Mauresmo Ousts No. 1 Henin-Hardenne at WTA Amelia Island

Posted on April 12, 2004

At the beginning of the week there was great anticipation for the Serena Williams versus Justine Henin-Hardenne final at Amelia Island, but on Sunday neither will take the court.

The world No. 1 Henin-Hardenne was ousted Saturday in a claycourt power display from No. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3.

"You need a couple of matches to get use to the surface," said Henin-Hardenne, who skipped the Miami event to get an extra two weeks of claycourt preparation, apparently not enough. "When I was aggressive, things were OK, but when I was too far from my baseline, it was very hard for me to stay aggressive."

In the final the Frenchwoman Mauresmo will face No. 4 seeded American Lindsay Davenport, who came back from a set and a break down to beat No. 7 seed Nadia Petrova 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Davenport was down 4-2 in the second set before sweeping seven straight games against Petrova, who had beaten Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

"When the second set was under my belt, I just felt a load of pressure off," Davenport said. "I played with a little more confidence. Early in that set, she gave me a few errors, gave me a break early. I felt like I could go for my first serves a little bit more. I felt like they were a little more penetrating in the third set than the first."

Davenport has won six of her last nine meetings with Mauresmo.

In the doubles semis Saturday, Myriam Casanova/Alicia Molik beat Russians Lina Krasnoroutskaya/Vera Zvonareva, and Petrova/Meghann Shaughnessy ousted top seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez in three sets.

Unseeded Rita "Ain't It" Grande, attempting to defend her Casablanca title, was derailed Saturday in the semifinals by top-seeded Emilie Loit 7-6(1), 6-3. In the final the Frenchwomen will face No. 4-seeded Slovak Ludmila Cervanova, who moved past Klara "Kouky" Koukalova 7-5, 6-4. Cervanova won their lone meeting back in 2000.

In the doubles title, the top-seeded team of Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli/Emilie Loit beat the Belgium/Slovak combo of Els Callens/Katarina Srebotnik 6-4, 6-2 for their first title as a team.

DAVIS CUP WORLD GROUP QUARTERFINALS

U.S. leads Sweden 2-1
The Bryan brothers put the U.S. in the lead Saturday with a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson, extending their career Davis Cup record to 3-0 without dropping a set. "We were expecting a tough match," Mike Bryan said. "We obviously wanted it to be straight sets. I thought if we played well, it was going to be straight sets. But as you saw there we got down a break. And a couple sets, it could have gone either way." Andy Roddick will take to the court Sunday to try and put the tie to rest against Bjorkman, with Mardy Fish to follow against Thomas Enqvist.

Belarus d. Argentina 3-0
Argentina gets swamped on the fast indoor courts without stars Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, with Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov moving Belarus ahead into its first-ever Davis Cup semifinals. In the Saturday doubles, The Beast/Vlady beat Argentina's Lucas Arnold and Agustin Calleri 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. They will now play away versus the winner of the U.S.-Sweden tie in September. "Now everything I have is great emotions," said Belarus Captain Sergei Teterin. "Right after our doubles victory, I remembered our pair's start in the Davis Cup. 10 years ago in Africa, 16-year-old Max and 17-year old Vladimir battled under the scorching sun [in Europe/African Zone Group III in the Ivory Coast]."

France leads Switzerland 2-1
Barring a miracle, it looks all but over for Team Roger Federer after Frenchmen Nicolas Escude and Michael Llodra came back from a set down to beat Federer and Yves Allegro 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3. "I think the difference between the two pairs was that we were able to raise our level at the most important moments," said Llodra, though the main difference was also Allegro being the obvious weakest player on the court. "The role of Guy [Forget, the French captain] was also very important, especially after we lost the first set. He got us into the right frame of mind for the second set." Now if Federer beats Arnaud Clement in the first singles Sunday, either Ivo Heuberger or Michel Kratochvil for the Swiss would have to beat Escude, a tall task.

Spain leads Netherlands 2-0
The Saturday doubles was suspended due to rain with the Spanish pair of Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal/Tommy Robredo one set away from clinching the tie, leading Dutchmen John Van Lottum and Martin Verkerk 6-3, 6-2, 3-6. The match will be resumed Sunday morning, followed by Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Verkerk, and Carlos Moya vs. "Everybody loves" Raemon Sluiter.

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