Sharapova Eases Past Venus, Agassi Davis Cup Talk on the Rise
Posted on October 23, 2004
Sharapova Handles Venus in First Meeting at WTA ZurichUpon returning from a long layoff with an abdominal injury earlier in 2004, Venus Williams has found herself lapped by many of the young comers on the WTA Tour.
Case in point was Friday at the WTA stop in Zurich, where the elder Williams sister was handled easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in her first meeting with reigning Wimbledon champion and cell phone spokeswoman Maria Sharapova.
"I was able to pick up my game when I needed to and force her to make some unforced errors," Sharapova said. "I thought I was dictating the match throughout and I'm definitely playing with a lot of confidence."
It was a typical big-hitting baseline display lacking variation and filled with unforced errors and slaughterhouse shrieks during rallies from both players. After the match, it was the typical Williams press conference.
"I just had a slow start today," Williams said. "I definitely feel I'm not at my best yet but it's just the little things that I still have to work on."
Also into the semifinals Friday was another Russian in (3) Elena Dementieva (d. (9) Sugiyama 7-5 in the third), along with homecountry hero (10) Patty Schnyder (d. Suarez in three), and unseeded Aussie bright light Alicia Molik (d. (8) Petrova, dropping only four games).
Saturday's semifinal match-ups are (3) Elena "Sharapova's Not Russian" Dementieva vs. (4) Sharapova (the cell phone mannequin leads career meetings 2-1), and (10) Schnyder vs. Molik (Swiss leads 1-0 with a win five years ago).
The doubles semifinals are Dechy/Golovin vs. Black/Stubbs, and Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. Husarova/Molik.
Agassi, Safin Advance to SF Meeting at ATP Madrid
No. 2 seed Andre Agassi (d. (8) Robredo in three) and No. 3 Marat Safin (d. Luis "Me So" Horna) advanced to a semifinal meeting Saturday at the ATP Masters Series-Madrid.
A semifinal win would give Agassi a leg up in qualifying among the Top 8 for the year-end Masters Cup in Houston.
"I think Houston is certainly an accomplishment, if I can somehow do that," Agassi said. "But it's a result of me playing my best tennis. I mean, you can't win these matches unless you play your best. Playing in the (Masters Cup) so many times, I've learned the only way to get there is to sort of keep your head down with each match."
The second semifinal will be No. 4 seed David Nalbandian (d. Dent) against unseeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic (d. (7) Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson in three tiebreaks with no breaks of serve).
"Everybody knows that I can play well on indoor courts," Ljubicic said. "I mean, if I beat (Rainer) Schuettler and (Tim) Henman back to back, Joachim (Johansson), I don't see why I cannot go all the way. I feel like I have a game for everybody almost."
All three of the seeds in the semifinals are contending for the final four spots at the year-end Masters Cup in Houston.
Saturday's semifinals are Ljubicic vs. (4) Nalbandian (first meeting), and (3) Safin vs. (2) Agassi (the American leads 3-2, but Safin won their most recent encounter in five sets ay this year's Aussie Open). The doubles final is Czechs Damm/Suk vs. Americans (2) Bryan/Bryan.
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UK's The Times on Andre Agassi playing the Davis Cup final for the U.S. at Spain on the red dirt: "The Spain management, armed with intelligence from fellow players, is convinced he will return. The 34-year-old looks in better shape this week than he has for months, possibly years. There is not an ounce of fat on him, he is striking the ball as sweetly as ever and has already committed himself to another year on the tour. Whether or not he qualifies for the Masters Cup in Houston next month by winning the tournament here, the French Open champion of 1999 remains his country's best claycourt player. Spain have two former French Open champions, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero, in their ranks, while the expected first-choice singles players for the U.S., Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish, have won a total of three matches at Roland Garros (all to Roddick). Even given Ferrero's poor form and his oddly timed switch of rackets from Prince to Head, he is spending the next six weeks practicing on clay with his new weapon and will not be overlooked by Jordi Arrese, the captain. What could cloud Spain's optimistic outlook more than Agassi having a change of heart and offering his services to Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. captain, and his colleagues? The entire complexion of the final would be altered and the competition would be brilliantly enhanced. Agassi is saying nothing, nor are those closest to him, but there is a distinct edge about him here and it is hard to escape the feeling that he would love to play a fifth final for the U.S., 12 years after his last, which came against Switzerland in Fort Worth, Texas." Keep your fingers crossed America, it's your only shot...Serena and Venus will compete in a series of charity exhibitions in November, though the knee of the younger Williams sister has kept her from competing in WTA events of late: "My knee is really solid. We had a long talk, and he's decided that he's going to act better for me," Serena said with a laugh during a conference call on Thursday to promote the McDonald's Williams Sisters Tour. "We wanted to go to different markets that don't have tennis tournaments," Serena said. "We came from not the best of areas but anything is possible, and I want the kids of Detroit and Chicago and Atlanta to know that anything is possible if you set your mind to it." When does Serena not say her knee if fine as she continues to pull out of events? How old has that gotten?...Giles Smith of The Times on the ball models in Madrid: "However, Andre Agassi noted the problem some of the models were having getting about the court and dryly wondered whether shorter skirts would help -- although, of course, you couldn't manufacture a shorter skirt than the ones the models were using without it qualifying, under EU regulations, as a belt." Which tournament were you watching Giles, since all the ball models have been wearing knee-length skirts?...Andre Agassi, who yesterday celebrated his third wedding anniversary with Steffi Graf, on his charity work: "I have a program that brings tennis to the inner city. But the bulk of my work is done through education. The preparatory academy educates children that don't have that opportunity. It takes children a year to two years behind in school and has managed to bring them back to grade level inside a year...We clothe over 3,000 children a year. We help a group called Child Haven, which is a shelter for abused, abandoned kids. I built a school on the premises there so that these children can continue their education while they wait for their parents to get out of courts, or jail, drug rehab, whatever it may be."