Federer, Hewitt Make 2005 Debuts Monday; Hingis, Philippoussis Back on Dating Circuit

Posted on January 3, 2005

Federer Begins 2005 Campaign at ATP Doha

World No. 1 Roger Federer begins his 2005 campaign this week at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open in Doha, filling his pockets with some well-deserved appearance money after a sterling 2004 season that included wins at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Aside from enjoying the oil-rich hospitality in Qatar, the Swiss sees Doha as an opportunity to pad his large rankings lead over contenders/pretenders Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.

"If I perform well at the start of the new season, I will keep my top ranking," Federer said, "something that is very important to me now."

Federer enters Doha with a 17-match winning streak from 2004, and a 23-0 streak against Top 10 players stretching all the way back to 2003.

To come away with his first Doha title Federer will have to navigate a field laden with seeded obstacles and some unseeded spoilers. Joining the Swiss among the seeded are 2004 Masters Cup qualifier and French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, the back-from-injury Sebastien Grosjean, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, veteran Andrei Pavel, Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, Spanish lefty Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, and Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

Among the unseeded threats are a possible second-round match-up for Federer with Greg Rusedski, Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, former slam champions Al Costa and Thomas Johansson, and the former junior phenom Gael Monfils of France.

First-round match-ups to watch for are (7) F-Lo vs. Italian No. 1 Filippo Volandri, (8) Davydenko vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (4) Youzhny vs. The Prodigy, veteran Fabrice Santoro vs. T.Johansson, and (2) Gaudio vs. (WC) Monfils.

Four former No. 1s have won the Doha title in the 12 previous years the event has been held: Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Stefan Edberg (twice) and Marcelo Rios.

Santoro (2000) is the lone returning champion in the field. Czechs Martin Damm and Cyril Suk are the two-time defending doubles champions.

On tap for Monday at the Oil Open are Volandri vs. (7) F-Lo, (1) Federer vs. Ferrer, Hernych vs. Rusedski, in doubles Frenchmen (WC) Grosjean/Monfils vs. Spaniards Costa/The Prodigy, (6) Ljubicic vs. (Q) Wawrinka, Mahut vs. (Q) Vico, (Q) Stakhovsky vs. H.-T. Lee, and (WC) M.Lopez vs. Ulihrach.

Hewitt Looks to ATP Adelaide as Stepping Stone to Challenge Federer

Adelaide top seed Lleyton Hewitt has been fed five bagel sets in his last six consecutive losses to world No. 1 Roger Federer, but the Aussie sees the January Australian swing as an opportunity to challenge the Swiss, with a first potential meeting at the Australian Open.

"By Jan. 17 I want to be hitting my peak but I feel Adelaide and Sydney this year is going to give me great preparation for that," Hewitt said.

Hewitt is looking forward to his next meeting with Federer and an opportunity to end his losing streak.

"I can definitely beat him, yeah," Hewitt said. "But it's not going to be easy and I think I know as well as anyone, he's definitely the man to beat out there at the moment. There's no point worrying about him right at the moment. He's not playing here in Adelaide or Sydney and if I can get the No. 2 seeding I won't have to worry about him until I play a Sunday night final at the Aussie Open."

In Adelaide this week Hewitt needs to worry about fellow seeds Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson, Nicolas Kiefer, Juan Ignacio Chela, Taylor "Make a" Dent, Radek Stepanek, Florian "Oscar" Mayer, and Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer.

Opening-round matches of interest are (5) Dent vs. Robby Ginepri in an all-American Davis Cup "C"-squader, (4) Chela vs. fan favorite Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian, (8) Tuna Melzer vs. Czech comer Tomas "Yeah, I Beat Federer" Berdych, (3) Kiefer vs. veteran Sjeng Schalken, (7) Oscar Mayer vs. Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs, and an all-unseeded in Swedish veteran Thomas Enqvist vs. "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter.

Returning champions in Adelaide are Hewitt (2000,'98) and Enqvist (1999).

On court Monday are (WC) Baccanello vs. Saulnier, Enqvist vs. Sluiter, in doubles (WC)Hewitt/coach Roger Rasheed vs. Kerr/Thomas, (7) Mayer vs. Arthurs, Schalken vs. (3) Kiefer, Berdych vs. (8) Melzer, and O.Rochus vs. Dupuis.

Defending Champ Moya Top-seeded at ATP Chennai

Both 2004 finalists are back this year as the top two seeds at the 2005 Chennai Open, with Carlos Moya returning to the scene of the crime where he edged Asian favorite Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan 7-6 in the third set for the title.

"I face a qualifier in the first round which is dangerous because he would have already won two matches," Moya said of this week's draw. "Once I reach the quarterfinal it will be a different story. My form is very high. I'm still only 28 (years old) and I feel my best tennis is yet to come."

Moya and Srichaphan are joined by seeds Rainer "He's So 2003" Schuettler, Jonas "Don't Call Me a Doubles Specialist" Bjorkman, Kenneth Carlsen, Taipei riser Yen-Hsun Lu, Frenchman Gregory Carraz, and American Kevin "I'm Seeded?!?" Kim.

First-round matches of interest are (WC) Prakash "My Dad Was Good" Amritraj vs. Ivo "I Dated Hingis" Heuberger, (3) Schuettler vs. Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience, an all-American "C"-player meeting in Jan-Mike Gambill vs. Justin "Time" Gimelstob, (6) Lu vs. (WC) Leander Paes, and (2) The Thai Fighter vs. Christophe "The Roach" Rochus.

Returning champs in the field are Moya (2004) and Srichaphan (2003). Oft-feuding Indians Mahesh Bhupathi and Paes are competing in the Chennai doubles with different partners, but won the title together four times in 2002 and 1999-97.

On court Monday are (3) Schuettler vs. Patience, (WC) P.Amritraj vs. Heuberger, (6) Lu vs. (WC) Paes, Gambill vs. Gimelstob in an all-American, Ventura vs. Vliegen, Garcia vs. (7) Carraz, Mathieu vs. Tipsarevic, Vanek vs. Tabara in an all-Czech, and Garcia-Lopez vs. Van Scheppingen.

Down Under Goes Frazier at WTA Auckland

No. 26-ranked Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier leads a shaky seeded line-up at the ASB Classic in Auckland during the first week of play on the WTA Tour, joined by fellow seeds Jelena Jankovic, Eleni Daniilidou, Shinobu Asagoe, Marion Bartoli, Kristina Brandi, Maria Vento Kabchi, and Alina Jidkova.

Frazier faces friend and fellow American Laura Granville in the opening round in their first-ever tour encounter.

"She's a good friend of mine and we practice together so it's going to be a tough match," Frazier said. "It's the luck of the draw."

Other first-round match-ups of note are (7) Vento-Kabchi vs. Martina "Nurse, I Need a" Sucha, (8) Jidkova vs. Katarina "Robotnik" Srebotnik, and (5) Bartoli vs. Abigail "Britney" Spears.

Daniilidou is the two-time defending champion in Auckland. Mary Pierce pulled from the event with an undisclosed medical problem.

On tap Monday in Auckland are Bartoli vs. Spears, Joltin' Joe vs. Granville in an all-American, Sucha vs. Vento-Kabchi, Krasnoroutskaya vs. Kapros, Craybas vs. Mandula, Panova vs. Lee-Waters, and Domachowska vs. Perry.

Seeded Dechy Ousted on Day One at WTA Gold Coast

French No. 6 seed Nathalie Dechy was the first upset victim of the year Sunday at the WTA stop at Gold Coast, beaten in straight sets by Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta.

"I played against a really good opponent," said Dechy, who lost the first set in a tiebreak then rolled over 6-1 in the second. "I think she played a really great match. I wasn't able to raise my level of play as much as I wished."

No. 5 Silvia Farina Elia (d. Foretz) and No. 8 Maggie Maleeva (d. Fedak) held their seedings, and were joined in the second round by Czechs Iveta "Not Lose" Benesova (d. (WC) Welford) and Denisa "Hanging" Chladkova (d. Beltrame in three), and China's Na Li (d. Garbin).

The final round of qualifying was also completed, with four onto the big dance in Zi Yan (CHN), Camille Pin (FRA), Angela Haynes (USA), and Sesil "The Mouth" Karatantcheva.

On court Monday are Golovin vs. Yan, 15-year-old Bulgarian qualifier The Mouth vs. Camerin, Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem vs. Stosur, Jaslyn "Little Sis" Hewitt vs. Klara "Kouky" Koukalova, Razzano vs. Schnyder, Likhovtseva vs. Loit, and Pin vs. Barna.

X-NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
ESPN will not show the Australian Open men's final live in the U.S., instead opting to show it on tape Sunday at noon. Talk about starting 2005 on the wrong foot, why not show it live in the time slot AND later on tape? Too much poker to show at 3 a.m. EST?...The ATP Chennai event will auction items for the benefit of the Asian tsunami victims. IMG's senior International Vice President Ravi Krishnan said items to be auctioned would include a Sports Illustrated magazine signed by Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, the Fila Cup signed by Jennifer Capriati, a Wilson racket signed by Venus Williams, t-shirts signed by Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lleyton Hewitt, and autographed photos of Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert...Mary Pierce has pulled from Auckland for an undisclosed medical reason, believed to be her right shoulder that was bothering her at the end of 2004...Maria Sharapova donated $10,000 to the Asian tsunami victims...Roger Federer says he doesn't understand why players take drugs: "It doesn't make any sense to me, people taking drugs to play tennis. We all would like to see our sport remain clean. But there are reports of several substances being used by players. Some of them may be energy supplements, but being professionals, the players should know what to use and what not to use. It's hard to believe some of them who say that they didn't know what the substance was." Maybe they take drugs because they're not Roger Federer?...Jiri Novak says he will skip the Australian tournament swing for some family time...The ATP says it would donate its $25,000 fee for the Chennai tournament to UNICEF for tsunami aid. Jonas Bjorkman and Mahesh Bhupathi, the top-seeded doubles team at Chennai, said they will donate their prize money and urged other players to join them...Daniel Nestor on the ITF naming the Bryan brothers the Doubles Team of the Year ahead of the No. 1-ranked Canadian and partner Mark Knowles: "The ITF is heavily involved in (Davis Cup), the States made it to the final and the Bryans won all their matches. But the calibre of the teams they beat isn't as high as you'll find in the Grand Slams or Masters Series. Also, in Davis Cup, Mark and I play with partners who aren't competing at the highest-level tournaments. So it's unfair comparing us with the Bryans. It's upsetting, because we had a good year and felt we deserved our ranking. At the end of the year, we got a nice (year-end No. 1) trophy from the ATP and kind of a slap in the face from the ITF."...Martina Navratilova says her longevity in the game has nothing to do with the lack of depth in women's tennis: "I've been asked that question for the past five years and frankly I consider it an insult. Women's tennis is really strong and all I can say is I'm that damn good. I'm sorry but I really have to blow my own horn here -- I'm still that good. The ball doesn't know how old you are."...Lindsay Davenport has pulled from the Hopman Cup exhibition with tournament organizers giving no reason, and was replaced by Meghann Shaughnessy on the U.S. team...Brad Gilbert on getting sacked by Andy Roddick: "We'll know in year or two from now when we see what Andy's results are whether he made the right decision. He still has improvements to make and I thought I could help him with those. Whether he makes those with someone else only time will tell."...Lleyton Hewitt on how the Aussie Open needs to cater their surface to his game: "At the end of the day it's their [Tennis Australia's] tournament, it's the Australian Open's business how they want the court. But I know the US Open would definitely be going up to [Andy] Roddick, [Pete] Sampras and [Andre] Agassi and asking them what kind of surface they want and how quick they want it. If one of those guys are in the semi or the final then it's making the USTA a hell of a lot of money."...Pat Cash says the sticky ankle-turning Aussie Open surface is just fine as it is, but officials need to reach down and do a ball-check: "I think Rebound Ace is a great surface. It's a tough surface, but it is fair. One of the differences between the Australian Open and the US Open is that the US Open has faster balls. You just can't have slow balls and slow courts and it gets back to what's good for the game of tennis. Slow balls and slow courts do not produce good tennis. The balls at the Australian Open might be a problem."...From James McOnie of The New Zealand Times: "Let's get this out of the way first, shall we -- Anna Kournikova is not a bitch. She just doesn't have a lot of friends. Fellow Russian Alina Jidkova, in Auckland for this week's ASB Classic, should know. 'We grew up together. We had the same coach.' Having said that, they're not close. 'Nobody is a good mate with her,' says Jidkova. 'We say hi to each other. She's different. She can be nice and she can be not nice.'"...Venus Williams: "I think 2005 will be a great year for me. I feel very good and hit the balls very well. Last year was a challenge for me. I have learned a lot about myself."...Sebastien Grosjean is making his first tournament appearance this week in Doha since the 2004 US Open where he sustained a thigh injury that ended his season...Citizens, tournament officials and players at the ATP stop in Chennai are still reeling from the tsunami destruction, with more than 200 locals killed only minutes from the stadium on Marina beach. "I'm going to be playing this whole week for the cause of the Tsunami victims," said Leander Paes, who practiced as a junior in Chennai/Madrid. "I'll be playing for all those people who were tragically and unexpectedly killed at the very same Marina beach where I used to train four times a week as a boy. Needless to say, all the proceeds I earn this week will go towards them. I've always worked with children."...Vince Spadea speaking to Tennis Week about doing a rap CD: "I've done some samples. I was contracted to do this compilation CD that you heard about. To be honest with you, the people involved haven't informed me of the updated status. I know the project has been pushed back at least once and at this point I think it's under a 'pending' mark. Nothing is really finalized yet. I imagine a possibility of something happening late in 2005, but it's hard to quote me because nothing has been finalized. It's not moving too fast and I'm a little disappointed. I enjoy writing so I'm looking forward to some projects in music. I've actually written a sample chapter for a book and we have some publishers interested and it looks good."...Currently training in Florida, Justine Henin-Hardenne plans to make her 2005 debut next week in Sydney...When did Britain's junior development program come to hiring former American No. 1s to fly over to yell at the juniors as their main focus? Geez, just build some more courts or something, it's not like John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors have contributed to cranking out juniors in the States. Get a real plan, junior development is in proper training and competition staging, not dragging out senior tour players to call your juniors whussies...The Sunday Mirror reports that Martina Hingis has fallen for Arsenal and England defender Sol Campbell...The AP reports that Mark Philippoussis has a new girlfriend, American model and actress Alexis Barbara...Hey Reuters, the Hopman Cup is an exhibition event, stop reporting it like a tour event.