American Women Roll in San Diego, All-American Roddick-Fish and Agassi-Blake Matchups Today in Washington

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Two upsets in Washington Thursday, with the oft-injured (10)Tim Henman coming on-line with a win over (8)Davydenko, and (11)Fish outlasting (5)Kafelnikov in three sets. "I felt a little lethargic at times and I was a little sluggish but I came back and I was pleased with the way I finished it off," said Henman, who faces Srichaphan next. "My record is a good one but he (Srichaphan) has come a long way since we played early on. I'm going to have to play with authority and play a solid match against him." Yeah, you'll need to serve over 50 m.p.h. for that one Our Tim. Others advancing were (1)Agassi (d. (13)Sargsian), (2)Roddick (d. (14)Rusedski), (3)Srichaphan (d. (16)Vahaly), (4)Gonzalez (d. (15)Ancic), (6)Blake (d. Burgsmuller in three), and (7)Mirnyi (d. (WC)M.Bryan).

In LA all four seeds in action advanced, with Michael Chang sent off on his Farewell Tour by (5)Philippoussis in straight sets. Also advancing into the quarters were (2)Grosjean (d. Ginepri), (4)Kuerten (d. Taino), and (7)Ferreira (d. Bogomolov). "He said, 'See? I'm saving it for our doubles!'" said Guga when asked what Taino, who is Kuerten's doubles partner in the tournament, said after double faulting on match point against the Brazilian.

In Sopot, top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero struggled to a three-set win over qualifier Frantisek Cermak, while (7)Hrbaty was not so lucky, falling to the hot-handed claycourter Luis Horna of Peru. "It was obviously a difficult match," Ferrero said. "His level of play in the first two sets took me by surprise. At the beginning, he was so solid. He wasn't making mistakes and was serving very well. It's not normal for someone of his ranking to play so consistently. These kind of players find it difficult to close the match out against a Top 10 player. It is normal for them to get nervous. I managed to raise the level of my game very well when I really needed to today." In other words, just keep the ball in play and wait for the choke. Other seeds advancing were claycourt dynamo (3)Coria (d. C.Rochus 6-1, 6-0), and (8)Mutis (d. Goellner).

Seeds in action in the Washington quarterfinals today are (10)Henman vs. (3)Srichaphan (the pasty one leads 4-1), (11)Fish vs. (2)Roddick in an all-American match-up (the Fish leads 1-0), (1)Agassi vs. (6)Blake in another all-American (Agassi leads 2-1), and (4)Gonzalez vs. (7)Mirnyi (first meeting). In LA the quarterfinal match-ups are (8)Spadea vs. Kiefer (Vince leads head-to-head 2-0), (1)Hewitt vs. Carlsen, (7)Ferreira vs. (2)Grosjean (Wayne's World leads 2-1), and in the nightcap, (4)Kuerten vs. (5)Philippoussis (tied 1-1). In Crap-pot the quarters are (3)Coria vs. (8)Mutis, (1)Ferrero vs. Horna, Vinciguerra vs. Ferrer, and Ramirez Hidalgo vs. Blanco in an all-Spanish, all-who-cares match-up. "Having won two consecutive tournaments, I am feeling very tired," Coria said. "I sense that on the court in every match, but I am committed to this tournament and I want to do my best here. It would be special to win three tournaments in a row. Every tournament you play, for sure you want to win. If I win tomorrow's match, I could play Ferrero in the semifinals."

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The seeds fell all over the grounds Thursday in San Diego, with three on the early plane in (7)Daniela "The Walking Stick" Hantuchova (l. to Petrova), (10)Maleeva (l. to Likhovtseva), and (16)Bovina (l. to Kuznetsova). Also advancing into the quarters were (2)Clijsters (d. Bartoli), (3)Henin-Hardenne (d. Dementieva), (4)Davenport (d. Krasnoroutskaya), (6)Rubin (d. (9)Dokic), and unseeded Lisa Raymond (d. Pierce). Henin-Hardenne trailed 2-4 in the second set before rallying for the 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory. "I was in trouble at this point of the match," H-H said. "I wasn't finding the solution. She was being aggressive. I had nothing more to lose."

In Sopot Thursday, injuries and the heat took its toll, with three seeds bombing out in (1)Myskina (l. to (8)Mandula, retiring with illness in the second set), (6)Matevzic (l. to (2)Schnyder in a walkover with illness), and defending champion (7)Safina (l. to (3)Pistolesi, retiring in the third set with heat exhaustion). "I was feeling very sure, I trusted I would win," Mandula said, insisting she is the real deal. "This is no sensational win, I beat Myskina at Roland Garros earlier this year." Also into the semis was unseeded Klara "Kouky" Koukalova (d. (Q)Kostanic).

On court for today's quarterfinals in San Diego are Henin-Hardenne vs. Petrova, Rubin vs. Davenport in an all-American match-up (Davenport leads head-to-head 8-3), Kuznetsova vs. Likhovtseva in an all-tongue-twister (first meeting between the Russians), and Raymond vs. Clijsters (the waffle leads 1-0). Friday's semifinals in Sopot are (8)Mandula vs. Koukalova, and (3)Pistolesi vs. (2)Schnyder (tied 2-2).

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Mark Philippoussis was a guest on Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" on Wednesday. On a special outdoor court laid on set, Philippoussis demonstrated the power of his serve by matching up with a fan from the studio audience before slamming serves past former NBA star John Salley and the NFL's Qadry Ismail. "I got pretty close to him, but if I would have hit him, it would have really hurt," said Philippoussis. "These guys put together a pretty fun show."...The Bryan Brothers Band, featuring Mike and Bob Bryan, played back-to-back fundraisers in Washington to raise scholarship funds for the Urban Leadership Development Group (ULDG) and the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF). An estimated $40,000 was raised for the ULDG...On Friday and Saturday, the Sopot tournament will host the Idea Prokom Open Jazz and Pop Music festival, where 55,000 people are expected to attend...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic is now working with Rohan Goetzke, former coach of Richard Krajicek, on a trial basis (since Indianapolis)...Frenchman Nicolas Escude is not expected to play again until the end of the year because of a hip injury. The 27-year-old has no plans to undergo surgery but will rest in preparation for 2004. Word on the street is the injury is not going to get better anytime soon...Max "The Beast" Mirnyi has announced his engagement to girlfriend Xenia, also from Belarus. They have yet to set a date for the wedding and will continue to split their time between Minsk (Belarus) and Florida...Andy Roddick is 17-1 under new coach Brad Gilbert...Guillermo Coria has won 26 sets in a row...Marcelo Rios will pass on the TMS Canada next week to play in the Pan Am Games in Tampa which begins Monday.