Agassi Wins, Roddick Loses, Nalbandian Lashes Out at Tennis Masters Cup



Posted on November 15, 2003

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEWRoddick takes a seat to Schuettler at the Tennis Masters Cup (ATP)
Things didn't go as expected prior to Andy Roddick's ceremony for achieving the year-end No. 1 ranking Thursday at the Tennis Masters Cup. A-Rod was edged 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3) by German nemesis Rainer Schuettler, who secured himself a spot in the semifinals, leaving Roddick's fate hanging.

"I think it's just the fact that he makes you work every point," Roddick said about his ongoing struggles against the German. "He puts a lot of balls in the court. I still feel like I haven't had my best day against Rainer. So that's a little frustrating. For the last couple weeks I just feel like I've been on the verge of playing well, but I haven't quite gotten there. You know, close matches I was winning this summer are the close matches I've been losing recently."

Now Roddick will have to beat Guillermo Coria in a match that will see the winner advance into the semis. Coria put himself in a strong position by beating a lackluster Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3 Thursday. In the day's last match, Andre Agassi advanced to the semis with an inspired 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-4 win over David Nalbandian, featuring numerous problems with line calls and flared tempers.

"It's always a bit precarious for both players that haven't played each other," Agassi said. "I think the first set, while it was highly competitive, I think it was sort of a function of us figuring each other out in some pretty tricky conditions. I mean, it was cold. The wind was blowing. It wasn't a very predictable wind."

In his post-match conference, Nalbandian ripped the tournament officiating ("They can do a better job") and tournament chairman Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale for rooting for Agassi in the stands ("It's a lack of respect toward the players"), and during the match accusing tournament officials of favoring Americans with their calls.

In the first of the Masters Cup doubles semifinals, Frenchmen Llodra/Santoro ripped last year's No. 1 players Knowles/Nestor 6-1, 6-3 to reach the final. "We've had a great year together even though we've only played 12 tournaments before coming to Houston," said Santoro, who with Llodra won the Australian Open in January. "It was a perfect match. We played one of the best matches we have ever played. We didn't miss a ball and my partner played some magnificent shots."

ROUND ROBIN GROUPS - SINGLES

Red Group:
(6) Rainer Schuettler 2-0 win-loss (4-2 sets) *
-----------------------------
(4) Guillermo Coria 1-1 (3-2)
(1) Andy Roddick 1-1 (3-3)
(7) Carlos Moya 0-2 (1-4)

Blue Group:
(3) Roger Federer 2-0 win-loss (4-1 sets) *
(5) Andre Agassi 2-1 (5-4) *
-----------------------------
(8) David Nalbandian 1-2 (3-4)
(2) Juan Carlos Ferrero 0-2 (1-4)

* Clinched Semifinal berth

Today on court in singles and doubles at the Masters Cup are Federer vs. Ferrero (to determine No. 2 year-end ranking; Ferrero leads head-to-head 3-2), Schuettler vs. Moya (German leads 4-2), Roddick vs. Coria with the winner into the semifinals (Roddick leads 1-0), and the second doubles semi in Bryan/Bryan vs. Etlis/Rodriguez (Bryans lead 4-0, with three going three sets). The singles semi match-ups on Saturday will be Schuettler vs. Agassi, and Federer vs. Roddick or Coria. "He's a very quick player," says Roddick of his consequential match-up with Coria today. "Has a lot of flair, has a great feel for the game. He's good at dropshots, angles. He's a good match player. He competes well. So, it's similar like (against Schuettler), I'm going to have to play every point. I'm going to have to try to be a little bit more solid."

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
From the Houston Chronicle: "The (Tennis Masters) Cup feels hugely important, in contrast to the recently concluded women's championships in Los Angeles, where dead crowds of a couple thousand bouncing around a 20,000-seat arena generated few kilowatts."...Tennis Masters Cup promoter Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale is hatching a plot to bring the men's and women's year-end championships together in 2005: "I don't know if I can make it work because I haven't done the numbers. But I'd like to make it work." Hey Jim "All-American" McIngvale, maybe you could work on making the foreign players feel welcome at the Masters Cup...Word is, the non-American players are also complaining about the basketball court player lounge, weak food selection and poor transportation service. And of course that court, which Coria gave a hand to after he slipped yesterday against Moya...Here's a great idea, Juan Carlos Ferrero should pull out today from his match with Federer. This way the Spaniard can get a jump on leaving for the Davis Cup final plus, and most importantly, it would force Aussie Mark Philippoussis to step in and take his place. Hah...Hey Paradorn, time to get out from under mom's wing and decide your own girlfriends -- if you want a hottie singer, keep the hottie singer, no matter how nutty she is with calling press conferences to tell everyone she is your girlfriend...Nice semifinal draw for the top-seeded Bryan brothers at the Masters Cup doubles, facing No. 8 seeded Argentines Etlis/Rodriguez, who only made the eight-man field when Paes/Rikl withdrew...Andre Agassi noted he broke the racquet during his match on his foot and not the court at the Masters Cup: "I have a lot of respect for that court. That court cost $10 million."...Carlos Moya is left-handed but plays right-handed, and fellow Mallorcan Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal is right-handed but plays left-handed...Roger Federer on the crowd at the Masters Cup: "Americans always scream a lot. Less clapping, more screaming. That's okay. All the crowds should be different. That's the difference."...Andre Agassi is a big Tennis Channel fan: "Yeah, I got the Tennis Channel now. It's caused a bit of a problem -- first sort of real problem in our marriage -- because I always have it on...but we enjoy watching it. I enjoy for business reasons to watch it even more."...Mardy Fish gave Andy Roddick a champagne bath during A-Rod's post-match conference yesterday to celebrate his countryman's rise to No. 1, dousing him with two bottles...Andy Roddick was presented with the year-end No. 1 trophy by former U.S. president George Bush Sr. following his loss to Rainer Schuettler yesterday...Martina Navratilova is the Mick Jagger of women's tennis, according to France's Fed Cup coach Guy Forget: "We aren't amazed to see Mick Jagger or Cliff Richard performing at the Parc des Princes...with their skin tight clothes and their long hair, they can look ridiculous. But she is at her physical peak, unlike certain rock stars. She is extraordinary."...French Fed Cup captain Guy Forget says he understands Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne boycotting the Fed Cup semis: "Choosing Russia was always going to create problems. It's a shame for tennis in general. Perhaps (they're) fed up with mediocre people (officials) but the Fed Cup has lost credibility. Everyone would have preferred to play in Belgium."...No. 2 Aussie (behind Mark Philippoussis) Lleyton Hewitt is all fired up for the Davis Cup final against Spain: "Hopefully, it won't come down to the (Carlos) Moya match if I've got to play him in the fifth rubber, but I'm obviously putting all my eggs in one basket and going after (Juan Carlos) Ferrero on day one," Hewitt told Tennis Week magazine from Adelaide. "He's two in the world at the moment and one of the best players in the world...I don't think playing on grass is going to be a huge disadvantage for Ferrero. He can adjust his game to any surfaces, I think. Day one is going to be pretty interesting."...Nice lead-up to the Davis Cup final with both Spaniards bombing out in the round robin at the Masters Cup...Roughly 80% of the tennis media covering the Masters Cup in Houston represent foreign outlets.