Kafelnikov Out in Moscow, Ashley "Anna 2.0" Harkleroad's Problems Continue in Tokyo; Roddick Throws a Strike

No. 8 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov was bounced Thursday in Moscow, afterward hinting for the 54th time that he may retire. Asked to elaborate, the Russian said, "You will get that answer just by looking at entry sheets at various tournaments next year. If my name is absent from the list than you know I am done as a player." No. 5 seed Max "The Beast" Mirnyi was also shown the door 7-6 in the third by Stefan Koubek, while (2)Calleri advanced with a three-set win over Labadze. Other unseeded winners were the Russian Andreev (d. Ljubicic), Dent (d. O.Rochus in three), Rosset (d. Kucera), Spadea (d. (Q)W.Black in three), and Mathieu (d. (Q)Ketola).

No. 8-seeded Moroccan Hicham Arazi was the only casualty Thursday in Metz, losing to Spaniard David Ferrer, as the remainder of the seeds rolled in (1)Robredo (d. Lisnard), (3)Gonzalez (d. Behrend 7-6 in the third), (4)Clement (d. Sanguinetti), and (5)Santoro (d. Mutis). "I am the top seed here but every player is dangerous," said Robredo, looking ahead to his quarterfinal. "Pavel has got a lot of experience and will be difficult to beat."

Today's Quarterfinals:

Tokyo: (1)Schuettler vs. Draper (Aussie leads 1-0 in series), (7)Lee vs. (4)Srichaphan in an all-Asian (Lee leads 2-1), Saulnier vs. (5)Philippoussis, and (8)Gambill vs. (2)Grosjean (Frenchman leads 3-0).

Moscow: Sargsian vs. the only seed left in (2)Calleri (series tied 1-1), Andreev vs. Mathieu (first meeting), Dent vs. Rosset (first meeting), and Koubek vs. Spadea (first meeting).

Metz: (1)Robredo vs. Pavel (Robredo leads series 1-0), (3)Gonzalez vs. Ferrer (tied 1-1), (5)Santoro vs. Popp (Frenchman leads 1-0), and (Q)Petzschner vs. (4)Clement.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
In Toyko, The WTA Soft Porn Express hit a bump on the tracks Thursday as No. 6 seed Ashley "Anna 2.0" Harkleroad was ousted by a player you'll likely never hear from again in China's Zi Yan. Nothing against the Yan family, we're sure she's a lovely girl. But not lovely enough to put on a WTA calendar, like Ashley -- but unlike Ashley, Yan is putting numbers in the "W" column. It's the old Anna give-and-take, "Do I want to look hot, or do I want to win matches? Hmmmm..." Alas No. 5 seed Maria "Grunting Like I'm Getting #^$&ed" Sharapova punched through to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Akiko Morigami, posting one for the calendar-girl set. The seeds continued to fall late in the day as (2)Tanasugarn was ousted by China's Jie Zheng, and (1)Sugiyama retired in the second set against Aniko Kapros with a finger sprain.

Three of the six Russians in action Thursday at Moscow advanced into the quarters in (4)Myskina (d. Serna), (3)Dementieva (d. (Q)Kostanic), and (7)Zvonareva (d. Russian (WC)Douchevina). Russian wildcard Dinara "Sister Of" Safina lost a tight one to Italy's Francesca Schiavone.

Only two matches scheduled today in Tokyo in Sharapova vs. Schaul, and Yan vs. Zheng. In Moscow the quarterfinals are Schiavone vs. Dementieva, Myskina vs. Daniilidou, Zvonareva vs. Mauresmo, and Bovina vs. Pistolesi, with a crowd-pleasing doubles nightcap in Kuznetsova/Navratilova vs. Russians Myskina/Zvonareva.

ATP INDOOR TITLE LEADERS (ACTIVE PLAYERS ONLY)
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is the king among active players with 15 indoor titles, ahead of former No. 1s Andre Agassi and Yevgeny Kafelnikov:

Ivanisevic, Goran 15
Agassi, Andre 12
Kafelnikov, Yevgeny 12
Enqvist, Thomas 11
Rosset, Marc 10
Rusedski, Greg 6
Henman, Tim 5
Philippoussis, Mark 5
Ferreira, Wayne 4
Rios, Marcelo 4
Safin, Marat 4
Corretja, Alex 3
Escude, Nicolas 3
Federer, Roger 3
Haas, Tommy 3
Hewitt, Lleyton 3
Johansson, Thomas 3
Kucera, Karol 3
Martin, Todd 3
Dent, Taylor 2
Grosjean, Sebastien 2
Mathieu, Paul-Henri 2
Olhovskiy, Andrei 2
Santoro, Fabrice 2

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Andy Roddick took things a step further yesterday in Oakland. Sunday, the US Open Champion was in attendance at the Oakland Raiders-San Diego Charger game. Wednesday, Roddick was on the JumboTron during the Oakland A's-Boston Red Sox playoff game, and then Thursday afternoon, the 21-year-old took it a step further by getting on the field to throw out the first pitch at the A's game. For the record, Roddick shook off the catcher and then proceeded to throw a 149-mph strike. Nicely done...Former No. 1 Thomas Muster doesn't regret his decision to leave the regular tour with little fanfare: "When I started my career no one was there, and when I stopped no one was there either. Those quiet moments I really wanted to share with my family and not at Roland Garros, even though it was my favorite tournament. I knew it was my last match. Those are big moments and I didn’t really feel like sharing them with anyone else."...Boris Becker will release a tell-all biography next month: "It's about time I wrote about the way it really was because it's very difficult to judge from the outside what it was really like to be on the inside." We want to hear about the broom closet at the restaurant. He also hopes to front a television sports show with "guest celebrities from the world of sport" to be broadcast on ARD and DSF in Germany...At the senior tour event in Eindhoven yesterday, Petr Korda d. Jan Siemerink, Thomas Muster d. Mikael Pernfors, John McEnroe d. Pat Cash, and Boris Becker d. Emilio Sanchez, with McEnroe firing a warning at the competition: "I didn't come here to lose. I suspect that others didn't either. That's what makes it interesting. I came here to win the tournament. That's my goal, entertainment is secondary. If I can only have one, I will take winning, if I can have them both, that's the best."...Argentines Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian and Gaston Gaudio have all pulled from Vienna next week citing injury...French Fed Cup captain Guy Forget says he may insert Mary Pierce in for their semifinal match against Russia: "Since (Wimbledon) she has become much fitter," said Forget about the oft-chunky Pierce. "I have talked to her on the phone and she is very keen to rejoin the team. That would be a plus -- it would be good to have a sort of 'joker,' someone who is capable of scaring any woman in the Top 20." The only people Mary scares are the people setting up the buffet.