Ferrero Edged by Unseeded Countryman Ferrer at ATP Lyon

Posted on October 8, 2004

Unseeded Spaniard Dave Ferrer showed his indoor carpet chops Thursday at the ATP stop in Lyon, outlasting countryman and No. 3 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to gain the quarterfinals.

"I didn't expect to beat him today, I'm really surprised and very happy about this result," Ferrer said after taking out the former No. 1. "I was pleased beforehand to be on centre court playing against him but I never expected to defeat him playing so solidly. It was the first time I was playing against him, he's always been like a model to me and defeating him is definitely a very special moment."

Ferrero, who this time last year was in the hunt for the year-end No. 1 ranking, currently stands at No. 13 on the ATP Rankings.

Other winners on the day were No. 4 seed Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson (d. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau), unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny (d. Calleri 7-6 in the third), and unseeded Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer (d. Arazi 6-1 in the third).

Friday's quarterfinal line-ups in Lyon are Youzhny vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, Soderling vs. (4) Pim-Pim in a tantalizing all-Swedish (Pim-Pim leads career meetings 2-0), Ferrer vs. Bjorkman in a half-Swedish, and (7) Spadea vs. Tuna Melzer (tied 2-2).

Nalbandian, Seven Other Seeds Savaged at ATP Tokyo

On a day when several players were forced to play two matches due to the rain-delayed schedule, seven seeds were upset on Thursday at the ATP stop in Tokyo.

Winning two matches on the day were (4) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan (d. Levy in three, (Q) Chiudinelli who retired in the second with injury), (5) Jiri Novak (d. Garcia-Lopez, (11) Mello), German qualifier Bjorn Phau (d. (3) Pavel, (13) Gambill in three), and unseeded Bohdan Ulihrach (d (12) Nieminen, (Q) Kohlmann).

"Something I have to deal with is two matches in one day, because anytime you have bad weather you have to be ready for two matches," The Thai Fighter said. "I played him (Chiudinelli) last week in Bangkok and I knew he would be tough."

(11) Mello had beaten Flavio "Of the Day" Saretta 7-6 in the third earlier in the day, while other players winning a match before bowing out were (Q) Chiudinelli (d. (14) Van Scheppingen) and (13) Gambill (d. (WC) Terachi).

Other seeds surviving the savagery were (1) Lleyton Hewitt (d. (WC) Suzuki in three), (7) Taylor Dent (d. (10) H.-T. Lee in three), (9) Cyril Saulnier (d. (8) T.Johansson 7-6 in the third), and (16) Gilles Muller (d. (2) Nalbandian in three).

"I was trying to stay motivated, even though I lost the first set," Hewitt said, searching for motivation against the low-ranked Suzuki. "I felt I was the better player and when I broke his serve early in the second set, I wanted to make sure he knew it was going to get broken a few more times."

Friday's quarters in Tokyo line up as (4) The Thai Fighter vs. (5) Novak, (1) Hewitt vs. (9) Saulnier, Ulihrach vs. (Q) Phau, and (7) Dent vs. (16) Muller.

Mauresmo, Slew of Russians Into Quarters at WTA Filderstadt

World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, looking to defend her shaky perch atop the WTA Rankings, moved into the quarterfinals Thursday at Filderstadt with a tough 7-5, 6-4 win over Swiss Patty "Handshake" Schnyder.

"I needed a little time to get into a rhythm," Mauresmo said. "I haven't played since the US Open, and she was much more ready. I made too many unforced errors at the beginning. Maybe I wanted to make the points too quick. I knew I was only one break down, and I'd had opportunities on her serve at the beginning so I didn't panic at all."

Other seeds into the quarters were French Open champ (3) Anastasia Myskina (d. Dechy 6-1 in the third) and US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Russian countrywoman Bovina).

"I didn't have any self confidence. I was nervous as usual at the start," said the mentally-shaky Myskina. "It worked out today against Dechy, but I don't know if it will be enough against the other Russians."

Nice outlook.

Un-seeds into the quarterfinal round were American Lisa Raymond (d. Farina Elia 6-0 in the third), Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga (d. Smashnova, who retired in the second set with injury), Jelena Jankovic (d. Hantuchova), and a third Russian on the day in Elena Likhovtseva (d. Pierce after dropping the first set 0-6).

Quarterfinal action at Filderstadt on Friday will be Mauresmo vs. Raymond, Jankovic vs. Davenport, Kuznetsova vs. Zuluaga, and Likhovtseva vs. Myskina in an all-Russian.

Sharapova Advances to Semifinals at WTA Tokyo

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova continued to make mincemeat of the low-ranked competition at the WTA stop in Tokyo, Thursday rolling past French qualifier Youlia Fedossova in straight sets to advance into the semifinals.

Also into the semis were No. 7 seed Klara "Kouky" Koukalova (d. (WC) Vaidisova), and un-seeds Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand (d. Kapros, who retired with a right thigh strain), and resurgent American Mashona "Little Sis" Washington (d. Linetskaya).

Friday's semis line up as Washington vs. (7) Koukalova, and (1) Sharapova vs. Tanasugarn.

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