Injury, Illness Winners Entering Australian Open

Posted on January 14, 2005

Hewitt Only Seed Remaining in ATP Sydney Semis

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt’s path to the Sydney title became all the clearer Thursday as the three other seeded players were dismissed in quarterfinal play.

Hewitt defeated No. 7 seed and former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in straight sets, while upsets were performed by Belarusian Max “The Beast” Mirnyi (d. (8) Dent who retired in the first set with illness), Czech Radek Stepanek (d. (5) Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez), and another Czech in the unheralded Ivo Minar (d. (4) Pavel, coming from a set down).

"I really enjoy the stadium here," said Hewitt, trying to explain his 18 consecutive wins in Sydney. "I think it's a great centre court. It's a great atmosphere. I don't know if I can pinpoint one thing, though, that really sticks out, but I really enjoy coming back and playing this tournament every year."

Friday’s semifinals line up as (1) Hewitt vs. The Beast (Mirnyi leads career meetings 2-1), and an all Czech-mate in Minar vs. Stepanek (first meeting).

"It's never an easy match against Max," Hewitt said. "He's an awkward opponent. I've got to return well, pass well, move well, try to make him play a lot of balls out there."

The injury/illness parade continued in the Sydney doubles draw, with Tomas Berdych retiring with illness, and Leander Paes out with a foot injury.

Coria Ousted by Rochus at ATP Auckland

Guillermo “El Fragile” Coria’s comeback from shoulder surgery hit a snag Thursday at the ATP stop in Auckland where the Argentine was out-baselined 6-4, 6-4 by Olivier “The Roach” Rochus.

"I'm feeling really great, moving really great on court and I just hope it carries on," said the Belgian Rochus, who handed Coria the loss as a 23^rd birthday present. "I knew what I had to do today and it worked pretty well for me."

Czech qualifier Jan Hernych (d. Acasuso) was also a surprise semifinalist, joined by seeds (5) Fernando “Gonzo” Gonzalez (d. Ginepri) and (6) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. “You Say” Potito Starace).

Friday’s line-up in Auckland is (5) Gonzo vs. (6) Chela, and The Roach vs. (Q) Hernych.

Davenport, Petrova Succumb to Illness at WTA Sydney

No. 1 seed Lindsay Davenport withdrew from the WTA stop in Sydney Thursday with a case of bronchitis, with only a three-day recovery window before the beginning of the Australian Open.

“It’s just one of those things where my throat hurts, it's hard to breathe, it's hard to talk, I'm coughing and my body is just below average," Davenport said after her withdrawal, which gave a walkover into the semifinals for homecountry favorite Sam Stosur.

Also succumbing was Russian No. 5 seed Nadia Petrova, who retired trailing 6-3, 4-2 to Chinese qualifier Shunai Peng due to heat illness.

Fighting through the Australian heat were No. 3-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva (d. (7) Schnyder 6-1 in the third) and No. 6-seeded Aussie Alicia Molik (d. Zuluaga).

Friday’s semifinals line up as Stosur vs. (3) Dementieva (first meeting), and (6) Molik vs. Peng (first meeting).

Dulko vs Zheng in WTA Hobart Final

No. 2-seeded Gisela “Sgt.” Dulko defeated No. 3 Iveta “Play Betta” Benesova 7-5, 6-2 Thursday at the WTA stop in Hobart to advance the final of the Moorilla International.

In the final the 19-year-old Argentine will face unseeded Jie Zheng, who won the all-Chinese semifinal 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 against Na Li.

It will be the first career meeting between Dulko and Zheng.

Top-seeded Farina Elia Out, Injury Bug Bites Bartoli at WTA Canberra

Four unseeded players moved into the semifinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Canberra.

The Ukraine’s Yuliana Fedak ousted top seed Silvia Farina Elia in straight sets, while No. 4 Marion Bartoli was forced to retire against Serb qualifier Ana Ivanovic with a hamstring strain.

Hungarian lucky loser Melinda Czink continued to make the best of her good fortune with a straight-set win over German Marlene Weingartner, and American Lindsay Lee-Waters put Germany at 0-2 on the day with a straight-set win over Anca Barna.

On court in the Friday semifinals are Lee-Waters vs. Czink, and Fedak vs. Ivanovic.

NOTES

The Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG), just a forehand away from Laver Arena, will host a one-day match between Australia and the West Indies on Friday...Tickets and grounds passes are still available for the Australian Open. Fans can get a grounds pass for just $25 AUS (roughly $19 USD) which gets you access to all outside courts including Vodafone...The ATP General Player Meeting is Saturday night in Melbourne...Lleyton Hewitt on his top picks in Melbourne: "(Andy) Roddick is going to be in with a big shot; (Marat) Safin played extremely well at the end of the year, he's going to be tough to beat again; (Andre) Agassi, I don't know if you can ever count him out of the Australian Open; (David) Nalbandian, I wouldn't write him off, I've got a lot of time for him as a player; Carlos Moya is going to be tough to beat.”...Lindsay Davenport is added to the question-mark list for the Aussie Open with bronchitis, as is Nadia Petrova with conditioning problems and heat stroke, and Marion Bartoli with a pulled hammy...Serena Williams debuted a space-age outfit with boots Thursday in Melbourne in partnership with Nike, with the yellow and white ensemble making the former No. 1 look like an extra on the set of Barbarella...Mark Philippoussis officially pulled from the Aussie Open Thursday with a thigh injury. Look for the Scud to drop out of the Top 200, but maintain an injury-protection ranking around No. 100 for a bit.