad, thumping France's Jean-Rene Lisnard to move into the quarterfinals. He was joined by (2)Schuettler (d. C.Rochus), and (8)Stepanek (d. Kratochvil), while Spaniard David Sanchez dismissed countryman and rapidly aging No. 7 seed Alex Corretja. "It's the first time in many, many years I've lost so early in Gstaad," said the three-time winner Corretja. Get used to it. "It's a real pity. I felt fresh after my first match. Today I felt OK on the court but I need to play more matches. I played terrible in the Spanish championship. Usually I always pick up my form here in Gstaad. It's bad to lose here but I have to keep on working. I also need to understand that other people can win the tournament here, not only me." In Bastad, Spaniards (1)Moya (d. Soderling) and (2)Robredo (d. Arazi in three) slid into the semis, joined by un-seeds Jonas Bjorkman (d. Ferrer) and Filippo Volandri (d. Mutis). At the faux grasscourt event in Newport, all three seeds in action advanced in (4)Ginepri (d. van Scheppingen), (7)Gimelstob (d. Fleishman), and (8)Melzer (d. Knowle).

On Court Friday in the Gstaad quarterfinals are (5)Chela vs. (3)Novak (Chela leads 2-0), (8)Stepanek vs. (2)Schuettler (Stepanek leads 2-1), (4)Gaudio vs. Koubek, and (1)Federer vs. Sanchez. In Bastad the quarterfinals are (4)Youzhny vs. (5)Zabaleta, (6)Lapentti vs. Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (first meeting, upset special), (1)Moya vs. Bjorkman (The Swede leads the head-to-head 4-3, with this their first meeting on clay), and the Italian No. 1 Volandri vs. (2)Robredo. "Moya is one of the very best players on clay, but I have a good record against him, so I can probably give him some grief," Bjorkman said. "I'm a more complete player today compared to 1997. My forehand and serve have improved a lot." In Newport, wildcard Bob Bryan has already advanced to the semis, leaving three quarterfinal matches to be played in (8)Melzer vs. (LL)Salzenstein, Carraz vs. (7)Gimelstob, and (4)Ginepri vs. Miranda. "I'm thrilled to be in my first semifinal, especially since I've done so little singles work," Bryan said. "These are perfect conditions for me. The ball is bouncing well on the grass because of the rain."

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
One seed bit it in Palermo Thursday when Slovak Henrieta Nagyova beat (7)Loit in straight sets. Advancing were (3)Schiavone (d. (WC)Serre Zanetti) and (9)Dinara "Marat's Little Sis" Safina (d. (Q)Schaul). Friday's scintillating quarterfinals are Cervanova vs. Nagyova, Schiavone vs. Safina, Fedak vs. Srebotnik, and Razzano vs. Medina Garrigues.

TENNIS-X MEN'S BOTTOM 10 RANKINGS
A lot of shake-ups after the grasscourt season, with Andre Sa giving up the top spot in a two-way tie for worst on tour. Moving out: Justin Gimelstob, Lars Burgsmuller, David Ferrer; Moving in: Spaniards Al Montanes and Al Portas, and Argentina's Jose Acasuso (minimum 12 matches, through July 6, 2003):

1T. Krajan, Zeljko (CRO) 2-11 .154
1T. Waske, Alexander (GER) 2-11 .154
3. Sa, Andre (BRA) 3-16 .158
4. Enqvist, Thomas (SWE) 4-18 .182
5. Mamiit, Cecil (USA) 3-10 .231
6T. Beck, Karol (SVK) 5-13 .278
6T. Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 5-13 .278
8. Voinea, Adrian (ROM) 7-16 .304
9. Montanes, Albert (ESP) 5-11 .313
10T.Acasuaso, Jose (ARG) 6-13 .316
10T.Portas, Albert (ESP) 6-13 .316

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Roger Federer has won 14 straight matches...Venus Williams (abdominal injury) and Monica Seles (foot injury) have pulled from the U.S. Fed Cup team, replaced by the "C"-squad of Chanda Rubin and Alexandra Stevenson; Italy made a roster change Thursday when Silvia Farina Elia pulled out with a left foot problem and was replaced by 92nd-ranked Antonella Serra Zanetti...Wimbledon winner Roger Federer taped interviews with the BBC (UK), ARD (Germany), ESPN (USA), TSR (Switzerland), DRS (Switzerland), RTL 5 (Holland), CNN, Sky (UK), ITV (UK) and Fox Sports (Argentina), and also took part in a photo shoot with his coach and his family. And all that was before he swapped his whites for a black tie for the Wimbledon champion's dinner at The Savoy, which he attended with his girlfriend Miroslava Vavrinec. The next morning, Federer was up at 7:30 on Monday and did another round of media interviews as part of the Breakfast with the Wimbledon Champion. He was featured live on two BBC radio programs as well as Breakfast TV and News on BBC television, Sky Sports, Sky News, ITV and CNN. Federer then sat down with members of the English and Swiss press looking back on the biggest achievement of his career...Wayne Black will marry long-time girlfriend and WTA player Irina Selyutina in Kazakhstan this weekend and will miss the upcoming Davis Cup tie between Israel and Zimbabwe...Andre Sa is now working with former ATP pro Jaime Oncins...Johnny Mac defeated Boris Becker Thursday night in a World Team Tennis match between the NY Buzz and the NY Sportimes...Richard Gasquet is no longer working with Eric Winogradsky and is now with his father Francis, while fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu is no longer with Thierry Champion and is now working with interim coach Eric Deblicker...Sweden's Magnus Norman is now working with countryman Mikael Tillstrom...Pete Sampras is now working on keeping the yard clear of leaves.