Henman, Nalbandian Through at ATP BaselPosted on October 28, 2004 Tim Henman and David Nalbandian, two players fighting for the four remaining spots at the year-end Masters Cup, won their opening-round matches Wednesday at the ATP stop in Basel.
The No. 2-seeded Henman, the top seed remaining after the injury withdrawal of world No. 1 Roger Federer, dispatched of Frenchman Anthony Dupuis in straight sets, while the No. 4-seeded Nalbandian straight-setted Croat Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic. "There is everything to play for," Henman said. "I've got this week and the Masters Series in Paris, and if I can play well in those I'm going to qualify for the Masters Cup in Houston and that would be a great way to round off the year." Also into the second round was No. 6 Rainer "Shine" Schuettler (d. Nadal) and No. 7 Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu (d. (Q) Kratochvil), while Massu's No. 8-seeded Chilean countryman Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez was upset by qualifier Jerome "I've Beaten Agassi" Haehnel in straights, and Jiri Novak received a walkover against No. 5 Tommy "The R." Robredo (shoulder). Other un-seeds into the second round were Croat Ivan Ljubicic (d. Chela), South African (Q) Weslie Moodie (d. "You Say" Potito Starace), Swiss wildcard Marco Chiudinelli (d. Montanes), and rappin' American "My Cousin" Vinnie Spadea (d. Volandri, who retired in the second set with injury). On court Thursday in Basel are (LL) Ulihrach vs. (WC) Heuberger, Koubek vs. (3) Gaudio, (Q) Moodie vs. (2) Henman, (4) Nalbandian vs. Spadea, (WC) Chiudinelli vs. (6) Schuettler, Zabaleta vs. (7) Massu, and (Q) Haehnel vs. Ljubicic. |
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