Henin-Hardenne Pulls From WTA Charleston Family Circle Cup
Posted on April 15, 2004
Lots of excitement in Charleston Tuesday, but not the good kind as the injuries and illnesses continued to hit the top women's tennis players on the WTA Tour.On Tuesday top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled from the Family Circle Cup, citing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) causing lightheadedness, and will return to her home to Belgium for tests. Henin-Hardenne said she had been experiencing the symptoms for two weeks.
"I have felt bad for two weeks now and that's enough," Henin-Hardenne said. "I will now go back home and do everything I have to do in order to get better." Meghann Shaughnessy also pulled on Tuesday, citing an ankle strain.
Tournament organizers breathed a collective sigh of relief when both Williams sisters made it through to the second round, with (4)Venus surviving a shaky win over countrywoman Samantha Reeves 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and (2)Serena pounding wildcard American Kelly McCain 6-1, 6-0. Fans were again left waiting as the Henin-Hardenne pull-out averted another potential H-H vs. Serena meeting.
In addition to Henin-Hardenne and Shaughnessy, the event lost a number of other stars/former stars/unusual attractions Tuesday, with the 47-year-old Martina Navratilova dropping her singles comeback record to 0-2 with a loss to fellow American Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier 6-4, 6-4; No. 17 seed Eleni Daniilidou bounced by Colombian qualifier Catalina Castano in three sets; and downtrodden Americans Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson (l. to Pratt) and Ashley "Anna 2.0" Harkleroad (l. to Mandula) put on early flights home.
Other winners on the day were (9)Vera "Warren" Zvonareva (d. (Q)Beltrame), (10)Paola Suarez (d. Kremer), (12)Jelena Dokic (d. (Q)Tatiana "The Pocket Baseliner" Panova in three), (13)Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (d. (Q)Yoshida), Serbian Jelena Jankovic (d. Craybas in three), Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi (d. Schaul in three), Japan's Akiko Morigami (d. Pierce), Swiss Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian (d. Ruano Pascual), and Russians Lina Krasnoroutskaya (d. Barna) and Alina Jidkova (d. Asagoe).
On today's Charleston tip is Petrova vs. Morigami, Dementieva vs. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, Krasnoroutskaya vs. Capriati, Dokic vs. Mandula, Jankovic vs. Davenport, Frazier vs. Schnyder, Randriantefy vs. Sprem, Smashnova-Pistolesi vs. Brandi, Martinez vs. Ashley, Castano vs. Pratt, and Jidkova vs. Suarez.
Six seeds advanced into the second round Tuesday at Estoril, with winners (1)Elena Bovina (d. (WC)Majoli), (3)Emile Loit (d. Callens), (4)Denisa "Hanging" Chladkova (d. Beygelzimer), (5)Barbara "I Give a" Schett (d. (Q)Ani in three), (6)Iveta Benesova (d. Gussoni), and (7)Katarina Srebotnik (d. Rita "It Ain't" Grande in three). Un-seeds into the second round were Portuguese wildcard Neuza Silva (d. (Q)Schruff 7-6 in the third), Spain's Marta Marrero (d. Nemeth), German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenfeld (d. Kurhajcova), Italy's Maria Elena Camerin (d. (8)Bartoli), and Slovak Ludmila Cervanova (d. Gagliardi in three).
On court Wednesday in Estoril are Nagyova vs. (2)Molik, (1)Bovina vs. Marrero, (3)Loit vs. Cervanova, (Q)Groenefeld vs. (5)Schett, and (Q)Koukalova vs. (7)Srebotnik.
ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish continue to move in opposite directions, with the top-seeded Roddick beating Kenneth Carlsen Tuesday at Houston, while the No. 2-seeded Fish was caught by up-and-coming fellow American Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in straight sets. Last week in Davis Cup play, Fish lost his opening singles with Roddick forced to come to the rescue with a win later that day, with A-Rod also clinching the tie for the U.S. two days later.
"I got into a rhythm," said Bogomolov, who at one point in the second set reeled off five straight games in the 6-3, 6-1 Fish slapping. "I thought they were pretty good points all around and I felt good with all my shots, backhand, forehand. It took me a little time to get used to sliding again on the clay, but after awhile I was feeling good on it. It?s an exciting win for me and great to be in the second round."
Other winners on the day were (7)Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer (d. (Q)Veronelli), American "C"-squaders Robert Kendrick (d. De Chaunac 7-6 in the third) and Paul Goldstein (d. Enqvist), Argentina's Jose Acasuso (d. Burgsmuller), French qualifier Stephane Robert (d. (Q)Faurel), Russian-American Dmitry Tursunov (d. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic in three), and the smooth Italian David Sanguinetti (d. (Q)Peya in three).
On court Wednesday in Houston are (6)Ginepri vs. Haas, (1)Roddick vs. Kendrick in an all-American, (5)Pavel vs. N.Lapentti, Franco "The Squirrel" Squillari vs. (WC)T.Martin, (Q)Robert vs. (7)Luis "Me So" Horna, and Behrend vs. (8)Tuna Melt.
No upsets in Valencia Tuesday, with four seeds advancing including (1)Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. (WC)Matos Gil), (2)Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez (d. Andreev), (4)Al Costa (d. "Julio &" Galo Blanco), and (6)Al Martin (d. (Q)Almagro).
"Playing your best friend for the first time ever in a tournament is easy for nobody," said the top-seeded Ferrero after beating the teen Matos Gil. "In the second set I had some ups and downs and he started very well. I am still tired from the five sets I played in Mallorca on Sunday (Davis Cup). It was important to play the key points well to win in two sets and it is what I did."
Un-seeds into the second round were Spaniards Fernando Vicente (d. countryman Hernandez 7-6 in the third), qualifier Marc Lopez (d. Koubek), and Al Montanes (d. van Lottum), Dutchman "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter (d. countryman van Scheppingen), Belgium's Christophe Rochus (d. (Q)Eschauer), and Croatia's Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (d. Levy). Suspended due to darkness was Spanish qualifier Alex Calatrava tied with countryman and No. 8 seed Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 7-6(7), 6-7(1). On court Wednesday are G.Lapentti vs. (7)Ferrer, Corretja vs. (Q)M.Lopez in an all-Spanish, C.Rochus vs. (4)Costa, Montanes vs. (2)F.Lopez in an all-Spanish, (Q)Calatrava vs. (8)Ramirez-Hidaglo (to finish), and (6)A.Martin vs. Vicente in yet another all-Spanish.
Top-seeded Rainer Schuettler continued his horrendous 2004 campaign Tuesday, losing in the first round at Estoril to Romanian Victor Hanescu 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-3. That's 2-8 on the year for Schuettler -- Houston, you no longer have a problem.
Among the other seeded upsets were (3)Agustin Calleri (l. to (Q)Vanek in three) and (7)Gaston Gaudio (l. to (Q)Mayer), nice day to be a qualifier. Seeded winners were (4)Tommy Robredo (d. Malisse), (5)Juan Ignacio Chela (d. (WC)Canas in an all-Argentine), (6)Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. Ulihrach), and (8)Marat Safin (d. Saulnier in three).
"Every tennis player wants to win the first match," Safin said on getting his feet dusty on the clay. "I felt very good today. It was a little bit difficult at the beginning, but then I got used to the balls and got my rhythm. It was a very important win for me. It was a difficult match but this was a big step forward for me. It gives me a lot of confidence and it feels great to get through."
Safin still has his sights set on No. 1 for the year.
"I need to get points, I still want to be at the top of the (ATP) Race (Standings) and not let (Roger) Federer and (Andy) Roddick get too far ahead," Safin said. "I want to be very consistent."
Other unseeded winner were Belgium's Olivier Rochus (d. Carraz), wildcard Dioga Rocha (d. (WC)Tavares in three), Argentine Mariano Zabaleta (d. (Q)Mazarakis in three), and Georgia's Irakli "Freak Show" Labadzi (d. (Q)Attila "The Hun" Savolt). On court Wednesday are Ivanisevic vs. Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, Gasquet vs. (2)Massu, (WC)Rocha vs. (5)Chela, Stepanek vs. (Q)Mayer, (Q)Vanek vs. Patience, and Hanescu vs. O.Rochus.
WTA CHARLESTON MULTIPLE TITLE WINNERS
Chris Evert's record eight Family Cup titles may stand for the ages:
8--Chris Evert, USA (1985-84,'81,'78-74)
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4--Steffi Graf, GER (1993, '89,'87-86)
4--Martina Navratilova, USA (1990,'88,'83,'82)
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2--Tracy Austin, USA (1980-79)
2--Martina Hingis, SUI (1999,'97)
2--Conchita Martinez, ESP (1995-94)
2--Gabriela Sabatini, ARG (1992-91)
WTA CHARLESTON TV COVERAGE (U.S. EST)
Thursday, April 15, ESPN 2-3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 16, ESPN 2-3:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 17, ESPN2 2-4 p.m.
Sunday, April 18, ESPN2 1-3 p.m.
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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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