Malisse Tries to Break 0-6 Mark in Finals After Spadea Melts Down at ATP Delray Beach; Sharpova Beats Injured Davenport for WTA Tokyo Title

Posted on February 6, 2005

Stepanek Seeks First Title Against Soderling in ATP Milan Final

No. 4 seed Radek Stepanek and No. 5 seed Robin Soderling will face off for the ATP Milan title Sunday after each posted Saturday semifinal wins on the Italian hardcourts.

The Czech Stepanek upset No. 2 seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-2, with the Swede Soderling coming from a set down to defeat No. 8 seed Max "The Beast" Mirnyi 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

"I took away the strongest part of his game today, the serve, by returning very well," Stepanek said of overturning the big serve of the Croatian Ljubicic. "I controlled the match from the very first break. I am happy to have had an easy match today."

Stepanek is attempting his first career title in his second final, losing last year in the Masters Series-Paris championship to Marat Safin.

The 20-year-old Soderling is looking to become the third Swedish champion in Milan after Bjorn Borg (1978) and Stefan Edberg (1984). The Swede is 1-2 in career finals.

It will be the first career meeting between Stepanek and Soderling.

Malisse Attempts to Break Title Jinx in ATP Delray Beach Final

No. 3 seed Xavier "X-Man" Malisse upset top seed Vince Spadea 7-5, 6-4 Saturday at the ATP stop in Delray Beach, setting up another opportunity to break his active-player-worst record of 0-6 in career tournament finals.

"I lost the match -- big deal!" Spadea said after the loss, trying not to melt down in his post-match conference after again failing to win his near-hometown title. "I'm disappointed that I lost the match, but it doesn't have any more effect that it's here or in China. What's the difference? It's an ATP event. I'm trying to play my best and win titles."

Spadea lost in last year's final to unseeded Ricardo Mello "Yello."

In the final the Belgian X-Man will face No. 2 seed Jiri Novak, who defeated unseeded South African Weslie Moodie 6-3, 6-3.

"I think I was playing solid tennis today and I was holding my serve really well," Novak said. "He didn't have a break point during the whole match. Let's say I was better on the court today."

Novak has won four of his five meetings with the Belgian, losing their most recent at 2004 Wimbledon.

The doubles final will be (1) Aspelin/Perry vs. (4) Kerr/Thomas.

Top Two Gaudio, Gonzalez in ATP Vina del Mar Final

Top seeds Gaston Gaudio and Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez fought through three-set encounters Saturday to gain the final at the ATP claycourt stop in Vina del Mar, Chile.

The top-seeded Gaudio outlasted No. 4-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, while homecountry favorite and No. 2 seed Gonzalez defeated No. 3 Filippo Volandri 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

"I am feeling a bit better and getting used to the clay," Gaudio said. "I had not played on it for almost three months, my game needed sometime to adjust."

Gaudio won his only meeting with Gonzo in 2002 on hardcourts at the Masters Series-Indian Wells.

"Gaston is a very dangerous player, we all know that, but I have to focus only on my game and I always try to do so," Gonzalez said. "The crowd will be with me and that's an advantage here in Chile."

In the doubles final Saturday, unseeded Spaniards Dave Ferrer/Santiago Ventura ousted top-seeded Argentines Gaston Etlis/Martin Rodriguez 6-3, 6-4.

Sharapova Beats Injured Davenport for WTA Tokyo Title

Even with a pulled hamstring, world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport almost got the steal Sunday in the final of the WTA stop in Tokyo, losing in a third-set tiebreak to Maria Sharapova, who collected her first title of 2005.

Davenport played with a heavily-taped thigh after pulling the muscle in practice, with her mobility so limited in the opening set it appeared she might retire.

"In the first set I looked at my coach (Adam Peterson) and he told me to stop," Davenport said. "I took the time-out to get more support for my leg but I realized at that point that it was going to hurt. I started to go for my shots but I didn't expect it to stay that close."

Sharapova will rise from 4 to a career-high No. 3 on the WTA Tour Rankings, and improved her career record versus the American to 2-0.

"I had belief in myself," Sharapova said. "I don't want to set a timetable for myself to be No. 1. My job's just to go out and perform."

For the second consecutive event Davenport lost in both the singles and doubles finals, again teaming with countrywoman and good friend Corine Morariu, coming up short 6-4, 6-3 to the No. 2-seeded Slovak/Russian team of Janette Husarova/Elena Likhovtseva.

Martinez Ends Title Drought at WTA Pattaya City

Former Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez thought she might never raise another trophy after going 0-4 in finals since her last win at 2000 Berlin.

Sunday in the WTA Pattaya City final the No. 3-seeded Spaniard got the monkey off her back, fighting gamely in defeating teenager and No. 7 seed Anna Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

"It feels really good," Martinez said. "To come through like that in an important match feels good. It's been nearly five years and I didn't think I could do it, but it happened and I'm very, very pleased."

The German Groenefeld rebounded in the doubles final, teaming with France's Marion Bartoli to defeat Marta Domachowska and Silvija Talaja 6-3, 6-2 for their first title as a team.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Radek Stepanek is the first Czech player to reach the Milan final since his part-time coach Petr Korda in 1994, losing to Boris Becker. Stepanek on Korda: "I called him (in 2001) and asked if he could help. I was ranked like 600 after having been in the Top 150. He said he would help but only if I did all he would tell me to do. He said that I would be in the main draw of the US Open and in the Top 70 within one year -- and that's what happened."...Australian No. 1 Alicia Molik may skip the 2005 Fed Cup season for Australia, which would be another blow to the struggling international event...From TR.net on James Blake hammering the antics of Lleyton Hewitt this weekend from the ATP San Jose stop:  "If Lleyton's more interested in winning matches than making friends in the locker room, that's his prerogative...It's to make sure to keep a player down."...The Desert Sun was the first with the breaking news that the Masters Series-Indian Wells will offer two new drinks this year: "Guests at this year's Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden March 7-20 will get to sip a brand-new libation. New are the Tennis Garden Cactus Cooler and the Pacific Life Open Aqua Cosmo. The Cactus Cooler is made from tequila, lime margarita juice, California strawberries and desert cactus juice. The Aqua Cosmo is made from vodka, blue curacao, white cranberry juice and fresh lime juice." That's some good reporting on what the oldsters in I.W. will be getting hammered on, could be a journalism award in the making -- maybe expand that to a three-series piece...Conchita Martinez says this is her farewell year on tour...Bec Cartwright on fiancee Lleyton Hewitt: "It's been a crazy couple of days, but obviously I am very excited about the engagement. I've had nothing but good feedback from all the people close to me, which is what is important. Lleyton is an amazing person and so talented at what he does. He is very dedicated and has worked so hard to get where he is." News.com.au reports that Cartwright and Hewitt are planning to build an orphanage in Cambodia for underprivileged children.