Henman Downs World No. 1 Federer at ATP Rotterdam

Posted on February 22, 2004

Brit Tim Henman continued his winning ways against Roger Federer Friday at Rotterdam, edging the No. 1 6-3, 7-6(9) to improve his head-to-head with the Swiss to 6-1.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match, it's really what I expected today," said Federer after seeing his 16-match winning streak come to an end. "It was tough, I think he was playing really well. I couldn't play like I maybe usually do but that definitely has got something to do with his game as well. He is the deserving winner today."

In other quarterfinal matches, unseeded defending champ Max "The Beast" Mirnyi beat Fin Jarkko Nieminen, No. 6 Lleyton Hewitt upset No. 3 Rainer Schuettler, and No. 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero overcame a partisan crowd to edge Dutchman "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter 7-6 in the third set.

Today's Rotterdam semis line up as (5)Henman vs. (6)Hewitt (Hewitt leads career meetings 6-0), and The Beast vs. (2)Ferrero (first meeting).

At Memphis, Andy Roddick found it hard standing up against the baseline bashing of Swede Thomas Enqvist, falling 7-6(8), 6-3 in the Friday quarterfinals. "He plays great indoors," A-Rod said. "He came out, we had some good rallies and he just played better on the big points. I just didn't bring it enough. I woke up with a little case of back spasms this morning. I had some chiropractic work done and I felt like I was ready to go. I definitely didn't want to let the fans down out there. I don't think it would have made any difference if I was healthy. He played really well."

Others into the semis were unseeded Swedish serving machine Joachim Johansson (d. Malisse), (2)Mardy Fish (d. Tursunov in three), and the resurgent (8)Nicolas Kiefer (d. Gambill). Saturday's semifinal line-ups in singles and doubles are J.Johansson vs. (2)Fish (The Fish leads meetings 2-0), (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. (WC)Haas/Weiner, Enqvist vs. (8)Kiefer (Kiefer leads 6-5), and Coetzee/Haggard vs. Gambill/Parrott.

Top-seeded Guillermo Coria was pushed Friday at Buenos Aires, saving a match point before edging countryman and wildcard Juan Monaco 6-1 in the third. "I knew I was going to have a difficult match, because he had nothing to lose and was going to be very relaxed," Coria said. "He was very solid from both side and I started a little nervous because I was doing the right things but he was responding very well. In the third set I started controlling more the game. I think I have a little more experience than him and it showed in the key points."

He was joined in the semis by (2)Carlos Moya (d. Zabaleta in three), and un-seeds Richard Gasquet (d. (3)Massu in three) and Jose Acasuso (d. Ferrer). Saturday's semifinal line-ups are (1)Coria vs. Gasquet (first meeting), and (2)Moya vs. Acasuso (tied 1-1).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Chunky-style Swiss Myriam Casanova (d. (Q)Klara "Kouky" Koukalova) and Croat riser Karolina Sprem (d. Chladkova) made it two unseeded players into the Antwerp semifinals Friday. They were joined by (2)Kim Clijsters (d. (9)Maleeva), whose title it is for the taking, and (8)Silvia Farina Elia (d. (5)Schnyder, who retired in the second set with a thigh strain). Today's semifinals are (8)Farine Elia vs. Sprem, and (2)Clijsters vs. Casanova.

It will be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Memphis, which isn't saying much when you consider it's (1)Vera "Warren" Zvonareva (d. (3)Maria "Grunt-o-meter" Sharapova in her semifinal) versus (2)Lisa Raymond (d. (4)Granville). The doubles final will be Russians Sharapova/Zvonareva vs. (2)Svensson/Tu.
 
30-year-old Aussie Nicole Pratt is one match away from winning her career-first WTA singles title after outlasting 19-year-old No. 2 seed Marion Bartoli 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, fighting off two match points in the semifinals of the Indian Open in Hyderabad on Friday. In the final she will face unseeded Russian Maria Kirilenko, who upset (3)Tamarine Tanasugarn in their semi. The doubles final will be Li/Sun vs. Huber/Mirza.

GENTLEMAN TIM VS. WORLD NO. 1
Tim Henman's win over Roger Federer marks the first time in his career he has defeated the No. 1 player in the world. He was 0-10 lifetime against other No. 1s coming into the match:

vs. Pete Sampras        0-4
vs. Lleyton Hewitt      0-3
vs. Gustavo Kuerten     0-2
vs. Andre Agassi        0-1

WTA TOP 10 OPEN ERA INDOOR WIN-LOSS
Croatian riser Karolina Sprem is the only non-former-No. 1 to crack the Top 10 Open Era indoor list, with Justine Henin-Hardenne missing the cut. (Stats courtesy WTA Tour, minimum 50 matches, as of Feb. 16, 2003:

1. Steffi Graf (GER) 182-19 .905
2. Martina Navratilova (USA) 224-26 .896
3. Kim Clijsters (BEL) 92-16 .852
4. Karolina Sprem (CRO) 44-9 .830
5. Serena Williams (USA) 42-9 .824
6. Chris Evert (USA) 60-13 .822
7. Monica Seles (USA) 106-26 .803
8. Martina Hingis (SUI) 134-33 .802
9. Venus Williams (USA) 61-18 .772
10. Lindsay Davenport (USA) 124-37 .770

SITCOM APPEAL & ANDY RODDICK
From ATP
Andy Roddick once again demonstrated his crossover appeal as he was the topic of conversation during the opening scene of NBC's popular sit-com "Will and Grace." The show's comic sidekick Jack bemoans the fact the he doesn't want to do anything because he's yet to finish reading the latest copy of a gossip magazine, featuring a story about Roddick and Mandy Moore.  After recapping the way the two young celebrities met, the cast opined that they wish they could have such endearing encounters, detailing the romantic interludes of other ATP stars who also dated Hollywood celebrities.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Goran Ivanisevic says when he chooses to retire, it will be a memorable occasion: "My favorite song is 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra so we will do it my way, a special way. All my career, I've been doing crazy things so I can't stop now. When I do it everyone will be shocked."...Carlos Moya has won 13 consecutive matches in Buenos Aires...Kim Clijsters and Lleyton Hewitt will play an exhibition match in Clijsters' home town of Bree on April 17. What the hell is the point of that, to see how badly he toys with her? To count her double faults on game points?...Hey NPR, way to do the four-minute Argentina tennis profile without even once mentioning their drug testing problems, nice in-depth stuff...Venus Williams is scheduled to play next week in Dubai, which doesn't mean much...World No. 1 Roger Federer has pulled from Marseille next week, citing an injury but giving no further information.