Henin-Hardenne, Davenport Fighting to Stay Off Australian Open Injury List

Posted on January 16, 2004

Justine Henin-Hardenne and Lindsay Davenport reached the Sydney semifinals Thursday, but not without a price that could effect their chances at next week's Australian Open. The top-seeded H-H had a trainer attend to blisters on her feet and a sprained ankle in her three-set win over (7)Chanda Rubin, while (4)Davenport had a trainer attend to a muscle strain in her shoulder in a win over (6)Elena Dementieva, and later pulled out of her doubles semifinal match. "I sprained my ankle a little bit, but it looks good," the upbeat H-H said. "It was sore during two games and then it was coming down. I hope tomorrow it's going to be fine. But the other problem, the medical time-out I asked for, (was) because I have a lot of blisters. Especially with this heat, I have a lot of problems on my right foot." Davenport was also upbeat about her recovery. "I hit a serve and it feels like I've strained my pec," she said. "There was a lot of tennis yesterday with the singles and doubles. My arm was pretty tight and kind of sore this morning in warm-up. I got treatment before the match and was doing pretty good until I think I tried to serve just a little too hard. I'm hoping it's just a mild strain (but) I don't know at this point. I've had this injury before, you know. My body typically recovers well from muscle strains. I just hope it will." Also into the semis were (3)Amelie Mauresmo (d. (5)Myskina) and unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone (d. Smashnova-Pistolesi).
Friday's semifinal match-ups will be (1)H-H vs. (4)Davenport (Davenport leads career meetings 5-1, but H-H won their last encounter at the 2003 Aussie Open 9-7 in the third set), and (3)Mauresmo vs. Schiavone (Frenchwoman leads 1-0), while the doubles final will be (3)Black/Stubbs vs. (WC)Safina/Shaughnessy.

Japan's Shinobu Asagoe will contest both the singles and doubles finals on Friday at Hobart. The No. 6 seed in singles, Asagoe outlasted Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi in three sets, and will now face Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier, who out-hustled qualifier Maria Emilia Salerni in their three-set semi. In reaching the Hobart semis, the teenage Salerni missed out on playing the Aussie Open qualifying. It will be the first meeting between Asagoe-Frazier. In the doubles final, Asagoe/Okamoto will square off against Callens/Schett.

Two unseeded players captured berths in the Canberra semifinals Thursday in the Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko (d. Pennetta) and Croatian teen sensation Karolina Sprem (d. (6)Loit). Two seeds joined them in the semis in (2)Paola Suarez (d. Parra) and (3)Silvia Farina Elia (d. (9)Sanchez Lorenzo in three).
Friday's order of play will be (3)Farina Elia vs. Vakulenko, and Sprem vs. (2)Suarez (in an upset special). "She is a very good young player," Suarez said on facing the Spreminator. "She is on the way up and I think she has the potential to maybe go Top 20. It will be a tough match. She hits the ball very hard and she is very fast."

ATP REVIEWS/PREVIEWS
Three seeds marched into the Sydney semis Thursday in (3)Carlos Moya (d. Robredo 6-1, 6-2), (7)Lleyton Hewitt (d. Clement 6-3 in the third), and (8)Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk (d. (4)Philippoussis). "I'm a little frustrated with my match," Flipper said. "I came out a little flat. But I'm feeling positive heading into the Australian Open. I'm feeling good physically." Unseeded Wayne Ferreira knocked out another Aussie in wildcard Todd Reid, who the South African had lost to last week in Adelaide in a 6-0, 6-1 blowout. "It was totally different conditions [to Adelaide]," Reid said. "I think it was his first match of the year, and I probably had played lots of matches. It was real windy that day. Today, he's had a couple of matches under his belt. Obviously, he's gonna be a different player."
Friday's singles semis line up as (3)Moya vs. Ferreira (Moya leads meetings 3-1), and (7)Hewitt vs. (8)Verkerk (first meeting). The doubles semis will be Calleri/Volandri vs. Bjorkman/Woodbridge, and Bryan/Bryan vs. Allegro/Schuettler.

The Auckland semifinals were left incomplete Friday when the match between unseeded Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty and qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany was rained out in the beginning of the third set. Before the rains, a strong cast moved into the semis in (2)Jiri Novak (d. "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter in three sets), defending champ (3)Gustavo Kuerten (d. (5)Spadea, who led 4-1 in the second, in straights), and Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (d. Carraz, who retired in the first set with a thigh/groin injury). "I'm playing better and better, that's for sure," Guga said. "The difference from yesterday was today I had to fight in a situation where I was a break down in the second set at 4-1. I've really got everything I was looking for from this week. After tomorrow, it's like an extra for me. Vince has a great stroke, he can hit the ball from everywhere and some unbelievable winners. He is a great returner, but I placed my serve very well."
Friday's order of play will be Hrbaty vs. (Q)Kohlschreiber to finish, (2)Novak vs. Nadal (first meeting), then Hrbaty or (Q)Kohlschreiber vs. (3)Kuerten (Hrbaty and Guga tied 2-2 in career meetings).


AUSSIE OPEN MEN'S QUALIFYING FIRST ROUND UPSETS
Lorenzi d. (15)Taino, Golmard d. (32)Knowle, Weiner d. (23)Zib, Dancevic d. (21)Calatrava, F.Ferreiro d. (24)Galimberti, Karanusic d. (1)Goldstein, Andersen d. (16)Elseneer, Bogdanovic d. (26)Sabau, Cakl d. (28)Phau, Garcia-Lopez d. (8)G.Lapentti.

ATP CURRENT TOP 10 AUSSIE OPEN RESULTS FROM 2003
1. Andy Roddick (USA) -- Semifinalist
Ran out of juice after a 21-19 fifth-set victory over Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals.
2. Roger Federer (SUI) -- lost in R16
Felled in five sets by his Argentine Nemesis David Nalbandian.
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) -- Quarterfinalist
Surprisingly stopped in straight sets by solid Aussie Open performer Wayne Ferreira.
4. Andre Agassi (USA) -- Champion
Beats year-end Top 10ers Guillermo Coria and Sebastien Grosjean en route, and thumps Rainer Schuettler in the straight-set final.
5. Guillermo Coria (ARG) -- lost in R16
Beat Clavet, Canas, and Nieminen before losing to champ Agassi.
6. Rainer Schuettler (GER) -- Runner-up
Had what will likely be his career moment in tennis, running to the final before getting housed by Agassi.
7. Carlos Moya (ESP) -- lost 2nd round
Was stunned in five sets by serve-and-volleying American Mardy Fish.
8. David Nalbandian -- Quarterfinalist
Took out Federer before the surprise loss to Schuettler.
9. Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) -- Quarterfinalist
Survived a five-setter against Felix Mantilla in the R16 before being pummeled by Agassi.
10. Mark Philippoussis (AUS) -- lost in 3rd round
After solid wins over Verkerk and Srichaphan, was stunned by the smooth-stroking Sargis Sargsian in another home-grown disappointment.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
John McEnroe says that drug testing in men's tennis has been bungled: "You are seeing a situation where the ATP and the tennis powers that be have not handled the situation well and need to come to grips with it."...When is Roger Federer going to sew up that coaching deal? Will his new coach make his debut during the Australian Open?...John McEnroe has reportedly signed a deal with CNBC to host a primetime talk show, which will probably not be titled "The Chair." McEnroe's show will air at 10 p.m. EST, directly after comedian Dennis Miller's talk show, which premieres later this month. "I never expected to be on CNBC," McEnroe told ESPN.com. "But they've shifted a little bit with Dennis and I. It's not like they're expecting me to talk about Cisco. We'll have some fun, but we'll be serious when it's time to be serious. I'm not going to be making jokes about health care." Cisco? Time to update your reference Johnny Mac...Andre Agassi easily beat the coach-less Roger Federer Thursday at the Kooyong exhibition -- that combined with Federer's lack of match play coming into the Aussie Open should be dropping him on the betting sites...We need more John McEnroe quotes on the Greg Rusedski drug scandal -- yeah, more quotes from recreational and steroid drug users chastising current players who are doping...French Open champ and former No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten is amazingly without a clothing contract for 2004...Pat Rafter has agreed to play a doubles exhibition match at the Kooyong exo with partner Josh Eagle against a yet-to-be-determined pair of Aussies...Maria "Orgasmo Grunt" Sharapova is still growing, now over 6 feet tall: "Last year my legs grew so long, and it was tough on me," said Sharapova, whose parents are both under 6 feet, to USA Today. "Now my upper body is growing. Must be the carrot juice." Or the steroids they're feeding you. Word is the Russian has put an end to her shrieking grunts for 2004, which would be a disappointment to men worldwide...Add another two potential Aussie Open pull-outs after Justine Henin-Hardenne struggled with blisters and an ankle problem yesterday at Sydney, and Lindsay Davenport was hampered by a pectoral/shoulder strain in her singles match, later pulling out of her doubles...Carlos Moya is 8-0 on the year, his best start to the season since 1997 when he went 10-2 by reaching both the Sydney and the Australian Open finals: "It is the most important thing, being confident. You win matches even without playing great tennis. That's because of the confidence. Now I'm playing really well. I was lucky in Chennai. In the second round, I was match point down. But I won that match. Since then I have played very solid tennis."...Justine Henin-Hardenne's semifinal appearance at Sydney is the Belgian's 14th consecutive semifinal or better result, dating to 2003 Charleston in April...The International Tennis Writers Association (ITWA) has announced its annual professional tennis awards and named Switzerland's Roger Federer and Belgian's Justine Henin-Hardenne its '2003 Players of the Year.' Winners of the 'ASAP Best Ambassadors for the Sport of Tennis' were Belgian Kim Clijsters and Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui...John McEnroe, after admitting he unwittingly took steroids during his playing days, told ESPN they were prescribed as pain killers: "Let me be clear, they were anti-inflammatories...Years later, after I had stomach ulcer issues, I found out that Butazolidin was no longer being prescribed to horses because it was too strong." Horses? No wonder those legs were so muscular compared to the pipe-cleaner arms...Aussie Open women's pull list: Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Jelena Dokic, Mary Pierce, and on the possible-pull list, Kim Clijsters (ankle), Justine Henin-Hardenne (ankle) and Lindsay Davenport (pec/shoulder muscle), this title will be up for grabs -- and some refute that the new racquet technology is making players demand more of their bodies?...Is fast-starting Andre Agassi now the Aussie Open favorite, looking strong at the Kooyong exo, and with Andy Roddick 1-1 this year and Roger Federer looking rusty? "I've been doing this for almost 18 years now so I feel like I've learnt a few things about myself, how to get myself to be at my best," Agassi said of his pre-Aussie prep. "I wouldn't call it superstitious but it is ritualistic. It is about pushing the buttons that you need to push in order to come here ready." Or is it Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has lost his last seven tour matches?...Greg Rusedski's wishful thinking: "I think everything has been said that needs to be said. These last two days have been quite refreshing and quiet. I think the journalists have asked me all the questions that need to be asked. Hopefully in Melbourne I'll only be asked about tennis, which will be nice for me." Think again...Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg, and Dorothy "Dodo" Cheney will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004...ATP executive vice-president Brad Drewett says "We are an incredibly clean sport. We have a very expansive (testing) programme in place. It is important we keep spending money to ensure that remains the case." Drewett confirmed there had been 43 samples which had shown traces of the banned steroid nandrolone, and seven had been over the ATP's legal limit. "Obviously, there were some concerns," Drewett said. "Especially when it was found that the positives were the result of something being found in supplements being given out by ATP-approved trainers." Oops, maybe you guys should STOP TALKING ABOUT IT SO MUCH...Russian Federation tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev says Marat Safin is looking at his last chance to get his game back on track: "He has wasted much of the last two years being injured but his main problem was more mental than physical. It was obvious from his form last year that Marat had lost confidence in his game and he needs one good run, one big win in order to get it back. But if Safin continues to struggle this year, then it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for him to regain his mental edge."