Hewitt Poised for 3rd Indian Wells Title -- Men's Draw Breakdown
Posted on March 12, 2004
Lleyton Hewitt is the two-time defending champion, but Roger Federer is the top seed at this week's Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, the first of the ATP's Masters Series events in 2004. Throw in former No. 1s Andre Agassi, Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya, Gustavo Kuerten and Juan Carlos Ferrero, and you've got a draw tighter than many of the slam events."I am defending the title, and I am playing very well right now," Hewitt said. "It is tough to win these (Masters Series) tournaments, but I have had good results here in the past so I feel positive about coming back." Tim Henman echoed Hewitt's sentiments about the first of the MS events: "With so many good players here, there's nowhere to hide in the draw. Everybody wants to do well because of the size of the event."
With the 32 seeds receiving byes, there are few first round match-ups of interest, save for the all-wildcard Tommy-bout of Tommy Haas vs. Tommy Enqvist. Potential second round match-ups is where it gets interesting, with (1)Federer vs. serving giant "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (16)Jiri Novak vs. Todd Martin, (10)Paradorn Srichaphan vs. the Haas/Enqvist winner, (8)Hewitt vs. former slam winner Thomas Johansson, (4)Guillermo "El Mago" Coria vs. Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, (13)Sebastien Grosjean vs. Fabrice Santoro in an all-French slice-a-thon, (5)Andre Agassi vs. underrated Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, (21)Vincenzo Spadea vs. Nicolas Kiefer in a Scottsdale final rematch, (3)Andy Roddick vs. Jan-Mike Gambill in an all-American (they went three sets last week in Scottsdale), (22)Agustin Calleri losing to the Robin Soderling/Ivan Ljubicic winner, (11)Nicolas Massu vs. Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (15)Gustavo Kuerten vs. Taylor Dent, and (26)Robby "Baby Courier" Ginepri vs. James Blake in an all-American.
Likely quarterfinal match-ups are (1)Federer vs. (8)Hewitt, (4)Coria vs. (5)Agassi, (3)Roddick vs. (9)Henman, and (2)Ferrero vs. (7)Moya. Returning champions in this year's field are Hewitt (2003-02), Agassi (2001), Alex Corretja (2000), Mark Philippoussis (1999), and the doubles combo of Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (2002,'97).
Breakdown by draw quarter:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1)Federer, (8)Hewitt, (10)Srichaphan, (16)Novak, (18)Fish, (23)Costa, (25)Gonzalez, (32)Chela
Floaters: (WC)Tommy Haas, (WC)Thomas Enqvist, Thomas Johansson, Guillermo Canas, Todd Martin
Breakdown: No world-beaters in Fed's way to the quarters unless Gonzo or Fish are in form. Hewitt will likely be tested before the quarters by the former Aussie Open champ Johansson, and the three-time Masters Series winner Enqvist, another Swedish nightmare for Hewitt after the recent Davis Cup loss. A nice quarter for Fed and Hewitt to warm-up for their QF meeting.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4)Coria, (5)Agassi, (12)Philippoussis, (13)Grosjean, (20)F.Lopez, (24)Clement, (27)Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (31)Hrbaty
Floaters: Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Cyril Saulnier
Breakdown: This quarter has some tough seeded match-ups and run-ins with unseeded dangerous floaters: Agassi could have a tough time with the crafty Saulnier before a likely meeting with three-time 2004 winner Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, while Coria's road to the QF is blocked by big-servers Baby Goran, The Beast, and a Frenchman in either Clement or Grosjean. This quarter could get real ugly real quick.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (3)Roddick, (6)Schuettler, (9)Henman, (14)Schalken, (19)Robredo, (21)Spadea, (28)Bjorkman, (30)Safin
Floaters: Nicolas Escude, Nicolas Kiefer, Jan-Michael Gambill
Breakdown: Roddick and Schuettler are the seeded favorites to emerge into the quarterfinals, but the German couldn't win a match against a 10-year-old on a "Kid's Zone" short court these days, and A-Rod (how is the back injury?) has a brutal draw with the first three rounds featuring opponents Jan-Michael Gambill (who he barely edged in three sets last week at Scottsdale), former No. 1 Marat Safin, and Spadea who he lost to last week in Scottsdale. Don't be surprised to see Henman, who has a favorable draw, and Safin emerge into the quarters.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2)Ferrero, (7)Moya, (11)Massu, (15)Kuerten, (17)Verkerk, (22)Calleri, (26)Ginepri, (29)Nieminen
Floaters: Ivan "A-Rod Fan Club President" Ljubicic, Robin Soderling, Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, Taylor Dent, James Blake, Wayne Ferreira
Breakdown: Call this one the Floater Quarter. The Spaniards Ferrero and Moya are likely to emerge for a QF face off, but there are lots of land mines along the way. Moya is looking at the hard-hitting Nieminen in the third round, and his intern/nemesis Nadal in the fourth round, while Ferrero will likely face veteran Wayne Ferreira in his opener, then Ginepri, then either Dent, Verkerk, or Kuerten. That's a lot of firepower. With Ferrero's spotty play of late, don't be surprised to see a "B"-squad American in Dent (if he hasn't injured himself by then) or Ginepri into the quarterfinals.
In last year's finals, (1)Hewitt d. Kuerten 6-1, 6-1 to successfully defend his title, and veteran doubles partners Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov d. the Bryan brothers 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Today's men's qualifying matches on court are Verdasco vs. Kendrick, Larose vs. Fleishman, Weiner vs. Sabau, Arthurs vs. Calatrava, van Lottum vs. Mello, Odesnik vs. Browne, Ascione vs. Kim, G.Lapentti vs. Kralert, Salzenstein vs. Hernych, and Levy or Kim vs. Galimberti.
WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
A slew of un-seeds took to the court yesterday to open women's play in Indian Wells, with winners including wildcard and former French Open champ Iva Majoli (d. Melinda "Our Favorite Supplement" Czink), 16-year-old French wildcard Tatiana Golovin (d. Asagoe in three), Acapulco winner Iveta Benesova (d. Gagliardi 6-0 in the third), two more wildcards in Russia's 14-year-old Alisa Kleybanova (d. Kostanic in three) and Bulgaria's 14-year-old Sesil Karatancheva (d. Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson in three), Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi (d. Denisa "Hanging" Chladkova), Italians Maria Elena Camerin (d. Cohen-Aloro in three) and Mara Santangelo (d. Garbin in three), Slovak Lubomira Kurhajcova (d. (WC)Kirinlenko), Swiss Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian (d. Ondraskova in three), American Laura Granville (d. Tanasugarn in three), Luxembourg's Claudine Schaul (d. Jankovic), Spain's Gala Leon Garcia (d. Panova 7-6 in the third), Hungarian Aniko Kapros (d. Nagyova), and Argentine Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. Morigami 7-6 in the third). Proof that even with byes, a 96 women's draw is too big. How does it feel to get beaten by a 14-year-old? Not good. Benesova, by the way, lost in the qualifying but got into the main draw as a lucky loser, and now finds herself in the second round. Next time maybe throw in a couple 12-year-olds.
Today's equally-difficult-to-pronounce-or-watch WTA line-up includes Craybas vs. Callens, Perry vs. Vakulenko, Jackson vs. Irvin, Haynes vs. Strycova, Kleinova vs. Stosur, Reeves vs. Kutuzova, Talaja vs. Kremer, Jidkova vs. Birnerova, Dulko vs. Koukalova, Groenefeld vs. Ruano Pascual, Randriantefy vs. Medina Garrigues, Grande vs. Serra Zanetti, Roesch vs. Bammer, Perebiynis vs. Schett, Bartoli vs. Sucha, Parra vs. Marrero, Cervanova vs. Pennetta. Take our advice, wait until tomorrow to catch the results on the site instead of staying up tonight waiting for highlights on SportsCenter.
ATP MASTERS SERIES-INDIAN WELLS
MULTIPLE CHAMPIONS
Five players and three doubles teams have won multiple MS-Indian Wells doubles titles in the tournament's history that dates to 1987, with only Becker winning both multiple singles and doubles with the same partner:
3--Michael Chang, USA (1997-96,'92)
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2--Boris Becker, GER (1988-87)
2--Becker/Guy Forget, GER/FRA (1990,'88)
2--Jim Courier, USA (1993,'91)
2--Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov, RSA/RUS (2003,'01)
2--Lleyton Hewitt, AUS (2003-02)
2--Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, BAH/CAN (2002,'97)
2--Pete Sampras, USA (1995-94)
WTA INDIAN WELLS
MULTIPLE CHAMPIONS
All hail American Lindsay Davenport, the only player to win multiple Indian Wells titles in singles and doubles (with two different partners):
3--Lindsay Davenport/Lisa Raymond, USA (2003,'95-94)
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2--Lindsay Davenport, USA (2000,'97)
2--Lindsay Davenport/Natasha Zvereva, USA/RUS (1998-97)
2--Steffi Graf, GER (1996,'94)
2--Martina Navratilova, USA (1991-90)
2--Serena Williams, USA (2001,'99)
NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Grinning Greg Rusedski's take on the doping clearance: "Late yesterday I was informed by the Tribunal that I had been found not guilty of a doping offence. The verdict was clear and unequivocal. This is an enormous relief to me and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wife Lucy, my family, my legal team Mark Gay and David Pannick QC, Donnay and all my friends for standing by me and believing in my innocence. Their constant love, support and loyalty gave me the strength to get through this ordeal. I have also been tremendously encouraged by the overwhelmingly favorable reaction of the general public. To be allowed to carry on playing competitive tennis and to clear my name has been my priority throughout and now I am looking forward to resuming my career." Wow, Donnay is still around? Good note...Notables in the MS-Indian Wells men's qualifying are Memphis winner Joachim "I Date Lleyton's Sister" Johansson, Prakash "India's Hopeful" Amritraj, Giovanni "Little Bro" Lapentti, Aussie comer Todd Reid, and Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs...The BBC hammering the ATP after their boy is found not guilty: The 'not guilty' verdict on Greg Rusedski may have been great news for the player, but it has left men's tennis in crisis. The game's governing body, the Association of Tennis Professionals, faces its nightmare scenario: the world's top players keep testing positive for banned drugs, and it doesn't have the faintest idea why...the ATP may also face the possibility of legal action from Rusedski, whose reputation has been dragged through the mud since news broke in January of his positive test."...Lisa Dillman, writing for the L.A. Times: "As the incredible shrinking women's tennis tour makes its way to Indian Wells for the Pacific Life Open, the WTA logo should feature a player holding a crutch instead of one holding a racket...Missing are (six of the Top 10 in) No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France, No. 6 Jennifer Capriati, No. 7 Serena Williams, No. 8 Elena Dementieva of Russia and No. 10 Ai Sugiyama of Japan. And on Tuesday night, No. 9 Chanda Rubin was forced to pull out because of inflammation in her left knee, which has kept her out since late January."...Perhaps with the demanding super-racquets taking their toll on players by requiring harsher stopping and starting will eventually result in a real off-season? Maybe after eight of the Top 10 are injured?...Women qualifying to the main draw at Indian Wells were Sybille "The Whammer" Bammer (AUT), Gisela Dulko (ARG), Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER), Marissa Irvin (USA), Alina Jidkova (RUS), Marta Marrero (ESP), Shenay Perry (USA), Angelika Roesch (GER), Antonella Serra Zanetti (ITA), Silvija Talaja (CRO), Samantha Stosur (AUS), and Barbora Strycova (CZE)...Former Brazilian player Jaime Oncins resigned as Brazil's Davis Cup captain Wednesday, a day after Gustavo Kuerten, Andre Sa, and Flavio Saretta quit the team in protest over the switching of captains without the players being consulted. Oncins was appointed team captain three weeks ago by Brazil's tennis federation...Lleyton Hewitt says the big results in the big tournaments will get him the No. 1 ranking back: "I am not the kind of guy who will go out and play every small tournament to try and chase tour points. If I focus on grand slams then the No. 1 ranking will come along with it. If I win Wimbledon and the US Open the ranking takes care of itself."...The WTA is teasing with a "major sponsorship announcement" they will drop today, perhaps some medical supply company with six of the Top 10 players out with injury...Greg Rusedski says he will hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce his next move -- like, we guess, entering tournaments and hitting tennis balls and not holding press conferences...Tim Henman says hurray for Greg: "I'm so glad he's been able to prove his innocence. I've said all along that he just wasn't the type of person that would take something. He knows you're not going to get away with something like that with the drug-testing programme already in place. The last six months must have been absolutely horrific for him. You wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy. To be able to put this behind him must be such a relief."...Lleyton Hewitt says the druggies are out there (cough, Argentina, cough): "I'd like to think tennis is clean but I can't say 100 percent. Sometimes you are just not sure. I know I'm 100 percent clean (but) sometimes there have been guys who look stronger in the fifth set than they are in first. You have to wonder about that."...Two-time Indian Wells singles champ Lindsay Davenport says things couldn't be better with her foot after surgery five months ago, and with her attitude: "I really feel good this year. I'm excited, and at this point, I have no plans to stop. I feel great now, and looking back, I wish now that I'd sacrificed last year and taken care of it (foot surgery) sooner." With the surgery, Davenport was left with no feeling in her left toes...Headline in Britain's The Guardian: "Rusedski innocent but the ATP guilty of incompetence" Ouch! Another Guardian gem: "Compared to other sports, tennis is soft on drugs: Greg Rusedski is lucky he belongs to a body, the ATP, which must be regarded as the most inept in world sport." Ka-pow! Time to form some more reactive committees, set the ATP media machine on "spin."...Speculation is that the Brit zonal minor-league Davis Cup match after Miami will be Greg Rusedski's comeback stage...The Tennis Channel will broadcast 12 consecutive hours of Indian Wells coverage in the U.S. on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. (Pacific time).