Hewitt Shows His Best, Serena Worst dressedPosted on January 13, 2005
Big-serving Swede Joachim “The Jackhammer” Johansson saw his Australian Open hopes dim Wednesday at the ATP stop in "I tried to go out there today for a few games but I felt I couldn't give 100 per cent," Johansson said. "At this level, there's no way now you can win a match (with an injury)." Johansson said he was not too familiar with the injury, and didn’t know if he could recover in time for next week’s Australian Open. The No. 3 Johansson was the only seeded upset on the day, with seeded winners (1) Lleyton Hewitt (d. (Q) Clement), (4) Andrei Pavel (d. Nieminen), (5) Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez (d. Llodra 7-6 in the third), (7) Thomas “Tommy the J.” Johansson (d. (WC) Arthurs in two tiebreaks), and (8) Taylor Dent (d. Fish). Other unseeded winners into the quarterfinals Wednesday were Czechs Radek Stepanek (d. Andreev in three) and qualifier Ivo Minar (d. Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco). The hot Australian conditions are forecasted to get even more unbearable as the week goes on in "This is what you expect in the Australian summer," Hewitt said. "It's pretty enjoyable to play out there for myself. I know I've done all the hard work, I've prepared as well as possible." On court Thursday in quarterfinal play at Defending Champ Hrbaty, Spadea Dumped, Coria Survives at ATP No. 3 seed and defending champion Dominik “The Dominator” Hrbaty (l. to Acasuso) and No. 4 Vince Spadea (l. to American countryman Robby “Baby Courier” Ginepri) were ousted in second-round action Wednesday at the ATP stop in "I wasn't nervous but inside I wasn't perfect," Hrbaty said. "I don't know if I had a bad sleep or bad preparation but I didn't feel comfortable out there. I gave it everything but this time it wasn't my day." Ginepri turned the match with Spadea by breaking in the 11th game of the first set which had a number of deuces. "That game felt like it would never end," Ginepri told the AP. "I tried to mix the game up a bit with a few lobs. Anytime you can deaden your opponent's legs it's good." Seeded winners into the quarterfinals were (1) Guillermo “El Fragile” Coria (d. Saulnier 7-6 in the third), (5) Fernando “Gonzo” Gonzalez (d. Zabaleta), and (6) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Ricardo Mello “Yello”). Other un-seeds working their way into the quarters Wednesday were On court Thursday are El Fragile vs. The Roach, Gonzo vs. Baby Courier, Chela vs. Starace, and Acasuso vs. Hernych. Molik, Stosur Lead Aussie Charge at WTA No. 6 seed Alicia Molik (d. Jankovic) and wildcard Sam Stosur (d. Tatiana “Hot Pants” Golovin in three) gave the home crowd something to cheer about Wednesday at the WTA stop in Other seeded winners on the day were (3) Elena Demnetieva (d. Daniilidou in three), (5) Nadia Petrova (d. Hantuchova 0-and-2), and (7) Patty Schnyder (d. Maleeva). On tap for Thursday’s quarterfinals are Dementieva vs. Schnyder, Molik vs. Zuluaga, Chinese Invade Semifinals at WTA Unseeded Chinese Na Li (d. Domachowska in three) and Jie Zheng (d. (8) Klara “Kouky” Koukalova, coming from a set down) gave gutsy performances Wednesday at the WTA stop in Joining them were seeds (2) Gisela “Sgt.” Dulko (d. Peschke, coming from a set down) and (3) Iveta “Reach the Final” Benesova (d. the 15-year-old Vaidisova, also coming from a set down). Thursday’s semifinals will feature an all-Chinese in Li vs. Zheng, and (2) Dulko vs. (3) Benesova. Smashnova Bashed by Czink at WTA No. 2 seed Anna Smashnova was routed 6-2, 6-1 by lucky loser Melinda Czink of Other players into the quarterfinals were (1) Silvia Farina Elia (d. Groenefeld), (4) Marion Bartoli (d. Krajicek), the Thursday’s QF match-ups are Weingartner vs. Czink, Barna vs. Lee-Waters, Bartoli vs. Ivanovic, and Farina Elia vs. Fedak. TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS Andre Agassi has dropped almost 15 pounds from his 2004 playing weight: "When you've hit thousands of balls a day for 30-plus years you're not convinced you are ever going to really learn to hit the ball better, but you can become a better athlete. You can move better, you can get fitter -- I believe those are things that make you a better tennis player. It's not about hitting the ball harder, it's about hitting your normal shot easier and that's what I believe being stronger offers you. You can do everything you've always done, you just do it with more margin for error, it means you can do it for longer."...Taylor Dent on Davis Cup and his Australian heritage: “It’s a shame that I couldn't play Davis Cup for Australia; it was one of my dreams when I was a kid, but just the way I grew up in the States, playing tennis in the States...they did so much for my tennis that it really would have been kicking dirt in their eyes to go and play Davis Cup for Australia. I'd love to play Davis Cup for |
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Johansson Out with Injury, Hewitt Wins at ATP