Corretja Tames Nadal at TMS-Madrid; Rubin Out in Zurich

Posted on October 15, 2003

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
No seeds in action Monday at the TMS-Madrid, but that didn't prevent a show-stopper on the stadium court with wildcard Alex "Almost Retired" Corretja, in the midst of his worst year on tour, showing upstart countryman and fellow wildcard Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal what time it was with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win. "I've been working for months, traveling, training without getting any positive results," said Corretja, who ended an eight-match losing streak, but upped his head-to-head with The Prodigy to 2-0. "I hope today will be the beginning of my recovery. It's gratifying to see I can play well again. Today I was been calm, a little bit more experienced, and worked hard." The Prodigy, in the midst of a funk, took the loss in stride. "I didn't play too well," said the Spanish teen. "Even though I've been training hard during the last few weeks, there has been something missing in my matches. I don't know if it's physical or mental, but I'm not playing as well as I used to. What I have to do is to keep working hard." American "C"-squad members went 2-0 in Ginepri (d. (Q)O.Rochus) and Spadea (d. (Q)C.Rochus) taking out the Belgian Davis Cup team. The Argentines were also 2-0 in Gaudio (d. Nieminen in three) and Chela (d. A.Martin in three), while other unseeded winners were Massu (d. (WC)Verdasco), Lopez (d. Zabaleta in three), and Ferreira (d. Ljubicic).
Today some of the lower seeds come out to play at the TMS-Madrid in (13)Kuerten vs. Massu, Fish vs. Henman (first meeting, look for Fish to show the Brit the new-style serve-and-volley), Safin vs. Bjorkman, Gonzalez vs. Costa (first meeting), Philippoussis vs. Lopez, (Q)Ferrer vs. Youzhny, Blake vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (first meeting), Yevgeny "Don't Bet On Me" Kafelnikov vs. (Q)Enqvist (Y-Man leads series 8-5), Vince "Vincenzo Rollin' in the Benzo" Spadea vs. (12)Calleri (Spadea leads 2-0), the resurgent Jan-Mike Gambill vs. Davydenko, Clement vs. Kucera, and Chela vs. (11)Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Chanda Rubin's career-marking sporadic play continued Monday in Zurich where the No. 5 seed lost to tour doormat Jelena Dokic. "Once I get my confidence back it will be better," said Dokic, who won despite tossing in over 40 unforced errors. "I need to work now for next year, mentally and physically." We'd say more mentally. The other two seeds in action advanced in (6)Sugiyama (d. Serna in three) and (7)Zvonareva (d. Shaughnessy 7-6 in the third). Qualifiers went 2-0 on the day with (Q)Pisnik (d. Coetzer) and (Q)Amy "Up Goes" Frazier (d. Martinez in three) moving into the second round. Other unseeded winners were Pistolesi (d. Farina Elia), and a rare win for Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson (d. (WC)Casanova in three).
Today's sketchy schedule in Zurich features Bovina vs. Molik, Srebotnik vs. Pierce, Petrova vs. Mikaelian, Daniilidou vs. Schnyder, and Hantuchova vs. Suarez. Wait for that Wednesday money ticket.

WTA ZURICH MULTIPLE WINNERS
6--Steffi Graf (1992-89, '87-86)
3--Lindsay Davenport (2001, '98-97)

TENNIS-X READER MAIL
"I just read your article about Roddick's terrible backhand, and although Andy's one of my favourite players, I couldn't agree with you more! I was really disappointed that Ferrero didn't win the US Open. In my view, of the two, Ferrero is much more talented, and possesses almost every shot in the game, unlike Andy who just relies on his huge serve and forehand (which can be matched by players such as Safin, Ferrero and of course Sampras). So if you get lots of 'hate mail' regarding this article, ignore it, those people are obsessed with one thing -- Roddick's looks and media appeal!
-- M.

A: Thanks for the letter M. -- we already knew you were a dedicated player and fan since you know a crappy backhand when you see it. But Andy has that US Open trophy, and the best we have on the shelf in the office is a "Best Attendance in Middle School," so it is tough to argue with results. We'll be watching to see if Andy can follow it up, or switch to a one-hander, or maybe just run around every backhand altogether.

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Lots of first-time No. 1 possibilities this week, with Justine Henin-Hardenne trying to supplant Kim Clijsters in Zurich, and Andy Roddick and Roger Federer trying to de-throne Juan Carlos Ferrero at the TMS-Madrid...Aramis is the seventh brand Andre Agassi has been associated with during his career, after KIA Motors, Nike apparel and shoes, Head racquets, Canon cameras, Deutsch Telekom and Schick razors...Steffi Graf is hot and rich with a beautiful family, why does she look so damned worried in every photo? Is that a German thing? Help us out...So the ATP is going to investigate players betting on the Internet and taking matches? The same organization that unknowingly gave a player drugs, then suspended him, then reinstated him, then wrote him a six or seven-figure check so he wouldn't sue them? Take our advice, hire an outside agency to do the investigating, you guys couldn't find your ass with both hands...Things are getting ugly in the ATP betting scandal: According to a Sunday Telegraph source, "an ATP trainer even offered his services to one bookmaker, promising to alert them to news of injured players, which would be in contravention of ATP rules." Everyone wants some Internet bank...Apparently Anna Kounikova's back injury is so chronic, not responding well to therapy, that she could pull the plug any day and start on her attempted car-crash of an acting career -- then the inevitable Playboy spread...Tim Henman continues to struggle toward his goal of a seeding at the 2004 Aussie Open...Chanda Rubin wasn't too happy after losing in Zurich to Jelena Dokic, who is in a ranking free-fall: "She hasn't done much at all so it's a disappointing loss. She just hits the ball. There is no rhyme or reason." Doesn't that pretty much cover 95% of WTA players?...Martina Navratilova has now been officially named to the U.S. Fed Cup team in doubles.