Davenport Bakes Another Bagel to Reach WTA Strasbourg Final

Posted on May 22, 2004

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport continued to shell the lackluster competition at Strasbourg Friday, crushing No. 3 seed Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 6-0 to gain the final. Davenport will face off for the title against unseeded Claudine Schaul (d. (4)Loit) of Luxembourg, look for more bagels there.

The Saturday Vienna final will be (6)Alicia Molik (d. (8)Kostanic) vs. (2)Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (d. (5) Amy "Down Goes" Frazier). The doubles final will be (2)Black/Stubbs vs. (1)Navratilova/Raymond.

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW

Australia came from behind to reach the final of the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf Friday, defeating Argentina 2-1 to earn a meeting with the defending champ Chileans.

Argentina's Gaston Gaudio led off with a 7-6-in-the-third win over Lleyton Hewitt, before Mark Philippoussis evened things up with a gutsy three-set win over Mariano Zabaleta.

"I didn't get off to a great start," Hewitt said. "I just kept hanging in there fighting. I played good tennis along the way. He's a tough player to play against."

The match was decided in the doubles, with Aussies Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley besting Lucas Arnold and Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-4.

In the meaningless second contest the U.S. got their lone win of the event 2-1, with Dutchman Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk beating Vince Spadea in straights, Robby Ginepri edging John Van Lottum 6-1 in the third, and the Bryan brothers clinching it for the U.S. with a 6-3, 6-0 lambasting of Sjeng Schalken/Verkerk.

Australia is gunning for their third title in six years, while Chile defeated the Czech Republic last year for its first-ever win. Chile is also trying to become the first back-to-back champions since the U.S. in 1984-85.

The Casablanca final on Saturday will pit No. 1 seed Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty against Spanish qualifier Santiago Ventura.

"I really don't know what to say," Ventura said. "I never expected to get this far here. I came to try to qualify and eventually win a match but I never thought I would be playing a final tomorrow."

Ventura edged unseeded Christophe "The Roach" Rochus 6-2 in the third, while Hrbaty continued his impressive tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 slathering of French basher Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau.

It will be a first-time match-up between The Dominator and Ventura, who is playing in his first-ever ATP event.

The St. Poelten final on Saturday will feature the resurgence of Italian tennis, with No. 8 seed Filippo Volandri (d. (6)Sanchez in three) taking on qualifier Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer in three).

"It was a very tough match, I knew he was a great player especially on a claycourt," Volandri said. "I had to be focused and concentrated. I started very well winning the first 6-1 and then maybe I relaxed too much and he put me under a lot of pressure in the second. The third set was an unbelievable fight."

It is the first career meeting between the two, and it will be the first career title for the winner.

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