Coria Faces Surprise Schuettler in ATP Monte Carlo Final

Posted on April 26, 2004

Guillermo Coria and Rainer Schuettler advanced to the Masters Series-Monte Carlo final Saturday.

The No. 3 Coria recovered from a second-set hiccup to outlast unseeded Marat Safin 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 while Schuettler, not known for his claycourt prowess, turned in a shocking performance against former No. 1 and Roland Garros winner Carlos Moya, handling the Spaniard 7-6(5), 6-4.

"Safin is a very dangerous player," said Coria, who with the win extended his streak to 25 straight match wins on clay. "He is good on all sides -- forehand, backhand, everywhere -- and he has a beautiful serve. What I must do is play him very deep, keep putting pressure on him all the time, because if I lower my intensity, then I'll be out of the match. It?s an important match for me because Safin is one of the best players."

Schuettler says the result on clay is no surprise to him.

"I have played well on clay," Schuettler said. "I played last 16 of Roland Garros last year, I played quarters in Rome, so I know that I can play well on clay. What surprised me the most is that I beat, in this tournament, three former No. 1 players."

Coria and Schuettler have met twice, with Coria winning their first match-up in straight sets at the 2002 French Open, and the German winning a hard-fought three-setter in round robin play at last year's Masters Cup on hardcourt.

In the doubles final, unseeded Henman/Zimonjic (d. (5)Damm/Suk 6-4, 7-6(5) in the semifinals) will face (7)Etlis/Rodriguez.

FED CUP WORLD GROUP 1ST RD. RESULTS

U.S. at Slovenia -- Tied 1-1
The No. 32-ranked Tina Pisnik shocks Lisa Raymond 7-5, 7-5 to put Slovenia up 1-0, but Venus Williams restores order with a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of Katarina Srebotnik. The fifth doubles with the scheduled line-up of Martina Navratilova/Raymond vs. Tina Kriznan/Srebotnik could come into play Sunday.

Slovak Republic at Austria -- Austria leads 2-0
Team Barbara gets it done in grinding style on the red clay for Austria in two three-setters, with Barbara Schett coming back from a set down to beat Janette Husarova, and Barbara Schwartz coming from a set down to beat Ludmila Cervanova.

Australia at Russia -- Russia leads 2-0
The young Aussies prove no match for the Top 10-ranked Anastasia Myskina and Top 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova, with Myskina pounding Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-1, and Kuznetsova edging Alicia Molik 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Japan at Argentina -- Argentine leads 2-0
The home-dirt Argentines make surprisingly easy work in the first day of singles, with No. 68-ranked Gisela Dulko ousting Top 10er Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-4, and Paola Suarez rolling Akiko Morigami 6-4, 6-0.

Czech Republic at Italy -- Italy leads 2-0
The Italians defend the home clay Saturday posting two wins, with Francesca Schiavone coming back from a set down to beat Barbora Strycova 6-0 in the third, and Silvia Farina Elia stopping Klara Koukalova in straights.

Germany at France -- France leads 2-0
The French squad sits Mary Pierce out, but still gets two wins from Nathalie Dechy (d. Groenfeld in three) and Amelie Mauresmo (d. Rittner) to put France one win away from the clinch.

Switzerland at Spain -- Tied 1-1
Emotions are running high in this tightly-contested tie, with Swiss Patty Schnyder coming from a set down to beat Marta Marrero before Spain's Conchita Martinez evened the match with an inspired 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Emmanuelle Gagliardi. Today will see Schnyder and Martinez face off, just a week after their non-handshake confrontation at the WTA stop in Charleston.

Croatia at Belgium -- Tied 1-1
Without world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium is just a one-horse team. Kim Clijsters put Belgium out front Saturday with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win over Jelena Kostanic, with Clijsters still nursing a sore wrist. Croatia then evened the match up when Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem stomped the hapless Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-0.

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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