Russians Safin, Zvonareva Lose, Agassi-Haas Blockbuster Today
Posted on October 30, 2004
Safin Roughed Up in Russia at ATP St. PetersburgTop seed Marat Safin was sent tumbling out of the ATP stop in St. Petersburg Friday by No. 7-seeded Frenchman Michael Llodra, who roughed up the former No. 1 6-4, 6-1 in front of his homecountry fans.
"I feel really tired, I am coming from Madrid and I didn't have much time to rest," said Safin, who tanked the second set after an emotional meltdown in the first set. "Now, I am hoping to have as many days as possible to rest before Paris."
Also into the semifinals was No. 4-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny (d. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau 0-and-1), and un-seeds Karol Beck of the Slovak Republic (d. Saulnier) and resurgent Brit "Grinning" Greg Rusedski (d. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic).
Saturday's semifinal match-ups are (7) Llodra vs. Beck (Beck leads meeting 1-0), and (4) Youzhny vs. Grinning Greg (first meeting).
Henman Edged by Novak at ATP Basel
Tim Henman saw his chances get slimmer for qualifying at the year-ending Masters Cup in Houston when the No. 2-seeded Brit was edged 7-6(5), 7-5 Friday at the ATP stop in Basel by Czech Jiri Novak.
"It was a very close match," Novak said. "It was only the question of a couple of points. I was very lucky just beating him. I'm very happy to be through to the semifinals."
Another unseeded player into the semis was Austria's Stefan "Tony" Koubek (d. Ljubicic in three), with the foursome rounded out by seeds (7) Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu (d. (LL) Ulihrach) and (4) David Nalbandian (d. (6) Schuettler).
The semifinal line-up for Saturday will be Koubek vs. Novak (Novak leads career series 4-0), and (7) Massu vs. (4) Nalbandian (tied 1-1).
The doubles semis Saturday are (1) Knowles/Nestor vs. Arnold/Hood, and Ancic/Ljubicic vs. (2) Bryan/Bryan.
Agassi, Haas Into ATP Stockholm Semifinals
Top-seeded Andre Agassi (d. (8) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco) and (4) Tommy "The H." Haas (d. O.Rochus) won in straight sets Friday to set up a semifinal confrontation at the ATP stop in Stockholm.
"I appreciate the fact of being healthy," Haas said. "It was a tough 15-16 months. Now, I'm feeling comfortable with my game again. It always takes a few matches to get used to the circumstances. We all know what Agassi can do when he plays his best tennis."
Two unseeded Swedes also advanced into the semis in former Australian Open winner Tommy "The J." Johansson (d. (3) Pavel) and wildcard M. Ryderstedt (d. (2) Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson when J.J. retired with illness in the second set).
"I've had three surprising wins here," said the 19-year-old Ryderstedt. "The feeling after the match is completely different when someone retires. There weren't any long rallies so I couldn't tell that he wasn't feeling well."
Saturday's semifinal match-ups are (1) Agassi vs. (4) Haas (Agassi leads meetings 5-3), and (WC) Ryderstedt vs. T. Johansson (first meeting) in an all-Swedish.
Mauresmo Wins, Zvonareva Out at WTA Linz
Russian No. 4 seed Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva saw her chances of qualifying for the year-end WTA Championship dwindle Friday at the WTA stop in Linz when she was upset in the quarterfinals by Jelena Jankovic.
The other three semifinalists are all seeded in (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. (6) Sugiyama), and Russians (5) Nadia Petrova (d. Shaughnessy in three) and (9) Elena "Lena" Bovina (d. countrywoman Jidkova, who retired in the third with injury).
"I lost a bit of focus and concentration at the start of the second set, and Ai raised her level a little bit," said Mauresmo, who now has a 7-0 career record against Sugiyama. "I was able to come back, regroup and finish in a positive way."
Saturday's semifinals match up as (5) Petrova vs. (9) Bovina in an all-Russian (Petrova leads series 2-1), and (1) Mauresmo vs. Jankovic (first meeting).
Favorite Molik Through to WTA Luxembourg Semifinals
No. 2-seeded Aussie Alicia Molik kept her win streak alive Friday at the WTA stop in Luxembourg, moving into the semifinals with a difficult three-set win over talented teen and No. 6 seed Tatiana Golovin.
Joining the Aussie in the semis were No. 3 seed Silvia Farina Elia (d. (Q) Peschke 6-1 in the third), and un-seeds Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues (d. Ivanovic 6-1 in the third), and Russian Dinara "Little Sis" Safina (d. Randriantefy).
Saturday's match-up in the semifinals are Funky Cold vs. Safina (first meeting), and (3) Farina Elia vs. (2) Molik (Aussie leads 3-1).
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Guillermo Coria (recovering from shoulder surgery), Roger Federer (leg muscle tear) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (resting for Davis Cup final) have officially pulled from next week's Masters Series-Paris...Carlos Moya has qualified as the fifth player for the Masters Cup, leaving three open spots, with Guillermo Coria, Marat Safin, Tim Henman, Andre Agassi and David Nalbandian in contention. Moya clinched a spot when Agassi and Nalbandian were drawn in the same half yesterday for the Masters Series-Paris. Safin will qualify of he reaches the round of 16 in Paris, while Henman will qualify if he reaches the quarters. Already qualified are Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Gaston Gaudio...Cali-Russian Dmitry Tursunov is out until at least the end of the year with a back injury.