Federer, Coria Head Toward Showdown at ATP Hamburg

Posted on May 16, 2004

Top-ranked Roger Federer put on a display of near-perfect tennis Friday at the Masters Series-Hamburg, stunning a weary Carlos Moya 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals.

Federer beat Moya, who last week won at Rome and was riding a nine-match winning streak, with a hardcourt-like display of baseline winners and precision serving.

"He can do anything with the ball," said Moya, who was coming off a long three-setter in his previous round. "His serve is not very fast but it's hard to read. He plays very well whatever the surface and I didn't play my best, my legs were not as fresh today."

Also into the semis were (2)Guillermo Coria (d. Ferrer, 30th straight win on clay), (17)Lleyton Hewitt (d. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer), and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic (d. Youzhny, coming back from a set down).

Saturday's match-ups are (1)Federer vs. (17)Hewitt (Aussie leads meetings 7-3, with Fed winning the last match-up), Ljubicic vs. (2)Coria (Coria leads 2-1), and in the doubles semis (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. Paes/Rikl, and (7)Black/Ullyett vs. (2)Bjorkman/Woodbridge. "I beat him in Rome on clay last year but the conditions were much different," says Ljubicic on playing Coria. "It was really hot and the courts played fast. But I have nothing to lose and I have to go for my shots. I have to do everything perfect and hope to play well. I have no pressure."

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top-seeded Serena Williams led the charge into the Rome semifinals Friday, defeating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-0 in their first meeting.

"I hadn't played her before, but she's one of those young, blazing Russians, so I knew I had to be ready," Williams said of Kuznetsova.

No. 5 seed Jennifer Capriati (d. (16)Smashnova-Pistolesi) made it two Americans into the semis, joined by (2)Amelie Mauresmo (d. (10)Farina Elia in three), and Russian (8)Vera "Warren" Zvonareva (d. (14)Schiavone).

Saturday's match-ups will be (1)Serena vs. (5)Capriati, and (2)Mauresmo vs. (8)Zvonareva. Serena leads Jen-Jen 9-4 in their meetings, with wins in the last eight.

FREE TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to the FREE Tennis-X daily e-newsletter, click on the logo on the top right of the page at www.tennis-x.com. Daily results, daily previews, daily notes and quotes, daily smack on the dysfunctional world of pro tennis.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Carlos Moya says watch out for countryman Fernando Verdasco, he's the real deal: "He has no limit. He was hitting the ball so hard. All that I could do was run and wait for his mistakes. He forces you to take more risk than I usually take. His serve is good. He is very complete. He hits hard and has good returns. Maybe he is still young and doesn't have that experience. But when he gets that, he's going to be a top player."...Lleyton Hewitt says he doesn't know why everyone is complaining about the balls in Hamburg: "We have the same balls in Rome, Monte Carlo and here. They are not so bad here on this kind of court, purely because there are a lot heavier conditions here. They are flopping off a little bit more here than they did in Rome and Monte Carlo. I don't actually have a problem with the balls, the only problem is that they are so different from the ones we use in Indian Wells and Miami. Personally I didn't like the balls in Indian Wells and Miami. Maybe they could find something in the middle which would suit everyone a bit more; now there are two extremes." Roger Federer says sorry Lleyton, things are different: "I had problems in the past with the balls. I remember in 2002, I had a lot of problems to spin to (the) ball. I really had to almost change my game and try to play flat. But that was two years ago. Over a year now, I haven't had these problems. Obviously the ball tends to fly differently. Hamburg and Rome are totally different. I understand some players because I had a problem too in the past. But I can work the ball well here. So, it should be o.k. for everybody."...Guillermo Coria has won his last 30 matches on the dirt...Martina Navratilova, after saying she wouldn't play Wimbledon, is now jockeying for that wildcard, that is a given...The Guardian on the ATP and the US Open Series deal: "But certain European tournament directors were immediately up in arms. Not only had Mark Miles, the chief executive of the ATP, the men's ruling body, seemingly rubber-stamped the deal, it had also been done behind their backs. Here was yet another example, they argued, of the American-based ATP taking a unilateral decision for the benefit of Americans only."