NCAA Champ Delic Chokes With Srichaphan on the Ropes; WTA Rookie Haynes Talks Smack at Stanford

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
NCAA champion Amer Delic will remember two things from his pro debut this week in Indianapolis: winning his first ATP match, then Wednesday blowing two match points in a three-set loss to No. 2 seed Paradorn Srichaphan. "His serve is huge," the Thai Fighter said after squeaking out the win. "He played great, great tennis. His serve is just unbelievable." Delic is in the process of deciding whether to return to Illinois after the US Open. "I had a big opportunity but I just couldn't take it," said the 6-foot-5 Delic of his match points before the second set tiebreak, and before getting blown out 6-1 in the third set. "At the start of the second set my arm began to bother me, but I don't want to make excuses. In the end nerves played their part." Three seeds were shown the door Wednesday at Indy in (11)Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (l. to Ivo "Former Hingis Boyfriend" Heuberger in three), (8)H.-T. Lee (l. to Thomann), and rusty defending champion (10)"Grinning" Greg Rusedski (l. to Draper in three, who he was 8-0 against). Other seeds advancing were (4)Kafelnikov (d. Tipsarevic), (7)Ginepri (d. Luczak), (9)Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. R.Ram), and (13)Burgsmuller (d. Taino).
Three more seeds were uprooted in the high altitude at Kitzbuhel Wednesday, as Nicolas Massu rolled with the momentum from his title at Amersfoort last week to take out No. 4 seed and former three-time Kitzbuhel champ Al Costa, blanking the Spaniard 7-0 in the third set breaker. Also exiting were (6)Youzhny (l. to Lapentti) and (16)Sanchez (l. to Mutis). Moving into the third round were (1)Ferrero (d. Verdasco in two breakers), (2)Coria (d. Vinciguerra), (7)Gaudio (d. Behrend), (8)Chela (d. Cermak), (10)Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. Horna), (11)Davydenko (d. (WC)Peya), (14)Sargsian (d. Portas), and (15)Saretta d. Etlis), with the low seeds holding on tight.
Only four results in the books for Umag Wednesday, with (6)Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal beating claycourt veteran Mariano Puerta in the only seeded action. Un-seeds advancing were A.Martin (d. (WC)Ivo "I Beat Lleyton" Karlovic, saving four match points), Hrbaty (d. (WC)Radic), and former No. 2 Magnus Norman (d. (LL)Tuksar), whose appearance at this crap event ended a 10-match losing streak. Norman will now get pounded by The Prodigy in the quarterfinals. "One thing I've learned through this is that you don't want to look too far ahead," Norman said. "You have to appreciate where you are at the moment and go from there. I'm really happy right now and satisfied with this week." Good, because it's about to end.

Seeds in action at Kitzbuhel Thursday are (11)Davydenko vs. Lapentti, (7)Gaudio vs. Eschauer, (1)Ferrero vs. (15)Saretta, Mutis vs. (2)Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, (13)F.Lopez vs. Mathieu, (9)Zabaleta vs. (5)El Aynaoui (Younes leads 7-1), and (8)Chela vs. (10)Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (Chela leads 2-0). Seeds on court in Umag are (7)Volandri vs. (WC)Wawrinka, (1)Moya vs. Browne, Vliegen vs. (2)Gonzalez, and Lisnard vs. (8)Ferrer. Seeds in acti0n at Indy today are (5)Gambill vs. (9)Malisse (Jan-Mike leads 3-0), (4)Kafelnikov vs. Kiefer in a battle of the washed-up (Y-Man leads 8-5), (2)Srichaphan vs. Bogomolov, Jr., (1)Roddick vs. Carraz (first meeting), (6)Fish vs. Draper in what will be a race to the net (Aussie leads 1-0), (7)Ginepri vs. Heuberger, and (3)Schalken vs. (13)Burgsmuller (tied 2-2).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Daniela "Stick Girl" Hantuchova's problems continued Wednesday at Stanford, with the No. 4 seed bombing out to unseeded American Amy Frazier in straight sets. Whispers of anorexia have trailed the struggling Czech since she flaunted her skeleton-like appearance at Wimbledon, and a 5-6 win-loss record since May hasn't helped. In another battle of a different weight class, No. 3 seed Jennifer Capriati struggled to match the power of French teen Marion Bartoli, but the chunky American prevailed in the end in three sets. "No one can keep up that pace for that long and if you can, you should be right up there at the top," Capriati said of Bartoli's ground game, adding her insightful philosophy to overcoming adversity: "When someone is playing that well, I try to raise my game." Nice tactic. Other seeds advancing were (5)Dokic (d. Stevenson), (6)Shaughnessy (d. (WC)Jankovic), (7)Daniilidou (d. Pisnik), and (9)Raymond (d. Cho in three). Making a splash was 18-year-old qualifier Angela Haynes, who beat Italy's Rita Grande in straight sets. Like the Williams sisters, Haynes is from Compton, Calif., and like the Williams sisters, Haynes looks to start her career by alienating her fellow players by talking a lot of smack. "I'm playing with a lot of confidence and think I can win the title," said Haynes, who has only won one Challenger title to-date, and will face (9)Raymond in the second round. "My biggest obstacle will be Capriati. She'll try to embarrass me and I don't like to be embarrassed." Embarrass you? Jen probably couldn't pick you out of a line-up. Haynes takes a cue from Serena, in that if you say something enough, maybe it will come true. "I think I can win this tournament. This is good experience for me. I know I can hang with these girls. This win shows me where my game is at right now." Yeah, you beat Rita Grande on hardcourts, look that one up, not great. Haynes just graduated from City of Angels High School.
On court Thursday in Stanford are Haynes vs. Raymond, Shaughnessy vs. Mikaelian (Mik leads head-to-head 1-0), NCAA champion Liu vs. Clijsters, Daniilidou vs. Schiavone, and the Court 7 crowd-pleaser of Jidkova vs. Vento-Kabchi.

2003 ATP CLAYCOURT LEADERS (through July 23, 2003)
Player W-L
1. Gaston Gaudio 32-12
2. Carlos Moya 31-9
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero 29-2
4. Guillermo Coria 29-5
5. Agustin Calleri 24-9
(Includes matches played this week)

UMAG CAREER WIN LEADERS (through July 23, 2003)
1. Moya, Carlos (ESP) 24-5
2. Muster, Thomas (AUT) 15-0
3. Mantilla, Felix (ESP) 14-5
4. Norman, Magnus (SWE) 11-1
5. Berasategui, Alberto (ESP) 10-5
6. Ljubicic, Ivan (CRO) 10-7
7. Ulihrach, Bohdan (CZE) 9-3
8. Sanchez, Javier (ESP) 9-5
9. Skoff, Horst (AUT) 8-2
10. Arrese, Jordi (ESP) 8-4
(Includes matches played this week)

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Wilson's Double Core tennis balls (which the USTA is using in some tournaments, and which play like croquet balls) claim to retain their air pressure twice as long as normal tennis balls because of a rubber core that uses tiny "nanoclay" particles to form an airtight seal...Didn't know that didya (or probably care)...19-year-old NCAA champion Amber Liu is only 5-foot-6, and is trying to decide whether to return to Stanford for her junior year: "It's one step at a time," Liu said Tuesday after winning in the first round at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Center. "I haven't quite decided yet what I'm going to do. But, ultimately, I'd love to go pro. I love to compete, I love tennis and I love to travel." But will you love getting spanked by Kim Clijsters today? Liu will receive a wildcard at the US Open in September...Juan Carlos Ferrero only needs to reach the QF at Kitzbuhel this week to take over the top spot from Roger Federer on the ATP Champions Race; a tournament win and he would take the top spot from Andre Agassi on the ATP Entry System Rankings...Anna Kournikova is on the cover of this months Maxim magazine, but doesn't show a lot of skin on the inside photo layout, always the tease...Nice to see Jacksonville's Amer Delic having success this week at the ATP stop in Indianapolis after being such a listless slug during his high school tennis days...Ever wonder how Andy Roddick thinks he stacks up against Mandy Moore's former boyfriend, "Fez" from "That 70s Show"? Who would win that fight?...Again, that was a Code Orange Nerd Alert yesterday with Jan-Michael Gambill: "I saw Fleetwood Mac three times, my favorite band, can't get enough of them." Go do some sit-ups...Magnus Norman has worked his way off the Tennis-X Bottom 10 Rankings this week with two wins, coming off his 10-match losing streak...How sad that ESPN.com can't even understand the ATP Rankings -- Thursday they print "Andre Agassi is the No. 1 player in the world, but that could change soon. So what, say U.S. Open organizers. Agassi was named the No. 1 men's seed for the Open on Wednesday. Juan Carlos Ferrero, who can take over the top ranking with a quarterfinal berth in Kitzbuhel this week, will have to settle for the second seed in Flushing." Ferrero can take over the top ranking on the CHAMPIONS RACE with a quarterfinal berth, not the ATP Entry Rankings, which determine tournament seedings. Dumbasses...At the player party on Tuesday evening in Kitzbuhel, the Generali Open received the award for the best ATP International Series Gold Tournament of the Year 2002. Zeljko Franulovic, ATP Executive Vice President Europe, presented the award from Waterford Crystal to Peter Schiering, President of the Kitzbuhel Tennis Club, in a short break during the performance of the British band Atomic Kitten...Pete Sampras, who has not played for a year, still would have been seeded near No. 26 at this year's US Open...Magnus Norman has won seven straight matches in Umag, picking up from 1999 when he last played and won the title...Robby Ginepri feels he has bounced back from his wrist surgery in the spring: "I had to sit out 2-3 months because of my wrist injury. I was upset and it was a little hard for me to be leaving the game after playing my best tennis. Then going over to Europe and losing first round in each of the three tournaments I played in. It was devastating but I regrouped and I won Newport and was very excited after that."...Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi have already committed to playing at Indianapolis next year. Guess Andre will be back. Andy, too...Agassi will also play his first and only World Team Tennis match thursday night for the Sacramento Capitals. Prior to the match, Agassi will join No-cal stars like Brandi Chastain and Vlade Divac in a fasion show outside Macy's at the Sunrise Mall. Proceeds from the event will go to breast cancer reaseach.