Moya Leads Spanish Armada into 3rd Round at ATP Barcelona

Posted on April 30, 2004

No. 2 seed Carlos Moya led the Spanish advance Wednesday at Barcelona, where another five Spaniards moved into the third round. Moya bested German qualifier Daniel Elsner in his bid to gain momentum for Roland Garros in less than one month.

"It's good to come back as defending champion and I hope to win this title again," said Moya, reaching deep for some personality during his post-match interview. "There is quite a lot of pressure, especially playing at home and also because of the surprises on the first day. It's important to handle the pressure the right way."

Moya improved to 28-6 on the year with the win. Moya is attempting to become the first player to win back-to-back Barcelona title since Thomas Muster in 1995-96.

Other seeded players into the third round were (3)David Nalbandian (d. T.Martin), (5)Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez (d. N.Lapentti), (10)Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez (d. D.Sanchez in three), (13)Gaston Gaudio (d. Alexander "My Serve Had No" Popp), and (16)Mariano Zabaleta (d. Vicente).

"I felt good today and am feeling better and better," Nalbandian said. "My ankle is fine. Monte Carlo last week helped me a lot. I won a few matches after not playing for about two months and it helped me get back on track."

Three seeds went tumbling on the red dirt Wednesday in (4)Nicolas Massu (l. to A.Martin), (9)Juan Ignacio Chela (l. to (Q)Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience), and (15)Felix Mantilla (l. to (WC)M.Lopez).

Other unseeded winners were Spaniard Fernando Verdasco (d. Luczak who retired with an ankle injury), Belgian qualifier Kristof Vliegen (d. Saretta in three), and Argentine Guillermo Canas (d. Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic).

Today's line-up features some serious claycourt talent, with two all-Spanish match-ups in (8)Robredo vs. Verdasco and A.Martin vs. Montanes, three ESP vs. ARG match-ups in (3)Nalbandian vs. (WC)M.Lopez (first meeting), (10)F.Lopez vs. (7)Calleri, and (2)Moya vs. (13)Gaudio (Moya leads 2-1), in addition to (6)Kuerten vs. Canas (Guga leads 6-0), an all-Q match in (Q)Vliegen vs. (Q)Patience, and (5)Gonzalez vs. (16)Zabaleta.

No. 4 seed Martin Verkerk survived a challenge from qualifier Boris Pashanski Wednesday at Munich, edging the Serbian in two tiebreaks. No. 5 seed Vince Spadea was not so lucky, dropping a third set breaker against German qualifier and 29-year-old journeyman Alexander Waske.

"My serve was good today, my level was actually pretty good also but the guy was playing really well," Verkerk said. "He was running really well all match. Actually, he was a little bit better than me in the second set so I'm happy that I won. My serve helped a lot."

Other winners on the day were Belgian Olivier Rochus (d. (WC)Kohlschreiber), Swiss qualifier Michel Kratochvil (d. Sargsian), and Peru's Luis "Me So" Horna (d. Mutis). Thursday's match-ups are (3)Novak vs. Stepanek in an all-Czech bouncer (tied 1-1), (1)Schuettler vs. (WC)Haas in a German showdown (Schuettler leads meetings 3-0), Hanescu vs. Davydenko, and Horna vs. (7)Dent (tied 1-1).

WTA REVIEWS/PREVIEWS
Venus Williams keeps stumbling along but she fails to fall down. The No. 2-seeded American dropped the first set to Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga Wednesday in Warsaw before storming back to win 6-0 in the third.

"She was returning my serve well, even when I was getting some good first serves in," Venus said. "I didn't get as many service winners or easy points off my serve as normal, but my first serve was more consistent in the second and third sets."

Venus was joined in the winners circle by (6)Silvia Farina Elia (d. Chladkova), (7)Patty "Handshake" Schnyder (d. (Q)Tatarkova), (8)Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (d. Daniela "The Walking Stick" Hantuchova), and (9)Francesca Schiavone (d. Pisnik). Unseeded winners on the day were Greek Eleni Daniilidou (d. Dulko), (LL)Lenka Nemeckova (d. (Q)Nagyova), and Maggie Maleeva (d. Likhovtseva).

On court Thursday are Nemeckova vs. Zvonareva, Mauresmo vs. Daniilidou (tied 1-1, Greek won last meeting), Domachowska vs. Farina Elia, Schnyder vs. Maleeva (Maggie leads 2-0), Bovina vs. Schiavone, and Kuznetsova vs. Douchevina.

One upset at Budapest Wednesday, with (5)Barbara "Don't Give a" Schett ousted by Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta in straight sets. Two seeds advanced on the day in (7)Arantxa Parra (d. Klara "Kouky" Koukalova) and (8)Jelena Jankovic (d. Vinci in a third-set breaker). Other unseeded winners were Ludmila Cervanova (d. Bartoli) and Tathiana Garbin (d. (9)Melinda "Our Favorite Element is" Czink in three).

On court Thursday in Budapest are Parra vs. Sucha, Stosur vs. Kapros, Meusburger vs. Mandula, Benesova vs. Vakulenko, and Garbin vs. Mamic.

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