Roddick Gets Over Henman Hump; Federer-Hewitt US Open Final Rematch Today

Posted on November 17, 2004

Roddick, Hewitt, Safin Start Sharp at ATP Masters Cup

No. 2 seed Andy Roddick opened with a win Tuesday at the Masters Cup, turning around a two-match losing streak against Tim Henman in edging the Brit 7-5, 7-6(6), coming back from 2-5 down in the second-set tiebreak.

"I don't feel like I served that well," said Roddick, who made a concerted effort to take the net away from Henman. "I don't feel like I hit my forehand that well. I felt like I moved great and volleyed great, so especially an atypical match for me. But I felt like I competed well. I felt really fresh out there."

Roddick, last year's No. 1-ranked finisher, is in a tight race for the year-end No. 2 ranking this year with Lleyton Hewitt, who kept himself in good stead in the opposite round robin group. The tenacious Aussie came back from a set down Tuesday to defeat Carlos Moya 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in his opener in Houston.

Hewitt screamed himself into contention after dropping the opening set, throwing down 15 aces over three sets against the rusty Spaniard. Moya, coming off a shoulder injury that limited his play during the European indoor season, says the wing feels good but now he needs to get match-tough.

"I'm playing well, like I did the first half of the year," Moya said. "I need to play more than one match, play some good matches to believe in myself like I did at the start of the year."

Marat Safin also made a 1-0 start Tuesday, rolling past Argentine Guillermo Coria and his surgically-repaired shoulder 6-1, 6-4.

"He couldn't really serve hard. He wasn't at his best," Safin said. "This kind of serve, it's difficult to achieve anything here. Maybe he has no confidence and is a little bit scared of his injury."

Coria, who had not played a match since losing first round at the Masters Series-Canada in July, said the shoulder feels fine but and now the problem is mental.

"I didn't play well the first set. I was a little bit scared of my arm," Coria said. "That didn't allow me to be as focused as I should have been. I loosened up in the second set. I didn't feel anything bad with my arm."

Scheduled for Wednesday are Moya vs. Gaudio in a meeting of French Open winners (career series tied 2-2), and Federer vs. Hewitt (Hewitt leads 7-6, but Fed has won the last four).

Knowles/Nestor Into Semis at ATP Masters Cup Doubles

Top seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor moved into the semifinals Tuesday at the ATP Masters Cup Doubles for the second consecutive year, coming back from a set down to defeat Zimbabwe's Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7).

The Bahamian/Canadian duo saved three match points in the third-set breaker, and snapped a four-match losing streak against Black/Ullyett. Knowles/Nestor have already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the second time in three years.

Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge, already guaranteed a place in the semifinals, also had to come back from a set down to defeat Gaston Etlis/Martin Rodriguez 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), eliminating the Argentines from the semifinals. Bjorkman and Woodbridge missed the semifinals last year after failing to convert two match points against Bob and Mike Bryan in round-robin play.

The Belgian duo of Xavier "X-Man" Malisse and Olivier "The Roach" Rochus kept their semifinals hopes alive, eliminating bounced Czechs Martin Damm and Cyril Suk 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The match between the Bryan brothers and Mahesh Bhupathi/Max "The Beast" Mirnyi was stopped at 5-4 and will be continued Wednesday.

Scheduled for today are Bryan/Bryan vs. Bhupathi/Beast (to finish), Black/Ullyett vs. Malisse/Rochus with the winner into the semifinals, and Knowles/Nestor vs. Damm/Suk.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Another take through the looking glass with Serena-Vision (c), Serena Williams' unique view of the world, this time last week at the WTA Championships: "I think I am suffering from Mary Kate Olsen syndrome," said Serena, riffing on eating disorders. "You know, cappucchino in the morning, frappucchino for lunch, cappuccino for dinner. I get so that I forget to eat. And I don't like to eat. I had no energy because I hadn't been eating. So when I got out there, I just got dizzy and had all kinds of headaches. So I have been forcing myself to eat."...For 2005 the Masters Series-Indian Wells will go to a "Super Saturday" format with the men's semifinals and the women's final on Saturday, and a best-of-five men's final on Sunday...Maria Sharapova climbed from 6 to a career-high No. 4 with her WTA Championships title...GlaxoSmithKline will make some cash next year as the official supplier of non-doped sports supplements to players on the ATP, with products including Lucozade Sport orange and lemon body fuel drink mix, Lucozade Sport Hydrate Performance drink mix, Lucozade Sport Recovery drink mix, Lucozade Sport carbo gel and Lucozade Sport energy bar. Lucozade, sounds delicious...While the ATP and the Masters Series organizers hammer out how to get the players to play the top events in meetings in Houston, what is MS-Miami chairman Butch Buchholz doing with the secret invite-only meeting with some of the bigwigs on the side? Brainstorming on how to get another American ATP CEO next year? Getting set for a tour takeover? Just getting together for pizza?...WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott on putting jail-bait 17-year-old Maria Sharapova on billboards with captions speaking to how hot she is: "They were respectful and tasteful. I was surprised for any questions to be raised."