Hingis, Dokic Dumped; McEnroe, Roddick Seek to Reel in Agassi for Davis Cup

Six Seed Acasuso Saves Match Point to Advance at ATP Vina Del Mar

A dicey day on the dirt at the ATP stop in Vina del Mar saw the No. 2 seed survive in three sets, the No. 6 seed save a match point, and the No. 8 seed sent back to the hotel.

No. 6 Jose Acasuso saved a match point before advancing to the second round Tuesday with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory over Frenchman Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience.

"It was a very tough match, especially after the first set," Acasuso said. "I had to fight a lot and I am very happy I was able to win in the end. He is a great player, I knew him from before. We played another long and difficult match last year in Buenos Aires."

No. 8 seed "You Say" Potito Starace was the only seeded victim, steamrolled by Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

Other seeded winners were (2) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez (d. (Q) Luczak in three), (4) Dave Ferrer (d. (Q) Portas), and (7) Agustin Calleri (d. Calatrava).

Un-seeds into the second round were Spain's Dave Sanchez (d. countryman Montanes in three), Italian qualifier Federico Luzzi (d. Tipsarevic, bagel in the second), Spaniard Felix Mantilla (d. Chilean homeslice Garcia, who retired with a leg injury), Argentinean veteran Mariano Puerta (d. countryman Juan "The Principality" Monaco in a three-set grinder), and Spain's Santiago Ventura (d. (Q) Harboe in three).

Scheduled for Wednesday on the dirt are (1) Gaudio vs. Vanek, (4) Ferrer vs. Puerta, (3) Volandri vs. Mathieu, (7) Calleri vs. (Q) Luzzi, and Mantilla vs. Ramirez Hidalgo in an all-ESP.

Novak Wins, Gambill Ousts Saulnier at ATP Delray Beach

No. 2 seed Jiri Novak eased past former NCAA winner Amer Delic Tuesday, but the big story was struggling American Jan-Mike Gambill actually putting a "W" on the board against a seeded player, utilizing a one-handed forehand to defeat No. 4 Cyril Saulnier in three sets.

"I'm trying to change a few things in my game," Gambill said. "Using the one-handed forehand is a large step for me. A step that really could bring my game to a new height."

Which would be a short climb for the No. 103-ranked Gambill.

James Blake's return from injury continued its slow liftoff Tuesday with a three-set loss to 19-year-old Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili.

"It feels great," Gabashvili said. "First, because I won my first tour match. Secondly, that I beat a famous guy like James Blake. I was just trying to keep my game quiet, don't go fast."

Other un-seeds into the second round were Paraguayan lucky loser Ramon Delgado (d. Glenn "I.C." Weiner), American qualifier Brian Vahaly (d. countryman Kendrick), South Africa's Wesley Moodie (d. Salzenstein), Peter "Nuclear" Wessels (d. Van Scheppingen in an all-Dutch match-up), and Argentine Juan-Pablo Guzman (d. Karanusic in three).

Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze pulled out of the event Tuesday with injury.

On tap for Wednesday in Delray are (WC) Widom vs. (8) Kim in an all-American, (3) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. Guzman, (1) Spadea vs. (Q) Gabashvili, and (Q) Sun vs. (LL) Delgado.

Ancic, Seeds Cruise Tuesday at ATP Milan

All three seeds in action advanced into the second round Tuesday at the ATP stop in Milan in (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (d. Ulihrach), (4) Radek Stepanek (d. Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali), and (6) Rainer "Shine" Schuettler (d. Sanguinetti in three).

Four un-seeds also moved into round two in Italy's (WC) Andreas Seppi (d. countryman (Q) Vico), the Ukraine's Sergiy "Stakhouse" Stakhovsky (d. Cristophe "The Roach" Rochus), and Swiss Ivo Heuberger (d. Galimberti 7-6 in the third).

Scheduled for Wednesday in the fashion capital are (1) Pavel vs. Carraz, Bjorkman vs. Schalken in an all-veteran, Clement vs. (5) Soderling, Aldi vs. (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Andreev vs. Behrend, Muller vs. Llodra, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic vs. Fabrice "The Original El Mago" Santoro, and Ivo "Yes, I Dated Hingis" Heuberger vs. (2) Ljubicic.

Russians Sharapova, Kuznetsova Win Through at WTA Tokyo

Current slam title holders Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia led the winners Wednesday at the WTA stop in Tokyo, moving into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins.

"It took a while to find my groove and rhythm," said the No. 2-seeded Sharapova after defeating Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi 7-6(3), 6-0. "I just needed time after coming from the Australian Open but I picked up my level in the second set."

The No. 3-seeded Kuznetsova overwhelmed Swiss qualifier Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian 6-3, 6-1.

Japan had a good day on the unseeded side with winners (WC) Aiko Nakamura (d. countrywoman (Q) Fuda in three) and Akiko Morigami (d. Sanchez Lorenzo), with American Jill Craybas (d. Panova in three) also posting a win in first-round play.

Thursday's match-ups in Tokyo are Vinci vs. Asagoe, Morigami vs. Dementieva, Davenport vs. Obata, Kirilenko vs. Hantuchova, Likhovtseva vs. Craybas, and Nakamura vs. Benesova.

Zvonareva Wins, Hingis a Bust at WTA Pattaya City

WTA Championships qualifier and top seed Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva (d. Salerni) and former Wimbledon champion and No. 3 seed Conchita Martinez (d. Uberoi in three) led the advance into the second round Tuesday at the WTA stop in Pattaya City.

No. 8 Virginia Ruano Pascual (d. Obziler) was the other seeded winner on the day, while No. 6-seeded Marta Domachowska was beaten in straight sets by Shahar "You're Not My" Peer.

The comeback of former No. 1 Martina Hingis quickly became a bust when the Swiss rolled to a 6-1, 2-1, 40-0 lead over Germany's Mariene Weingartner before her fitness gave in to a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 loss.

"I've never had plans further than this step. Maybe I'll play some exhibitions," Hingis said. "That's my plan at the moment. At this point I have no plans to play any more tournaments."

Other un-seeds advancing were Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova (d. Ant. Serra "Nevada" Zanetti), German Anca Barna (d. Perebiynis in three), Russian Galina Voskoboeva (d. Fedak), and Croat Sivija Talaja (d. Bachmann).

Results in from early Wednesday included winners (7) Anna Lena Groenefeld (d. Voskoboeva), Magui Serna (d. (2) Bartoli who retired with injury), Alyona Bondarenko (d. Dokic who retired with injury), and Evgenia Linetskaya (d. Santangelo in three).

Scheduled for Thursday in P.C. are Asagoe vs. Vinci, Morigami vs. Dementieva, Davenport vs. Obata, Kirilenko vs. Hantuchova, Likhovtseva vs. Craybas, and Nakamura vs. Benesova.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Tennis Canada announced the appointments of Martin Laurendeau as Davis Cup Captain and Jon Sorbo (who is also the coach of Canuck No. 1 Frank "You Can" Dancevic) as Davis Cup Coach; both are former ATP players...Jelena Dokic has taken a wildcard into the WTA event at Hyderabad, India, but is now a question mark after retiring in Pattaya City...Andy Roddick on Andre Agassi playing Davis Cup for the U.S.: "The last thing I'm going to do, as a fellow player, is grill Andre all the time about it. But, you know, I have talked to him. We have discussed it. I've let him know that I'm a hundred percent supportive, if he wants to join us. You know, I definitely want him on the team. I think he gives us a great chance. You know, obviously selfishly I'd love to be around him and learn, be in that close contact with him for a week. But beyond that, I don't know how much I can do. I mean, I've made it known that I respect him, he's a good friend, and I'd love to have him around. But at the same time I don't want him to feel like I'm pressuring him into anything. That's not my place. I think those conversations are between the captain (Patrick McEnroe) and Andre."...Does anyone really care if Andre Agassi plays a one-off or maybe two rounds of Davis Cup suddenly in 2005 before retiring? Where was the love when he was really needed, in the final against Spain helping the clay-challenged U.S. team? No real need for help in the D-Cup early rounds on hardcourts, eh?...The Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova Aussie Open semifinal was ESPN2's most-watched tennis telecast ever...Greg Rusedski says he will play Davis Cup for Britain versus Israel next month...South Africa has named the retired Wayne Ferreira to their Davis Cup squad to play Germany in March. Ferreira has not played competitively since September. "I'm looking at every avenue open to me to beat the Germans and Wayne can play at that level," said S.A. D-Cup captain Kevin Curren. "Wayne is very interested in continuing to play and although he admits he does not train as hard, he is still hitting the ball well and he is very keen to remain close to the SA Davis Cup team. As far as I am aware the Germans are expected to name a full strength team, and as Wayne has played both Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer many times, his input to the balance of the team will be invaluable." One of South Africa's all-time best Davis Cup players, Bob Hewitt, ripped the decision while lobbying for the captain's job himself: "Are we just trying to achieve a victory over Germany? Then what happens when we go out and play our next match? Is Wayne going to play then? If I were captain I might also consider it in the short term but we should be looking ahead of this tie. I would rather chuck our guys into the deep end and say, 'Hey guys, swim'. We need to give our players the experience of playing Davis Cup under a good captain. Maybe we should consolidate ourselves in Group One and build a new team. Wayne's retirement is tough but we just have to suffer and move on. And if Wayne is not match fit, then I would have to say that Davis Cup is not a good time to get in your match practice."...Sports commentator John Feinstein summing up the Australian Open on NPR radio says Alicia Molik was unseeded at the Australian Open? Ouch, that is a part-time tennis-covering gap you could drive a truck through...Tennis remains big on the web after the Australian Open as of Tuesday, with the Yahoo! Search Top 20 Sports Leaders including Marat Safin (at No. 7), Serena Williams (8), Maria Sharapova (9), and of course Anna Kournikova (16)...You've got to think former No. 2 Alex Corretja, ranked outside the Top 125, denied entry into the big events (unless wildcarded), no longer a factor on the Spanish Davis Cup team and losing to unhearalded countrymen even on clay, will hang it up before December, maybe at the French? That was a solid run-on sentence...According to Reuters, tennis fans could soon send messages to players via screens on court if plans by WTA sponsor Sony Ericsson come to fruition. "We're looking at being able to send SMS messages to screens on court," Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint told Reuters. "It's also feasible to put tennis games and the promotion of the players into phones."...Not a good sign that Maria Sharapova has bailed on her No. 1 ambitions. The Russian, who has always touted he goal of rising to the top no matter what, now says she'll be content if she can just win another Wimbledon title: "Being No. 1 is not for this year, I don't think," Sharapova told Reuters. "For this year, I would love to defend Wimbledon. It's what drives me. My main goal is to be No. 1 in the world of course. But if it's not tomorrow, or not in a year then, you know, if it will happen it will happen -- if not, whatever." Whatever -- where's the mall in this city? Where's my personal assistant? Do we have any cover shoots set up today?...Russian Elena Dementieva has pulled out of the WTA Antwerp event as retaliation for being fingered by a Belgian sports minister for a potential doping violation during the Australian Open.