Safin Leads Dirt Advance at ATP Sopot
Posted on August 11, 2004
Top-seeded Marat Safin, showing his contempt for next week's Athens Olympics on hardcourts by playing this week on the red dirt, led the claycourt charge Tuesday at the ATP stop in Sopot with a straight-set win over Spaniard "Julio &" Galo Blanco."It was a difficult match, he can play really good tennis on clay," Safin said. "He had chances to come back in the first set but in these kind of matches you have to play well from the beginning."
Safin said he will represent Russia at the Athens Olympics, though he thinks the Olympics should not be on the ATP calendar.
Also into the second round were seeds (3)Dave Ferrer of Spain (d. countryman (Q)Garcia-Lopez) and another Spaniard in (6)Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (d. Hanescu).
Two veteran qualifiers caused upsets on the day in Spaniard Felix Mantilla (d. countryman (7)Montanes with a bagel in the first set) and Argentine Franco "The Squirrel" Squillari (d. Zib).
Other un-seeds into the second round were Spaniards Al "The Dropshot Dragon" Portas (d. Vassallo Arguello) and Marc Lopez (d. O.Hernandez), France's Arnaud Di Pascual (d. Calatrava in three), and Argentine Juan Acasuso (d. (WC)Przysiezny). As a player you always like to see those Polish wildcards opposite your name in the draw.
On tap for today on the dirt in Sopot are (6)The Prodigy vs. Di Pasquale, (1)Safin vs. M.Lopez, (Q)The Squirrel vs. (WC)Kubot, and Rosset vs. Juan "The Tax Haven" Monaco.
WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
All four seeds in action on the red dirt at Sopot moved into the second round Tuesday in (3)Dinara "Little Sis" Safin (d. (LL)Pastikova) making a nice return from injury, (5)Iveta Benesova (d. (WC)Kisczynska), (9)Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta (d. (Q)Mamic), and (11)Klara "Kouky" Koukalova (d. (LL)Muller), all in straight sets.
Unlikely un-seeds into the second round were Czech lucky loser Libuse "Is Loose" Prusova (d. Barbara "Use the" Schwartz) and Czech qualifier "Deliver us from" Eva Birnerova (d. (LL)Jans), along with Spaniard Nuria Llagostera "Pancho" Vives (d. (Q)Gubacsi), Croatian Silvija Talaja (d. (Q)Selima "So Close But" Sfar), Russian Vera Douchevina (d. Bondarenko), and Slovak Lubomira Kurhajcova (d. Canepa 6-1 in the third).
The Wednesday line-up on in Sopot is (WC)Domachowska vs. (2)Smashnova-Pistolesi, (1)Myskina vs. Ondraskova, Marrero vs. (Q)Birnerova, (3)Safina vs. Kurhajcova, Douchevina vs. Koukalova, Talaja vs. (5)Benesova, Llagostera Vives vs. Cervanova, and Pennetta vs. (LL)Prusova.
The American "F"-squad players again made some noise in Vancouver Tuesday, with Yanks (5)Marissa Irvin (d. Tu), (8)Lindsay Lee-Waters (d. Skavronskaia), and unseeded Bethanie Mattek (d. the Canuck Drake) into the second round.
Other winners on the day were (1)Marion Bartoli (d. Ad. Serra "Nevada" Zanetti), (3)Alina Jidkova (d. Garcia Sokol 6-1 in the third), Camile Pin (d. Beltrame who retired in the second with injury), Shuai Peng (d. Grandin 6-0 in the third), and a couple baby-teens in 15-year-old (Q)Nicole Vaidisova (d. Spears), and 15-year-old (Q)Sesil "The Mouth" Karatantcheva (d. Yoshida).
On court Wednesday in Vancouver are Okamoto vs. Groenefeld, Castellvi vs. Pelletier, Peng vs. Jidkova, Grande vs. Hopkins, Granville vs. Mattek in an all-American, and Voskoboeva vs. Lee-Waters. No one likes to lose to a 15 year old.
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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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