Gaudio Leads 4 Argentines Into ATP Bastad Quarters

Ran cut short the second appearance of Wimbledon champ Roger Federer in Gstaad Thursday, with only two matches completed with winners (3)Rainer "Shine" Shuettler (d. German countryman Florian "Oscar" Mayer) and Felix Mantilla (d. countryman (6)Ferrer).

"It's not an easy situation but we are used to it so it's unusual that we play against a countryman," Schuettler said after slapping around the young Mayer. "Everybody wants to win but there is a friendly atmosphere on court. He is playing very good tennis. I'm sure we will hear a lot of him in the future."

One match was halted, with Swiss Davis Cup captain Marc Rosset leading Radek Stepanek 6-4, 2-3 when the rains came.

On court Friday in Gstaad are (1)Federer vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (WC)Rosset vs. Stepanek (to finish),(4)Novak vs. (Q)Starace, Mantilla vs. (3)Schuettler, Andreev vs. Ramirez Hidalgo, and the (1)Federer/Karlovic winner vs. the Stepanek/(WC)Rosset winner.

No. 2 James Blake was the only seeded upset Thursday with all the remaining seeds taking to the lawns at Newport, with the American bowing out to countryman Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in his first match back after slamming his head into a net pole at Rome.

"I definitely don't have the confidence I did before I was injured," Blake said. "I think a confident player can come back in match like that, and I didn't feel like I could keep going for my shots. My arm was getting worse, but Bogey kept his concentration and played well. I'm going to see doctors today and see if rest will be good enough. The trainer here thinks it's just the equivalent of an over-use injury. I couldn't lift with my upper body for six weeks (after Rome accident) and I focused more on court than in the weight room."

Seeded winners on the day were (1)Vince Spadea (d. (WC)Vahaly, tweaking his back in the process), (3)Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer (d. Mahut), (5)Cyril Saulnier (d. Elseneer 7-6 in the third, saving three match points), (7)Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp (d. (Q)Glenn "I.C." Weiner), and (8)Anthony Dupuis (d. Sanguinetti).

Other un-seeds into the quarterfinals were American Jeff "The Lizard King" Morrison (d. (Q)Baker), and former champ Greg "I Used to Live Up North" Rusedski (d. Carlsen 7-6 in the third).

Today's quarterfinals on the grass feature (3)Tuna Melt vs. (5)Saulnier, (1)Spadea vs. (7)Popp, Morrison vs. Rusedski, and (8)Dupuis vs. Bogomolov Jr.

FREE DAILY TENNIS E-NEWSLETTER
Right in your in-box, every day. Most days virus-free. Sign up at www.Tennis-X.com. Opinion, results, previews, post-views, quotes, notes, smack. Do it now. Everyone is doing it.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
World Team Tennis' St. Louis Aces suffered a blow when Andy Roddick withdrew from his appearances Friday and Saturday with an apparent hip injury apparently suffered during the Wimbledon final. Apparently doctors advised Roddick to rest for 10 days. Roddick's coach Brad Gilbert was also scheduled to play for the Aces this weekend but has withdrawn. Another hip injury? When Andy Roddick hurts his hip, does Brad Gilbert say "Ouch"?...From Sportsfeatures.com: "With both the ATP and WTA officially sanctioning the China Open, the tournament has taken a key step towards its ultimate goal of becoming the "fifth major" in tennis." Yeah, pass the bong...Maria "Grunt-o-meter" Sharapova has been left off the Russian Olympic team, since the selections were made before Wimbledon when her ranking wasn't high enough...Credit Doug Browne of the Marco Island (Florida) Sun Times for his insight in an article asking which is tougher, golf or tennis: "Even if we look at the sport strictly from a physical viewpoint, it is not clear that tennis is the tougher game because it requires so much incredible skill to hit a little golf ball." Have you ever broken a sweat Doug?...Within an hour of completing the Wimbledon championship match, Roger Federer was engaged in nearly two hours of media activities after his post-match press conference, including television interviews with the BBC (UK), TSR (SUI), DRS (SUI), RETL5 (NED), FOX (AUS), EPSN SUR (ARG), SKY (UK) and CNN, radio interviews with BBC (UK), DRS (SUI), RSR (SUI), and he sat down with the Wimbledon Film crew and Sports Illustrated before attending the Champions' Dinner with a luscious-looking Maria Sharpaova (and one stewing Swiss girlfriend). On Monday morning, he did four more hours of media, including television interviews with BBC, SKY, CNN and ITV and round-table interviews with both British and Swiss press members...The Black siblings (Wayne and Cara) were the third brother/sister team to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles after John and Tracy Austin and Cyril Suk and Helena Sukova...Former NCAA champ and Newport wildcard Amer Delic took part in a fashion show on Thursday, joining several models for a walk down the runway. He modeled two sets of tennis apparel and then some leisure wear. It was his first attempt at modeling: "I was a little out of my element, but it was a lot of fun. A lot of people have come up to me since the show ended and said I was a good sport. I don't know if I have a career as a professional model, but it was a blast to try it once."...The International Tennis Hall of Fame is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week, and will this weekend induct a new class with Stefan Edberg, Steffi Graf and Dodo Cheney. The ATP Foundation Cup, an exhibition match featuring Andre Agassi and Rod Laver against Tony Roche and John McEnroe, will take place the morning of the induction. Fifty-five of the 68 living members of the Hall of Fame are expected to take part in the weekend's festivities...Spaniard Al Martin is now working with former player Marcos Gorriz...Vince Spadea on his comeback from 2-5 down in the second set tiebreak yesterday at Newport: "Comeback is my middle name. I've had bigger ones than that. I saved nice match points at the French Open this year and last year in Russia I was down 6-2, 5-2 40-15 and came back and won." On his bad back: "It's stiff, it has been for a few weeks. You can expect aches and pains on any surface, but especially on grass. It was really getting to me during the match and I was worried. There were times when I couldn't serve too well. The trainer put a lot of hot cream and stretched it, so I could give more than 50 percent." Translation: Run to the Internet betting site and put a bundle on his next opponent, Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp..."Grinning" Greg Rusedski on having the most wins on grass among active players: "Really? Well that's nice to know. It's nice to have a positive thing to take home. I'm quite happy about it. It's great. I didn't even realize that. It's a nice thing to have because I still enjoy playing on the grass and it's a style you don't see too much these days."