Iron Man Federer Survives Into ATP Gstaad Final

"I hope the final will be only three sets, too," Federer joked. "Three sets in my favor."

Federer had practiced numerous times with the rising 23-year-old Italian, and used the practice sessions to his advantage.

"I took a lot of pleasure in this match. He is a very good player," Federer said. "I have trained with him in the past and for sure you pick up certain things about your opponent in those instances. It was a good match."

A win for Federer in the final would duplicate his effort of seven titles won in all of 2003, and put a veritable lock on finishing the year at No. 1 in the rankings. Federer has never won his homecountry Gstaad title, last year losing in the final to Jiri Novak.

In the final Federer will face for the first time the hot-handed unseeded Russian Igor Andreev, who in the semifinals edged No. 3 seed Rainer "Shine" Schuettler 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6), and is appearing in his first ATP final. The doubles final will pit (1)Paes/Rikl against the Swiss (WC)Rosset/Wawrinka.

The Bastad semifinals were rained out Saturday, with French Open holder and No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio facing Swede Robin Soderling, and No. 6 Fernando Gonzalez against No. 8 Mariano Zabaleta. The semis and final will be played on Sunday.

The Newport final will be a battle of big-serving big men in No. 7 seed Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp (d. (5)Saulnier in the semis) against unseeded Greg Rusedski (d. (8)Dupuis) in a first-time meeting.

FED CUP QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

U.S. at Austria -- Tied 1-1
Site: Bergisel Stadion, Innsbruck, Austria
Surface: Red Clay (Outdoors)

Chanda Rubin puts the U.S. out in front, edging Barbara "Use the" Schwartz 6-4 in the third, but Barbara "I Give a" Schett evens it up with a straight-set win over fast-court specialist Lisa Raymond on the red dirt (Raymond on clay?). Where are the Williams sisters, or Jennifer Capriati, or Lindsay Davenport when you need them?

Russia at Argentina -- Tied 1-1
Site: Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Surface: Red Clay (Outdoors)

Gisela "Sgt." Dulko turns in a shocker with a three-set win over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova before French Open champ Anastasia Myskina brought the crowd back to earth by throwing in a bagel set in a thumping of Natalia Gussoni to even the tie. That was a long sentence.

France at Italy -- France leads 2-0
Site: Circolo Tennis Rimini, Rimini, Italy
Surface: Red Clay (Outdoors)

Little resistance put up by the home Italians in the face of powerhouses Amelie Mauresmo (d. Farina Elia) and Mary Pierce (d. Schiavone).

Belgium at Spain -- Belgium leads 2-0
Site: Club Nazaret, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Surface: Red Clay (Outdoors)

Spain is paying the price for their three highest-ranking players skipping this tie. 18-year-old Belgian Kirsten Flipkens shocked Spain's Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues in three sets in front of the Spanish crowd, then Belgian Els Callens followed with an improbable 2-6, 6-4, 11-9, 3-1/2 hour win over Virginia Ruano Pascual. Who needs Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters when Spain fields their "C" team?

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Anna Kournikova, the pre-Maria, who is this month competing in World Team Tennis: "I really don't know when I'll return (to the tour). I'm trying to get healthy, to get back on the court. That's my goal -- to play competitive tennis as soon as I can. My back is not 100 percent. It's a little sore. But it's really hard to tell much after just two matches...I can't tell you if I'm going to play in the US Open. I can't say if I'll play in the Pilot Pen in New Haven. My back is still a little sore. We'll see how I'm doing by the end of next week."...Says the Hartford Journal-Inquirer: "It's been said that professional tennis player Anna Kournikova has never played as good as she looks. Anyone who caught a glimpse of Kournikova at the Apple Arena Friday night might tell you that no one could play as good as she looks."...Since when has a field including Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport lacked star power? In the age of Maria Sharapova and the Russian revolution, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, with the headline "WTA tourney lacking star power" (WTA Stanford stop): "Friday's draw for the Bank of the West Classic included no stunning news -- like, say, Maria Sharapova's name magically appearing on the big board. This year's women's professional tennis tournament at Stanford, which begins Monday, features two marquee players in top seed Venus Williams and No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport. Then there's a decided drop-off in star appeal, giving the event an unusual flavor for its annual summer run at Taube Family Tennis Stadium."...The WTA Stanford stop also announced two wildcards in two-time NCAA champ Amber Liu, and straight-outta-Compton's Angela Haynes...Nice to see the World Team Tennis coverage on TV in the U.S., even with the cringe-inducing Luke Jensen trying to "ramp up the excitement!"...If you'd like to see a message bulletin board on the site, send an e-mail to contact@tennis-x.com, see if you can get the webmasters off their collective ass...From reader Chris: "Saw a TSN profile on Carling Bassett-Seguso a few weeks back -- pretty pathetic excuse for a TV program, actually -- but the best part was how shocking and scary (Nick) Bolletieri seemed back then...as opposed to how he seems now, hahaha. I honestly can't believe all these parents happily dumped their kids in his lap. "Just live in this foul-mouthed guy's house with all these older, street-wise foul-mouthed ultra-competitive tennis juniors and see if you come out psychosis-free." The answer is no, not often. Good for (Maria) Sharapova if she manages it."...Cyril Saulnier, what's up with the Flavor Flav chain around your neck while playing in Newport? We were watching just to see if that think would fly up, smack you in the face and knock you unconscious during a point...We've heard the Tennis Channel is humorous to watch (wouldn't know since we don't get it at the X-HQ) but can it be any worse than tennis on Fox Sports where the mikes go out, the video goes out, and you just wait for the inevitable graphic f-up? Barry and Leif have honed their shtick over the years, but they must get tired of getting stuck with the Fox "C"-crew of sound and graphics. Leif, we're still waiting for the free sunglasses, hook us...The US Open Series kicks of next week in LA, let's see how many Euros show up for a share of the hardcourt cash for the overall series, especially when the Masters Series events kick in. Judging from the weak field in Stuttgart next week, an inordinate number of the dirtballers seem to be resting up...That was an impressive parade of champions Saturday at the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame, is it our imagination or is Steffi Graf-Agassi getting even more attractive as she grows older? What a mistake to let Virginia Wade, who inadvertently offended half the champions in attendance by attempting some "humor," take over the MC duties...According to the Herald Sun: "Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters are set to marry twice, with ceremonies in both Adelaide and Belgium to keep both families happy."...Gus Sampras, brother of Pete and tournament director for the WTA Stanford stop: "Women's tennis doesn't yet have the depth of men's tennis, but it's getting there. In men's tournaments, you never know who's going to burst out and win. On the women's tour, it used to be that you could predict the semifinalists in any tournament. That's no longer true because there's more depth." Uh, no, that's no longer true because all the top players are either injured or coming off injuries...Roger Federer takes his 6-0 record in finals this year into the Gstaad final today...Andy Roddick has to be asking himself is there is any way in hell he can catch No. 1 Roger Federer in the rankings before the end of the year...That weak ATP Roger-Federer-fastest-to-50-wins stat, tying Ivan Lendl, is only since 1989. Tennis didn't exist before '89? Surprised the tour pointed out a stat pre-1990 when they took over...Is it just our imagination, or is Fed Cup not too high on the priority list of the top players? Exhibit A: Spain losing to a Henin-Hardenne/Clijsters-less Belgium team -- in Spain.