Guga and Gonzo Outed, Federer Rolls on Day Three at US Open

Posted on September 2, 2004

Two high-profile seeds made exits Wednesday at the US Open in former No. 1 and No. 20 seed Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (l. to Kristian Pless in four) and Olympic bronze medalist and No. 14 seed Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez (l. to Swede Robin Sodering).

"Sometimes during the match, I didn't feel 100 percent," Gonzalez said, coming off a bronze in singles and gold in doubles at the Athens Olympics. "I was physically good but today wasn't my good day. When you lose, you try to find some excuses. Robin was playing really good."

It was the second consecutive first-round loss at the Open for Guga, whose results have suffered since he underwent hip surgery.

Seeded winners on the day were (1)Roger Federer (d. (Q)Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis in four), (4)Lleyton Hewitt (d. Ferreira), (8)David Nalbandian (d. van Scheppingen), (12)Sebastien "The Skateboard Kid" Grosjean (d. countryman Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience in four), (23)Vince "Vincenzo" Spadea (d. Luis "Me So" Horna in four), and (30)Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez (d. Di Pasquale).

"It was pretty easy for me in the first set. He was making a lot of mistakes," Federer said after defeating the 19-year-old from Cyprus, dropping the second set in a tiebreak. "But I definitely let him back in the match and he took advantage of it and went for it in the second set."

Hewitt's win ended the ATP playing days of South Africa's Wayne Ferreira, who announced his retirement after the match.

"Knowing it was his last grand slam made it a little tough out there," Hewitt said. "Winning a lot of matches, though, gives you a lot of confidence and in the last few weeks, I think I've played as well, if not better than when I won here."

Two other seeds were sent packing Wednesday in (17)Juan Ignacio "I Didn't Do It" Chela (l. to Ricardo Mello "Yellow" in five), and (32)Jonas Bjorkman (l. to Berdych in five).

Winners in all-unseeded contests on Day Three were Russians Nikolay Davydenko (d. Philippoussis who retired in the fifth set with a hip injury) and Mikhail Youzhny (d. Montanes), German Philipp Kohlschreiber (d. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau), Morocco's Hicham Arazi (d. Carlsen in five), Fin Tuomas Ketola (d. Jeff "The Lizard King" Morrison in four), Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer (d. Carraz in four), Slovak Karol Beck (d. Ascione), Spaniard David Sanchez (d. Odesnik in four), and former No. 2 Tommy Haas (d. Sanguinetti in five).

On tap for Thursday are (6)Agassi vs. Florian "Oscar" Mayer, (3)Moya vs. Delic, (9)Gaudio vs. Thomas "Tommy the J." Johansson, (26)Mardy "Silver" Fish vs. Tabara, Goldstein vs. (15)Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, Golmard vs. (5)Henman, Mathieu vs. (21)Dent, (25)Novak vs. Calatrava, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco vs. (16)Pavel, Tursunov vs. (31)Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, (22)Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. Kucera, H.-T. Lee vs. A.Martin, "You Say" Potito Starace vs. Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, Saulnier vs. (19)Kiefer, (10)Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu vs. Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian, and in doubles Croats Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic/Ljubicic vs. (13)Paes/Rikl.

Serena Showcases Caboose, Mauresmo Tight in US Open Win

While ramping up her play at the US Open, Serena "The Caboose" Williams also ramped up her revealing wardrobe Wednesday, going hooker-tastic in black hot pants and a navel-ring-revealing dominatrix-studded tight black tank top.

The song "You Sexy Thing" blared from stadium speakers as she warmed up for her match in her look-at-me-I-need-attention black knee-high Nike "boots," with a black jacket that, for those fans still confused as to the spectacle, said "SERENA" in rhinestones on the back.

Serena said she was willing to put up with an outfit that appeared not the most comfortable or functionable in her quest to entertain.

"If I'm slightly uncomfortable, that's OK," Serena said. "I'm usually able to play through it."

We prefer the ass-covering skirt as opposed to the hot-pants. While Serena's caboose-is-loose ass-highlighting ensemble had some fans wondering if they were looking at a not-so-svelte gothic beach volleyball player, the younger Williams sibling says she sees the outfit as liberating.

"I represent all females out there who believe in themselves," Serena said. "It doesn't matter what you look like; it's all about having confidence."

Oh yeah, and she also played tennis.

Serena looked not at her sharpest in beating No. 86-ranked countrywoman Lindsay Lee-Waters 6-4, 6-3, blowing a first set lead and letting Lee-Waters tie things at 4-4 before closing out the set.

"These (first) two matches I have felt like I have nothing to lose and I am really calm," Serena said.

Serena's match almost hit a major roadblock before the first serve was struck when she realized she was missing -- her earrings.

"I was hitting during warm-ups and I realized I didn't have my earrings on," Serena said. "I asked them to bring my purse out so I can put them on, I think it's important to look the best I can when I play."

Serena also cleared up the issue of the black "boots," saying USTA officials would let her wear them during the match.

"I could wear them if I wanted to," Serena said. "There's a false rumor going around that the tournament won't let me wear them. But they are totally for me to wear during the match. It's really a light fabric, that keeps my legs warm. One of these days I'll play in them.

"I consider myself an entertainer. I remember always thinking of myself as a broader picture as opposed to just your normal athlete. I don't think I've ever been your normal athlete. I've always had something different going on in my life."

Props to Serena, who may be the most self-involved woman athlete on the planet, but tennis would be a much duller endeavor without her. Just keep the caboose covered.

While Serena moved on with relative ease, No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo was playing not to lose Wednesday, almost choking away a three-set match against the Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko.

"It's been a long summer and I have to be careful to make sure I am focused, and that my feet are moving properly," said Mauresmo, code for 'I have to be careful not to choke.'

Other seeded winners were (6)Elena "The Diagnosis is" Dementieva (d. Beltrame), (8)Jennifer Capriati (d. Serna, force-feeding the chunky Spaniard a bagel), (10)Vera "Warren" Zvonareva (d. Callens), (12)Ai Sugiyama (d. Gisela "Sgt." Dulko), (15)Patty "Handshake" Schnyder (d. Benesova), (16)Francesca Schiavone (d. Foretz), (23)Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga (d. Garbin in three), (28)Nathalie Dechy (d. Black), (30)Tatiana Golovin (d. Morigami), and (31)Maria Vento-Kabchi (d. Schruff 6-2 in the third).

"Tonight, I felt that I was into it a little bit more and was able to get a lot of the kinks out," Capriati said after dismissing the even-chunkier Serna. "I felt more comfortable out there moving around. The other night, I felt a little bit nervous, plus my opponent came out and played real well."

Two seeds were sent packing in (17)Alicia Molik (l. to Daniela "The Fudgesicle Stick" Hantuchova), and (22)Maggie Maleeva (l. to American Angela Haynes).

Winners in all-unseeded affairs were Croatian Jelena Kostanic (d. Linetskaya), and Vera Douchevina (d. Marion "Roly Poly" Bartoli).

On court Thursday are (5)Davenport vs. Parra Santonja, (1)Henin-Hardenne vs. Obziler, (11)Venus vs. Uberoi in an all-American, (4)Myskina vs. Chakvetadze in an all-Russian, Jankovic vs. (7)Maria "Shriek-o-licious" Sharapova, Ant. Serra "Nevada" Zanetti vs. (20)Rubin, Kristina "You're a Fine Girl" Brandi vs. (21)Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier, Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues vs. (29)Eleni Daniilidou, (26)Elena "Lina" Bovina vs. Camerin, Asagoe vs. Craybas, (19)Farina Elia vs. Katarina "Robotnik" Srebotnik, Raymond vs. Kirilenko, (9)Kuznetsova vs. Pratt, (27)Pierce vs. Ruano Pascual, "Slammin'" Sammy Stosur vs. (14)Petrova, and Randriantefy vs. (13)Suarez.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Wayne Ferreira has retired, a day after Todd Martin, could Younes El Aynaoui, Gustavo Kuerten, and Alex Corretja have also played their last matches at the US Open?...Mark "The Dud Scud" Philippoussis now has a bad hip, and he doesn't know why or where it happened: "It was 2-all or 3-all in the fourth and all of a sudden my left side, my left glut, just seized up and locked up on me. It was a spasm or something and I was hopping on one leg. I couldn't move or push off on my serve...I've never had anything like this. I was feeling great out there. It came out of nowhere...It's pretty much the worst year of my tennis career so far. I feel like I just want to start all over again."...From a press release for the China Open in Beijing, which follows the US Open: "He's wild, wacky and wonderfully talented -- Marat Safin is guaranteed to keep everyone entertained when he plays in next month's China Open in Beijing." Yeah, for a day or two, then it's take the guarantee money and run...Hey WTA (and ATP) employees, get ready to evacuate the Florida H.Q.s, another hurricane is coming down the pike, this one three times the size of Hurricane Charley and predicted to be a maxed-out Category 5 by the time it makes landfall south of Jacksonville. Oh, and it's bigger than the entire state...You gotta love Al Trautwig behind the desk for USA Network, making everything they do sound so very important, like after Michael Barkan assaulted the murmuring Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis in the hall before his match with Roger Federer: "Now those are some final thoughts!" said Trautwig after the exchange...Wayne Ferreira on his retirement announcement: "I will represent South Africa at the Davis Cup at the end of the month, then that will be it. I still feel that I can play as well as anyone else in the field, it's tough to leave knowing that I am still at that level. But I feel that I have to leave sometime and it's about time for me to go and leave when I feel that I am still at the top of my game. That's the better way to go...I've had a bad shoulder for the last 10 months. Every time I wake up, a different thing hurts. I just thought maybe it was more important to be able to walk when I'm 50."...Lleyton Hewitt is all happy and surprisingly cooperative these days after moving back up the rankings and winning the US Open Series: "When I was ranked No. 1, my serve definitely wasn't as consistent as it is know. I've been able to win some cheaper points off of my serve and get a high percentage of points off it lately. It's been important to my arsenal...I think the US Open Series was a good idea. I think that it is going to help in getting more coverage of those smaller tournaments and help tennis get more air time." Sure it's a good idea, since you won it and it put an extra truckload of cash in your pocket...World No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne on Serena's dominatrix outfits: "That's my last problem right now."...ESPN's Greg Garber just pumping out the straight news stories this week on ESPN.com, where is the flavor? Where is the "Ugly American"?...The fictional Canadian teen series about tennis prodigies, "15/Love," debuts on Sunday in the Great White North.

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