Clijsters, Capriati Move Toward Showdown; Top-Seeded Ferrero Bumped in Kitzbuhel, Prodigy vs. Moya Semi in Umag; Roddick Rolling in Indy

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Two matches in a day was one too many for top-seeded Juan Carlos "The Mosquito" Ferrero at Kitzhbuhel Friday, as players were forced to catch up with rain-delayed matches. (1)Ferrero beat (15)Saretta in two tight sets, but then didn't have much to give later in the day with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to (9)Zabaleta. Ferrero complained of a finger injury before the QF loss. "I think I played unbelievable," Zabaleta said. "To beat Ferrero on clay, I think it's the best win of my life. It's great to be in the semifinals here for the second time." Likewise, No. 9 seed Juan Ignacio Chela beat (10)Mirnyi in a third set breaker, and later in the day fell meekly to (2)Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, who frequently put the Argentine on the Merry-Go-Round during long points to test the legs. Earlier in the day, El Mago ran through unseeded Olivier Mutis, dropping one game. In an all-unseeded quarterfinal match-up featuring two of the hottest claycourters of late, Nicolas Massu bested Nicolas Lapentti in straight sets. (13)F.Lopez also advanced into the semis with a well-earned three-set grinder over (7)Gaudio. The QF loss still earned The Mosquito enough points to take over the top spot from Roger Federer on the ATP Champions Race. Saturdays semifinals are (13)F.Lopez vs. (2)Coria (repeat of last week's Stuttgart semi, Coria leads the head-to-head 4-0)), and (9)Zabaleta vs. Massu (Zabaleta leads 2-1), with El Mago and Zabaleta hoping to construct an all-Argentine final.
In Umag, (6)Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal beat former No. 2 Magnus Norman to advance to his career-first ATP semi against (1)Moya (d. (8)Ferrer in a rematch of last year's final), his friend and countryman who he trounced earlier in the year. Also advancing were (7)Volandri (d. (2)Gonzalez, saving two match points) into his first ATP semifinal, and the unseeded Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty (d. A.Martin). Gonzalez, upon reaching match point against Volandri, promptly vomited three times on court before going on to lose, still battling a stomach virus from last week. Now that's good tennis. "At no point was I thinking Sampras-Corretja, but I he fought really hard," said Volandri, referring to the US Open match that Alex Corretja choked against a puking Pete Sampras. In the semifinal head-to-heads, Nadal leads Moya 1-0 in the all-Mallorcan match-up, and Volandri vs. Hrbaty is a first-time meeting. "I think he's (Moya) the favorite for sure," The Prodigy said. "We've practiced a few times this week and it is tough to beat him. For sure, he will be the favorite tomorrow." Nadal is also in the doubles final with partner Alex Lopez Moron (real name) against Perry/Shimada.
Top-seeded Andy Roddick continued his impressive run at Indianapolis Friday, stomping (9)Xavier "Former JenCap Boyfriend" Malisse in straight sets in under an hour to reach the semis. Other winners were (2)Srichaphan (d. Draper), (3)Schalken (d. (7)Ginepri in three, with Ginepri saving seven match points before going down), and unseeded Swede Nicolas Thomann, a tour veteran who reached his career-first ATP semi with a tight straight-set win over (14)Kiefer. "It feels really good," Thomann said. "When I arrived here, I was playing well but I haven't won very many matches this year. To win one more match, it's perfect, two more matches is more than perfect...I started playing tennis really late. I would like to play three or four more years." Thomann's former claim to fame was beating Andre Agassi on clay at Atlanta in 2001. The semi match-ups will be (1)Roddick vs. (3)Schalken (tied 1-1), and (2)Srichaphan vs. Thomann (first meeting).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Two unseeded players fought their way into the Stanford semis Friday, with Venezuelan qualifier Maria Vento-Kabchi upsetting the fragile (5)Jelena "The Walking Soap Opera" Dokic, and Francesca Schiavone getting by unseeded American Amy Frazier. "It's the best week of my career," said Vento-Kabchi, who also upset (8)Petrova in the first round. "I've been playing great. I had to stay in there with (Dokic) and make sure I wasn't thinking about winning, just playing the right way." It is the first WTA semifinal for the nine-year hyphenated veteran. Also into the semis are (2)Clijsters, who had to come from a set down to beat Swiss teen Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian, and (3)Capriati who took out fellow American (9)Raymond in three sets. Today's semis are (3)Capriati vs. Vento-Kabchi (JenCap leads 3-0, not dropping a set), and (2)Clijsters vs. Schiavone (Kimmy leads 2-0). "It will be a great match because I know how to play against her," predicts Schiavone. "She's a fantastic player and I've learned a lot from her."

UMAG CAREER WIN LEADERS (through July 25, 2003)
1. Moya, Carlos (ESP) 25-5
2. Muster, Thomas (AUT) 15-0
3. Mantilla, Felix (ESP) 14-5
4. Norman, Magnus (SWE) 11-2
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
Tommy Muster will play an ATP senior's event next month in Graz, and may even decide to play some regular ATP events: "I'll make my decision in the autumn. At the moment I haven't really got any idea how far I've really made it back. I'm basically doing an eight-hour day of training just like I did in former days. The levels are very, very good, above all in the area of stamina."...Paradorn Srichaphan's father and coach, Chanachai Srichaphan, seems to have quite a grip on his charge: "I train him, I coach him. He is a good boy. He obeys me all the time." Look for the Thai Fighter to fire dad and get a real coach within the year...Last week John McEnroe angered Sacramento team owner Lonnie Nielsen of the World Team Tennis league (and a number of parents who had brought their kids) by blurting out obscenities during his match for the New York Sportimes. Nice one John, at least you didn't peg any kids with water bottles like last year...Andy Roddick doesn't like the thought of people tempering the men's power game, or someone taking away his super-technology-powered Babolat racquet: "People talk about power, power, power, but there's still more to our game. I don't know why this wasn't a big deal in the days of Pete Sampras and Michael Stich just a few years ago. You did not see lots of great receivers then. Every aspect of each sport improves and that's what happens." There's more to your game than a serve and forehand Andy? Where've you been hiding it? A-Rod refuses to acknowledge the technological advances in the game, and even had a parting shot: "I've still got 10 years ahead of me and I've broken the (serving record) already."...Swede Thomas Johansson, who hasn't played since last November with knee surgery, will probably miss the US Open...Jelena Dokic, who reached a career-high No. 4 last year, is 16-18 on the year and has only reached one semifinal, and says she doesn't have enough confidence to win matches: "I played well up until I had game points but then I got a little tight," she said after losing yesterday in Stanford to a qualifier...The Associated Press reported Wednesday on the US Open seedings, but it was not the seeding list that the USTA had released, it was the entry list in their current rank order -- dumbasses. Then the USTA website picked up on the AP story and ran that the seeds had been announced -- are monkeys running that office?...Juan Carlos Ferrero likes the possibility of Thomas Muster returning to tournament play: "Maybe I will have the opportunity to play him. I have never played against him. I only saw him in Casablanca when I played my first and he his last tournament."...Guillermo "The Wizard" Coria has now won 19 out of his last 21 matches on clay, and has a 31-5 record on clay this year; he is a combined 4-0 against his two potential finalist opponents in Kitzbuhel...Italian Filippo Volandri has had a breakout year with quarterfinal appearances in Monte Carlo, Rome and Bastad, and now he is in his first ATP semifinal at Kitzbuhel and will likely break into the Top 50 when the rankings come out on Monday...Tommy Haas has denied a report in a German newspaper that he had decided not to play again this season. Speaking on behalf of Haas, IMG agent Tony "The Godfather" Godsick said that the former No. 2 was "unlikely to play the US Open, but he has not yet ruled out playing in the Fall during the European indoor season." Haas underwent a minor operation last Friday to remove excess scar tissue from his right shoulder. Haas' last tournament appearance was in October 2002 at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris...Andy Roddick has won 18 of his past 20 matches and now meets Dutchman Sjeng Schalken in the Indy semis. Roddick reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, won Queen's, lost first round at Roland Garros and won St. Poelten...Frenchman Nicolas Thomann had not won an ATP-level match this year before arriving in Indianapolis, spending most of the season at the Challenger level; the 30-year-old hadn't been in an ATP quarterfinal since Basel 2000, and his career-high ranking to date was No. 125 in 2001...Last year Paradorn Srichaphan led the tour with 40 hardcourt wins...Martina Hingis, the 1997 champion, Anna Kournikova and Tatiana Panova are the only three players in the Top 100 who have withdrawn from the 2003 US Open. Hingis hasn't played in a WTA Tour event since last October because of foot injuries and says she might never compete again, but is still ranked No. 101. Porn-ikova, ranked No. 77, has been sidelined with a back injury, but still has a nice spread in the latest Maxim magazine...Vera Zvonareva withdrew from next week's Acura Classic with a left elbow injury...French finalist Martin Verkerk is in the finals of the Hilversum Challenger in The Netherlands. Verkerk will play John van Lottum in Sunday's final...Roger Federer will reportedly take a pass on playing Washington next week, and opt to make his summer hardcourt debut in Canada.