Ferrero Free-fall Continues, Kournikova Stalker Takes a Swim

Posted on February 9, 2005

Agassi with Smooth Start at ATP San Jose

Andre Agassi, hoping to put his injury troubles behind him, won his opener Tuesday at the ATP stop in San Jose with a 6-4, 6-4 win over wildcard American countryman Bobby Reynolds "Wrap" to move into the second round.

"Here I'm hoping I'll see an arch to my improvement in the way I'm executing my game," Agassi said. "Today was a little indecisive and I played too big of a shot at times."

Agassi said the hip injury that has been plaguing him has been caused by a swollen nerve in his back.

"The nerve is recently swollen and the space in my back isn't as big as it used to be," said Agassi, breaking it down in layman terms. "I need to reduce the swelling, but at least I'm clearer as to what the injury is."

In addition to the No. 2-seeded Agassi, other seeded winners on the day were (3) Tommy Haas (d. Carraz), (4) Vince Spadea (d. Dupuis, coming from a set down), and (7) Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer (d. (Q) Glenn "I.C." Weiner).

Two un-seeds also moved into the second round Tuesday in Czech qualifier Tomas Zib (d. Kohlschreiber) and American qualifier James Blake (d. Moodie).

On court Wednesday are Peter "Nuclear" Wessels vs. (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (5) Novak vs. Saulnier, Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. Lu, (WC) J.Blake vs. (4) Spadea in an all-American, (3) Haas vs. (Q) Frank "You Can" Dancevic, and in the night session (1) Roddick vs. (Q) Goldstein in an all-American, and Enqvist vs. (6) Fish.

Ferrero Free-fall Continues at ATP Marseille

No. 3 seed Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson continued former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero's slide Tuesday at the ATP stop in Marseille, edging the Spaniard 7-6(4), 6-3.

"It was a tight match with a tiebreak that could have gone either way. I'm glad I managed to impose my pace on a player who likes to dictate play," Johansson said.

For Ferrero it was another confidence-less exhibition that kept him at only two wins thus far in 2005.

"It was a very close match. I missed a couple of shots in the tiebreak and that was it," Ferrero said. "I didn't have much luck and I didn't take my chances at the start of the second set."

The only other seed in action, No. 7 Nicolas Kiefer, was easily dismissed by Slovak Karol Beck in straight sets.

Other un-seeds into the second round Tuesday were "Grinning" Greg Rusedski (d. Llodra in three), Czech Tomas "I Beat Federer in 2004" Berdych (d. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan 7-6 in the third), French wildcard Jerome Haehnel (d. countryman (Q) Lisnard in three), and French qualifier Gilles Simon (d. T.Johansson in three).

Scheduled for Wednesday are Schalken vs. (WC) Haehnel, Dent vs. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau, (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils vs. Andreev, (1) Coria vs. (Q) De Chaunac, Schuettler vs. (2) Nalbandian, Stepanek vs. (WC) Clement, (LL) Wang (Soderling withdrew with an ankle injury) vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, and (Q) Hanescu vs. (8) Ljubicic.

Roland Garros Champs Moya, Gaudio Advance at ATP Buenos Aires

Top-seeded Carlos Moya (d. (Q) Luczak) and No. 2 Gaston Gaudio (d. (Q) Luzzi in three) led the advance Tuesday at the ATP stop in Buenos Aires, part of the January-February South American swing of claycourt events on the ATP circuit.

"Being a first match, I am happy," said Moya after the win. "First matches are always a little bit complicated. I had many opportunities that I couldn't convert but I kept going and it went well in the end."

Also advancing was No. 7 seed Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (d. Calleri), hoping to make a big impact after last year missing most of the dirt events with a broken ankle.

"The last time I played against Agustin was last year in Indian Wells," Nadal said. "I lost 7-6 in the third. Playing against Agustin in the first round here in Buenos Aires I thought was bad luck...I came here playing well and I went into the match with a lot of confidence. In the first set, he served unbelievable, acing almost twice per game. I kept my concentration and was able to win in the end."

Not so lucky Tuesday were seeds (5) Juan Ignacio Chela (l. to (Q) Marc "M-Lo" Lopez) and (6) Filippo Volandri (l. to Burgsmuller).

Other unseeded winners on the day were (WC) Mariano Puerta (d. (Q) Guzman in an all-Argentine), Spanish (LL) Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez (d. D.Sanchez in an all-Spanish), two more Spaniards in Nicolas Almagro (d. countryman Ventura) and Al Martin (d. countryman Ferrer who retired with a stomach injury), and Italy's "You Say" Potito Starace (d. (WC) Massa).

On tap for Wednesday on the crushed red brick are (Q) M-Lo vs. Mantilla in an all-ESP, A.Martin vs. (3) Canas, (WC) Puerta vs. Burgsmuller, and (1) Moya vs. Monaco.

Maleeva Wins Through at WTA Paris

No. 8 Maggie Maleeva, the only seeded player in action Tuesday at the WTA stop in Paris, defeated qualifier Claudine Schaul in two tiebreaks to move into the second round.

Un-seeds into the second round were Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina (d. Iveta "Not Lose Another Three-Setter" Benesova), Tunisian qualifier Selima "So Close Yet" Sfar (d. Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta), Serb Jelena Jankovic (d. Loit in three), France's Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin (d. (Q) Beltrame), and French wildcard Virginie Razzano (d. Smashnova).

Scheduled for Wednesday in Paris are Daniilidou vs. Bartoli, Razzano vs. Farina Elia, Dechy vs. Kostanic, world No. 2 Serena vs. Cohen-Aloro, and Sfar vs. Petrova.

Seeds Go Four for Four, Dokic Stumbles Tuesday at WTA Hyderabad

Top-seeded Na Li of China led all four seeds in play into the second round Tuesday at the WTA stop in Hyderabad, India, defeating Swiss Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian 6-3, 6-3.

Other seeded winners on the day were (2) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. (Q) Minella), (6)Tamarine Tansugarn (d. (Q) Amanmuradova 6-1 in the third), and (8) Maria Kirilenko (d. (LL) Poutchek).

Former Top 10er Jelena Dokic, currently ranking outside the Top 200 on the WTA Rankings, hobbled to a straight-set loss to Mara Santangelo, nursing an injured thigh.

Other un-seeds into round two in Hyderabad were Melinda Czink (d. Uberoi, coming from a set down), India's sweetheart Sania Mirza (d. Sescioreanu), Evie Dominikovic (d. (LL) Hisamatsu), and (Q) Jarmila Gajdosova (d. (Q) Ting).

On tap for Wednesday in This-Field-is-Bad are Bondarenko vs. Czink, Zheng vs. Mirza, Dominikovic vs. Obziler, Pelletier vs. Peer, Tanasugarn vs. Sun, Santangelo vs. Kirilenko, Gajdosova vs. Groenefeld, and Li vs. Salerni.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Chilean Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez withdrew from Buenos Aires with a thigh injury. Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, who lost to Gonzalez last week in Vina del Mar, says the Chilean wrongly incited the disrespectful home crowd: "He broke the codes of tennis, because you can't do what he did," Zabaleta told the Argentine news agency Telam. "There's no need to generate violence or the resentment of the public against a visitor to win a match. (They insulted) my coach, my physiotherapist and a friend of mine. These things don't happen in Argentina, people encourage the home players but without disrespecting the visiting player. I wanted to play Gonzalez (in Buenos Aires this week) because we could have met in the quarterfinals, but it appears he can't be bothered if the crowd aren't in his favor."...Former No. 1-ranked doubles player Anne Smith, 45, is playing the Midland (Mich.) Challenger this week: "The goal is to get back to the WTA. I saw Martina (Navratilova), and she was doing well, I figured I will give it a try."...The ATP has launched a Spanish version of there website -- likely in response to Tennis-X's soon-to-be-debuted Latin version of the X-site. Who says Latin is dead?!? Not here...Here's the latest update and self-pub from Joel Drucker, who last week did a commentating stint for The Tennis Channel: "I had a fun time working as an analyst with Barry MacKay on The Tennis Channel's recent broadcast of the ATP's Vina del Mar event in Chile. I've worked on-air on the International broadcast of the US Open for the last four years, but this was the first time I'd had the chance to call matches that aired in the U.S. I've been involved with The Tennis Channel since its conception, most actively as co-producer of the one-on-one interview show, Center Court...In other news, my book, Jimmy Connors Saved My Life, is headed into a second printing." Anyone who receives TTC with feedback on Drucker's performance?...Good news: The ATP has their Fantasy Tennis-related live scoring back up on their website. Bad news: Apparently they are working out the bugs on-line, as Tuesday afternoon it had no results, and match schedules from the previous night...Amelie Mauresmo announced on her website that she has enlisted former French Open champ Yannick Noah in an effort to help her to stop her show-stopping chokes at the slams. "Roland Garros will be the first big objective of this new duo," her website said...A homeless man swam nude across Biscayne Bay in search of Anna Kournikova's waterfront residence but got caught up in a pool a couple doors down at a neighbor's home. Police said William Lepeska screamed "Anna! Save me!" as he was taken away. The 40-year-old also has an "Anna" tattoo on his arm, and had to be pepper-sprayed into submission. Good effort...Trouble in WTA Hyderabad, according to India's Web.Mid-Day: "The media was at receiving end from all sides yesterday. Firstly, they found it difficult to make it to the press arena. Then the photographers could not get near Martina Navratilova, who conducted a clinic. Most importantly, none of the players -- winners or losers -- spoke to the media. What's wrong with the winners? Isn't it mandatory to speak after they have won? WTA, please take note."...The selfless-rolling James Blake on being bumped from the U.S. D-Cup No. 2 singles spot by Andre Agassi: "He's giving us the best chance to win. He's unbelievable. People amaze me when they keep asking him when he's going to retire, because he's still Top 10 in the world. I think we need to keep him on tour as long as possible and ask him if he'll keep staying even after he should."