World No. 1 Federer the Lone Seed in ATP Dubai Semis

Posted on March 7, 2004

Top-seeded and world No. 1 Roger Federer led a motley crew into the semifinals Friday at Dubai, featuring the Swiss and three unseeded players.

Federer advanced with another command performance against Romania's Andrei Pavel 6-3, 6-3, while the last seed besides Federer fell when (8)Sjeng Schalken was upended by Fin Jarkko Nieminen. The other two semifinalists are Russia's Mikhail Youzhny (d. Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal 6-1 in the third) and Spanish lefty Feliciano Lopez (d. Ivan "Andy Roddick Fan Club President" Ljubicic).

"I played well from the baseline but I need to play more aggressive, that's my game," Federer said. "In the early rounds I tend to play more passive because I don't want to chase the lines too much and now I feel I can and I feel now my level of game has picked up...I'm going into the next match as the definite favorite and I'm looking forward to it. They're both nice guys, I get on well with them off the court, it's going to be a good match." Federer is seeking his second title of the year after capturing his second slam at the Australian Open.

The Saturday semifinals line up as Lopez vs. Youzhny (F-Lo leads 2-1, including two wins last year), then (1)Federer vs. Nieminen (Club Fed leads meetings 4-0). The doubles semifinals will be (1)Bhupathi/Santoro vs. Czechs Pala/Vizner, and Spaniards Nadal/Robredo vs. (2)Bjorkman/Paes.

Former No. 1 Andy Roddick won two matches in the rain-backlogged schedule at Scottsdale Friday, beating unseeded American Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the second round, then coming back from a set down against another countryman in Jan-Michael Gambill.

"Jan-Michael was serving really, really well through the first two sets," said Roddick on his opponent, who laid down 21 aces. "I felt when I got into the points I was handling them OK. The semis is a solid result, especially there was a lot of uncertainty coming in here for me and I was nursing a little bit of a back injury."

Also winning two matches was unseeded Romanian Victor Hanescu (d. Soderling in three, (2)Verkerk in straights), with other quarterfinal winners (4)Vince Spadea (d. (6)Blake 7-5 in the third) and (7)Nicolas Kiefer (d. (3)Ginepri). Earlier in the second round, (2)Verkerk had beaten Cecil Mamiit in three, and Gambill beat Lars Burgsmuller. The Scottsdale QF featured six of the eight seeds.

The semis line up as (1)Roddick vs. (4)Spadea (Roddick leads the career meetings 2-0, both challenger-level wins in a walk), and (7)Kiefer vs. Hanescu (first meeting).

It was the Spain-and-Argentina show on the dirt at Acapulco Friday, with two seeds through in (1)Carlos Moya (d. (8)Volandri in three) and (7)Juan Ignacio Chela (d. O.Hernandez in three), and two un-seeds in Argentine wildcard Guillermo Canas (d. Ramirez-Hidalgo) and 20-year-old Spaniard Fernando Verdasco (d. (2)Massu). Canas is back, get ready for some big-time cup-peeing.

Saturday's semifinals will both be Spain vs. Argentina affairs in Verdasco vs. (WC)Canas (first meeting), and (1)Moya vs. (7)Chela (Moya leads 1-0), with the doubles semifinals consisting of (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. Poles Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, and Chela/Massu vs. Argentines Arnold/Calleri. "It is going to be difficult and I know him well," said Moya of Chela. "I played against him in Roland Garros and defeated him in five sets so I do expect a very difficult match."

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Unseeded 18-year-old Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova handed world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne her first loss of the year in a grinding 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 encounter Friday at Doha.

"I'm disappointed that I couldn't win. I had my chances, especially in the third set, but I failed to seize them," said H-H, who last lost a match in November at the WTA Tour Championships. The loss brought Henin-Hardenne's record on the year to 16-1.

The other semifinal also saw an upset when No. 3 seed Anastasia Myskina thumped No. 2 Jennifer Capriati 6-2, 6-2 to set up the all-Russian final. Kuznetsova and Myskina are 1-1 in career meetings. The doubles final will be the Slovak/Spanish pair of (4)Husarova/C.Martinez against red-hot Russians (2)Kuznetsova/Likhovtseva.

Only one seed advanced into the Acapulco semis on the dirt Friday, with (3)Maria Sanchez Lorenzo coming back from a set down to defeat Julia Vakulenko 6-1 in the third. Joining the Spaniard in the semis were Czech Iveta Benesova (d. (4)Loit), another Spaniard in Marta Marrero (d. Stosur), and Italy's Flavia "Of The Day" Pennetta (d. 14-year-old Vaidisova).

Saturday's semifinals will be Marrero vs. Benesova, and Pennetta vs. (3)Sanchez Lorenzo, with the doubles final featuring the Aussie-Venezuela pairing of (4)McShea/Sequera against Czech lucky losers Blahotova/G. "Not Martina" Navratilova.

TENNIS-X TOP 10 OPEN ERA No. 1s
Compiled by the Tennis-X staff, here is the definitive Top 10 all-time list of No. 1 ranked players, finally putting to rest who's the best. The list was compiled from criteria including number of slams won, weeks at No. 1, year-end No. 1 rankings, overall titles won, winning percentage in finals, records vs. other No. 1s in their era, ability to break things, and other "intangibles." Discuss:

1. PETE SAMPRAS -- Six consecutive year-end No. 1 finishes will never be touched
2. BJORN BORG -- 6 French, 5-straight Wimbledon, won roughly 2/3 of finals
3. JOHN MCENROE -- Singles and doubles virtuoso, won 75% of singles finals
4. IVAN LENDL -- 8 straight US Open finals, 94 career titles, the Lendl-nator
5. ANDRE AGASSI -- Did it at all four slams against best-era competition
6. JIMMY CONNORS -- Dominated by other No. 1s, 109 titles padded by "Connors Tour" wins
7. STEFAN EDBERG -- Year-end No. 1 in 1990-91, 72 weeks at the top,
8. MATS WILANDER -- 1988 year-end No. 1, 20 weeks at No. 1, won three slams in '88
9. BORIS BECKER -- No year-end No. 1, only 12 weeks at the top, 7 Wimbledon finals
10. JOHN NEWCOMBE -- Two-time year-end No. 2, 5 Open Era and 2 pre-Open Era slams

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Take note Lleyton, 20-year-old fiance Kim Clijsters is rarin' to bust out some kids: "It's something that I really look forward to as well. I have a very young mom as well and I think that's something that I would like to be as well. I'm not going to say that I may quit completely. Who knows? I may try to come back. I don't know. Look at Sandrine Testud. She was saying, 'Oh, I'll never come back. I will have my kids and I'll stay home and be a housewife.' And it's only been a year and she's back already."...ATP CEO Mark Miles on forming a panel to address the nutritional supplements/doping dilemma: "The problem the task force will address is very important, especially to ATP players. On one hand, it is clear that dietary and nutritional supplements pose real risks of testing positive under anti-doping rules. On the other hand, elite athletes have special dietary and nutritional needs and are often advised to take vitamins, minerals and supplements to prevent heat exhaustion, cramping and other ailments." Wasn't it just a month ago that the ATP was saying it's the player responsibility what they put in their bodies? Guess when you start getting ripped in the media by Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, you sit up and pay attention...Anastasia Myskina is one match from successfully defending a WTA Tour singles final for the first time in her career at Doha...It will be the second consecutive all-Russian final in Doha..."Tennis fans are a sophisticated lot," writes Jenni Simcoe in The Desert Sun, preparing for the Pacisic Life Open/Indian Wells event. "If you plan on going to the Pacific Life Open, which runs March 8 through 21, you'll want to fit in." That's pretty damn funny considering they are the same "sophisticated fans" that booed the Williams sisters off their court in 2001, guaranteeing the event would never see them again (and they haven't since)...Amelie Mauresmo pulled from Indian Wells next week due to her ongoing back injury, but she hopes to be ready for the following WTA event in Miami...Jennifer Capriati on getting worked 2-and-2 by Anastasia Myskina in Doha: "The fog reduced the visibility and the ball was quite heavy. I couldn't do what I wanted to do. But I am not too disappointed about the defeat."...The women will begin play on Wednesday next week at Indian Wells, with the men starting Friday.