Y-Man Longs for Good Old Days, Mattress Mac Works World Team Tennis Angle, Capriati Fills Injury Void with Porn Star
Posted on February 4, 2005
French Open Holder Gaudio Wins Opener at ATP Vina Del MarIt was business as usual Wednesday on the dirt in Vina del Mar, Chile, with all four seeds in action advancing, led by French Open winner and No. 1 seed Gaston Gaudio, who eased past Jiri Vanek in straight sets.
Also winning his tournament opener was No. 7 seed Agustin Calleri, who edged qualifier Federico Luzzi in three.
Winning second round matches and advancing into the quarterfinals were (3) Filippo Volandri (d. Mathieu), (4) David Ferrer (d. Puerta 2-and-0), and Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (d. Mantilla) winning the unseeded all-Spanish battle.
"The score doesn't reflect the match at all," Ferrer said after pasting Puerta. "Although I won 6-2, 6-0, it has been difficult. A lot of long games, I think I was a little lucky as well, which helped me a lot."
Scheduled for Thursday on the dirt are Flavio "Of the Day" Saretta vs. (6) Acasuso, (1) Gaudio vs. D.Sanchez, (5) Zabaleta vs. Ventura, and Almagro vs. (2) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez.
Seeds Pavel, Soderling Squeak Through at ATP Milan
Top-seeded Andrei Pavel (d. Carraz 7-6 in the third) and No. 5 Robin Soderling (d. Clement in three) struggled through to the second round Wednesday at the ATP stop in Milan, trying to take advantage of a field devoid of Top 10-ranked players.
Pavel survived 33 aces dropped by the Frenchman, who also kicked in 12 doubles faults.
Having an easier time were seeds (2) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Ivo "I Dated Hingis" Heuberger) and (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. Italian local Aldi), joined by unseeded winners Tomas Behrend of Germany (d. Andreev in three), Dutch veteran Sjeng Schalken (d. Bjorkman), Luxembourg's Gilles Muller (d. Llodra), and Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. (LL) Mackin 7-6 in the third, saving a match point).
On tap for Thursday are (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. (Q) Stakhovsky, (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils vs. (5) Soderling, (6) Rainer "Shine" Schuettler vs. Schalken, (1) Pavel vs. Behrend, (7) Beck vs. (WC) Seppi, and Muller vs. (8) The Beast.
Spadea, Malisse Edge Into Quarters at ATP Delray Beach
Defending finalist and top seed Vince Spadea (d. (Q) Gabashvili) and No. 3 Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. Guzman) both outlasted opponents in three sets Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals at the ATP stop in Delray Beach.
"When you play someone you've never seen play its always going to be a difficult start," said Spadea, who weathered a rain delay in the third set of his match against the Russian qualifier. "He's going for broke. He's young and eager and talented as well."
Also into the quarters on the hardcourts was hot-handed No. 8 seed Kevin Kim (d. (WC) American countryman Widom). Lucky loser Raemon Delgado lead (Q) Peng Sun 6-7(6), 6-1, 2-0 when play was suspended for the night by rain.
Scheduled for Thursday in Florida are defending champ (5) Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. Moodie, (7) Carlsen vs. (Q) Vahaly, Kohlschreiber vs. (2) Novak, Peter "Nuclear" Wessels vs. the newly-confident Jan-Mike Gambill, (Q) Sun vs. (LL) Delgado (to finish), and in an all-American wayback-machine doubles, former French Open champs (WC) the Jensen brothers vs. (WC) Kendrick/Merklein.
Davenport, Russians Into Quarterfinals at WTA Tokyo
All four seeds in action advanced into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Tokyo, led by world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport who took out local hope Saori Obata 6-4, 6-3.
"To be honest, I still felt a little worn down," said Davenport, coming from the Australian Open final in singles and doubles. "A grand slam final is the toughest loss to get over. I probably had the biggest lapse of my career and it's going to take a few weeks to get it out of my system."
Other seeded winners were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. Morigami), (6) Elena Likhovtseva (d. Craybas in three), and (8) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Kirilenko, coming from a set down).
Japan's unseeded Shinobu Asagoe thrilled the Tokyo crowd by gaining the quarters with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci, joined by another un-seed in Czech Iveta "Not Lose to a Wildcard" Benesova (d. (WC) Nakamura in three).
In doubles the unseeded team of Americans Davenport and Corina Morariu, runner-ups at last week's Australian Open, crushed top seeds Cara Black/Liezel Huber 6-1, 6-3.
Friday's quarterfinals in Tokyo line up as Likhovtseva vs. Sharapova in an all-Russian, Asagoe vs. Dementieva, Davenport vs. Benesova, and Kuznetsova vs. Hantuchova.
Seeds Struggle Through Thursday at WTA Pattaya City
Top-seeded Russian Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva breezed past Germany's Anca Barna 6-2, 6-3 Thursday at the WTA stop in Pattaya City while her fellow seeds struggled to reach the quarterfinals at the Tier IV stop in Thailand.
No. 3 Conchita Martinez fought past Croatian Silvija Talaja 7-5 in the third, while No. 8 Virginia Ruano Pascual rebounded from a 6-1 defeat in the first set to prevail 6-4 in the third against Marlene Weingartner, who earlier in the week ended Martina Hingis' comeback bid.
Unseeded Israeli Shahar Peer also moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Akgul Amanmuradova.
Match-ups for the Friday quarterfinals will be Zvonareva vs. Linetskaya in an all-Russian, Martinez vs. Peer, Groenefeld vs. Bondarenko, and Ruano Pascual vs. Serna.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Former No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, longing for the days of the old Soviet hammer and sickle, says Mother Russia needs to curtail its junior program which is losing players to American colleges: "The Australian Open success of Marat Safin and his high world ratings is not the reason for Russian tennis officials to be off guard. They should think of who is going to represent the Russian team at the Davis Cup and other major competitions. Unfortunately, many young talented players who started training on our courts later go abroad, especially to American colleges. We lose sight of many talents. I was lucky in my young days because I had an opportunity to use everything, which the sport organization, including the tennis (federation), could offer in the country at that time. As a member of the Soviet youth team, I was entitled to a free court, inventory, the assistance of a coach and foreign sport trips." And a free loaf of bread and a space heater for your apartment...Marion "Roly Poly" Bartoli retired from the WTA Pattaya City event Wednesday with a severe abdominal illness, taken from the court in a wheelchair, while Jelena Dokic's 2005 debut went south when a groin strain forced her to retire...Feb. 21 is the deadline to sign up for the WTA's Whirlpool Fantasy Tennis...Word is that Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale has secured a World Team Tennis franchise for Houston, which will feature -- drumroll please -- Mrs. Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf. Payback from Andre for blowing off the Masters Cup alternate position in Houston last November at Mattress Mac's event? Get ready for the Mr. vs. Mrs. Agassi confrontation when Houston faces Sacremento during the WTT season...Greg Rusedski on playing Davis Cup, even with Tim Henman bailing on the squad: "I realized that I still enjoy Davis Cup and it's something I've always been passionate about. I like playing in a team. I've got many fond memories and many times when I've played well in Davis Cup it's really helped my game. I've been working with a lot of the youngsters and it made me think that I still want to be part of this team and I still want to help out as much as I can. In the end it was an easy decision. My body feels really good, better than it's ever felt, and you can still fit Davis Cup in without it affecting any of the major championships. I don't see a problem at all." "Grinning" Greg, the Brit patriot -- that's a backhanded slap to you Tim, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, and others bailing on Davis Cup duties...Wow, that Martina Hingis comeback was a thriller, we'll have to do that again sometime -- way to compete. Hopefully Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne or Anna Kournikova can put forth a better effort later this year...You really can't beat this clip from SPORTSbyBROOKS: "TennisReporters.net reports that Jennifer Capriati is apparently dating a porn star named Dale DeBone. A source told the website that 'indeed the two are dating,' but did not reveal how they met. Some of DeBone's *credits* include: 'Analgeddon #2,' 'Ass Freaks #2,' 'Anal Driller #4,' and the artistic triumph, 'I Cream On Genie.'" Thank you Jen, things were getting a little post-Aussie Open dull around here, the check is in the mail as always...Boris Becker has signed on with sports management firm IMG...Serena Williams celebrated her Aussie Open win by visiting Thailand, staying at the Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin.