Coria Unstoppable in Stuttgart Roll, Fed Cup Kicks Off Today

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Spaniard Feliciano Lopez upped his record to 3-0 over (3)Schuettler, and was the only unseeded player to punch into the semifinals at Stuttgart on Friday. He was joined by (6)Gonzalez (d. Behrend), (9)Robredo (d. Volandri), and (2)Coria, who punished (12)Youzhny with a rare double bagel. "I'm very happy, I played perfect," said Coria, speaking in short, slow sentences for the benefit of the media. "Everything went perfect, I could use all my advantages. I'm happy it was a quick match. I'm playing my best tennis ever. I hope the crowd enjoyed it. I like Germany a lot. I won in Hamburg and I hope I can win here as well." Youzhny was in a philosophical mood after what for some players would have been a retirement-contemplating result. "Something like this can happen," Youzhny said. "He played very good. I didn't have enough power against him. It really doesn't matter to me if I lose 6-0, 6-0 or 6-0, 6-1. If I had wanted to beat him, I would have had to play unbelievable."
At the Amersfoort Challen...er, tour event, two unseeded players advanced to the semis in Spaniard Albert Montanes (d. Hipfl), and Peru's Luis Horna (d. (Q)Hernandez in three). They were joined Friday by (6)Sluiter (d. Ramirez-Hidalgo in three), and (7)Massu (d. van Scheppingen). "I played very well today. That's all I want to say about today's match," said Sluiter, who then wouldn't shut up. "I am very pleased about the way I played. Just the second set tiebreak was not good. That tie-break was over very fast because I messed up the first couple of shots. I was able to improve my game at the important moments. That never happened to me before on clay. I did not play challengers this year, only ATP tournaments. Sometimes I had tough draws, so I lost in the first round. You quickly lose your confidence, but it is getting better. Tennis is a strange game. Every match you win is important, even the ugly ones." John van Lottum lost the lone second-round match earlier in the day to Hipfl, and livened things up afterwards with a babyfit in the press room. "I want to go home now," van Lottum said. "That is how I feel. I did not feel this crowd was behind me. They kept quiet, but I lost the match myself. It was a mental defeat, nothing else had anything to do with it. Not my body or my knee, I did it myself."

In Saturday's semis at Stuttgart, Tommy Robredo meets Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, with both players seeking their first title of the year. Gonzalez leads the series 2-0. In the other semi, Coria faces the unseeded Feliciano Lopez, who he leads in the head-to-head series 3-0. Coria has won 14 out of his last 15 matches on clay, and has a 26-5 record on clay this year. The Amersfoort semis are (7)Massu vs. Horna, and Montanes vs. (6)"Everybody Loves" Rainer Sluiter. Neither of the four have won an ATP title this year.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The Fed Cup quarterfinals begin Saturday, with the U.S. vs. Italy, Belgium vs. Slovak Republic, Slovenia vs. Russia, and Spain vs. France. There is also World Group Playoff action to see which countries get banished to the minor leagues for 2004, featuring Argentina vs. Hungary, Australia vs. Colombia, Austria vs. Canada, Croatia vs. Brazil, South Africa vs. Czech Republic, Indonesia vs. Germany, Japan vs. Sweden, and Switzerland vs. Israel.
Fed Cup World Group Quarterfinal Match Preview:

ITALY AT UNITED STATES
Site: William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Centre, Washington, DC, USA
Surface: Hard (Deco Turf II) - outdoors
Ball Type: Penn Championship Regular Duty

With Serena and Lindsey bumped by captain Billie Jean King due to scheduling conflicts, Jennifer pissed at Billie Jean, and Venus and Monica injured, the U.S. duties are left up to the "D"-team of Chanda Rubin and Meghann Shaugnessy. The Italian team is comprised of Francesca Schiavone, Rita Grande, Tathiana Garbin, and Antonella Serra Zanetti. Lisa Raymond and Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson will likely represent the U.S. in doubles (though BJK will likely yank the erratic Dr. A for Rubin if things get tight), which could be a key point in this low-wattage match-up.

ATP DOUBLE BAGELS
2003:
Coria d. Youzhny -- Stuttgart
Schalken d. C.Rochus -- 's-Hertogenbosch
2002:
Canas d. Montanes -- Bastad
Hewitt d. Ginepri -- Cincinnnati
Golmard d. Miyao -- Tokyo

*There was one double bagel in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Win or lose, Rainer Schuettler knows the drill -- talk about making the Masters and it will happen: "My goal is to be top five and to reach the Tennis Masters Cup. It's a long and tough way, but I know that I have my chances."...The upcoming Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto will feature 18 of the Top 20 women, but not Serena Williams, who pulled out citing an "acting conflict"...The USA-Italy Fed Cup winner will meet the Belgium-Slovak Republic winner, while the Slovenia-Russia winner will encounter the Spain-France victor in the semifinals in November…Pete Sampras fired a 83 in the first round of the American Century Championship golf event. However, Ivan Lendl had the 14-time Slam winner beat, boasting a 77 after first round play. In his threesome, Sampras was joined by Jerry Rice and Mark McGwire. Wow. Lendl was stuck with baseball standouts Mike Schmidt and Johnny Bench. Talk about a tough afternoon...The U.S. summer hardcourt season begins Saturday with first round qualifying at Indianapolis (ATP) and at Stanford (WTA)...Anna Kournikova was in World Team Tennis action again Friday night helping Kansas City earn their first ever sell-out.