Agassi, Moya, Serena Make Friday Exits, Roddick Survives

Posted on February 12, 2005

Agassi Bullied Out, Roddick Survives at ATP San Jose

No. 7 seeded Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer of Austria caught Andre Agassi on a bad night Friday at the ATP stop in San Jose, with the lefty brutalizing the No. 2-seeded American from the baseline 6-3, 6-1.

For once the five-time winner Agassi can say he doesn't know the way to San Jose after struggling in all aspects of his game and dropping to a 1-2 career win-loss record against the Austrian.

"I was frustrated. I just never found the range on my shots, especially on my serve," Agassi said. "He does everything well. He moves well, returns well and has an awkward lefty serve."

The tournament almost lost its top two seeds Friday when Andy Roddick benefited from veteran Swede Thomas Enqvist's inability to close the door with a 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 win.

"I was saying to myself, 'I can't believe you're actually blowing this,'" Roddick said. "It was weird. I was up, I was down. It was so back and forth."

Also into the semifinals were (3) Tommy Haas (d. (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, coming from a set down) and unseeded Frenchman Cyril Saulnier (d. (4) Spadea).

Saturday's semifinal line-up in San Jose is Saulnier vs. (7) Tuna Melzer (Saulnier leads 1-0 in tour meetings), and in the night match (1) Roddick vs. (3) Haas (Haas leads 4-2, with A-Rod winning two of their three meetings in 2004).

"He's tough," Roddick said of Haas. "I got him the last two times but I struggled with him before that. He's just a solid player. He does everything pretty well and he's not going to give an inch so I'm going to have to try to take it to him a little bit."

Dent Blows Match Point, Croats Storm Into Semis at ATP Marseille

American Taylor Dent failed to convert on a match point Friday at the ATP stop in Marseille, falling in a third-set tiebreak 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(8) to No. 6-seeded Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

Dent fought off seven match points before failing to serve it out at 8-7 in the third-set breaker.

"It was a match full of drama with so many match points," Lopez said. "I'm just happy to get through and hopefully I can get into the final which would be a great performance this week. I hope to get my revenge against Johansson who I lost to at the Australian Open."

Others into the semis in straight sets were (3) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson (d. Beck), and Croatians (8) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Schalken) and unseeded Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (d. (Q) De Chaunac, dropping 19 aces on the Frenchman).

Saturday's line-up in Marseille is Baby Goran vs. (8) Ljubicic in an all-Croat serving throw-down (Ljubicic won their only meeting in 2003), and  (3) The Jackhammer vs. (6) F-Lo (the Swede won their lone meeting 13-11 in the fifth at last month's Australian Open).

Moya Ousted, Gaudio Wins Thriller at ATP Buenos Aires

Argentine wildcard veteran Mariano Puerta upset No. 1 seed Carlos Moya 7-6(0), 6-3 Friday at the ATP stop in Buenos Aires for his first semifinal berth in nearly five years.

"I played unbelievable," Puerta said. "I did exactly what I had set up with my coach prior to the match. I was very solid, made very few unforced errors."

Moya, who appeared sluggish, had difficulty keeping his opponent deep and dictating play.

"He deserved to win. The match was very easy for him," Moya said. "His style of play didn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was how badly I played." 

In the Saturday semifinals Puerta will face Argentine countryman Jose Acasuso, who beat Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4.

The second semifinal will be (2) Gaston Gaudio (d. (7) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal 0-6, 6-0, 6-1 in a see-saw affair) against unseeded Spaniard Al Martin (d. countryman Mantilla, coming from a set down). Nadal swept to the first set win over a nervous Gaudio, but then collapsed in the second and third under some sloppy play and the Argentine crowd support for the Roland Garros champion.

Serena Williams Pulls from WTA Paris with Stomach Illness

Top-seeded Serena Williams pulled from the WTA Paris quarterfinals Friday citing a stomach illness.

"I'm not playing because I'm sick and mentally I'm not well," Serena told the Parisian crowd in French on court. "I wanted to play here because it's the first tournament I won and it's very important to me. I love it here."

The withdrawal gave a walkover into the semifinals for unseeded Russian Dinara Safina, younger sister of Marat Safin.

In the semifinals the 18-year-old Safina will face France's Tatiana Golovin, who recorded a win over No. 7 seed Silvia Farina Elia when the Italian retired at 0-6, 0-1 with a right shoulder injury.

Golovin has beaten Safina in both their career encounters, most recently last month in three sets at Gold Coast prior to the Australian Open.

The second semifinal Saturday will see No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo (d. (8) Maleeva in the quarterfinals) against No. 4 Nadia Petrova (d. Bartoli in three). It will be the career-first meeting between the Frenchwoman and Russian.

Mirza Mesmerizes Home Fans at WTA Hyderabad

Unseeded Sania Mirza sent the home crowd at the WTA stop in Hyderabad, India, into hysterics Friday, fending off a case of the jitters to defeat No. 8 seed Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach her career-first WTA final.

Serving for the match at 5-3, Mirza chunked in two double faults en route to losing the game, then lost her serve at 5-5 before breaking serve to force the tiebreak.

In the tiebreak India's sweetheart came back from a mini-break down at 2-4, sweeping the last five points.

"It is a wonderful feeling to play and win before the home crowd," Sania said. "There can't be anything better than playing at home and winning. It is like a dream come true."

Mirza, already playing on an injured ankle, has withdrawn from next week's WTA event in Bogota.

"The injury woes are increasing. I played with pain," Mirza said. "I have nothing to lose. Injury is part and parcel of the game. I am injured and playing with pain, but when I take to the court, I forget about everything. It's only me, my opponent and the ball."

In the championship match Mirza will face another first-time finalist in No. 9 seed Aloyna Bondarenko, who received a walkover in her semifinal when No. 2 seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld was unable to compete due to a knee injury sustained in the doubles with partner Martina Navratilova.

It will be the first meeting between the 20-year-old Bondarenko and the 18-year-old Mirza.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Steffi Graf has successfully sued a German radio station that aired a mock scenario of her and husband Andre Agassi in the "throes of love-making." Graf filed a complaint claiming injury to her reputation with a court in Cologne, and radio station WDR backed down and were also made to pay the legal costs of around 5,000 Euros...Here's what happens to headlines after too many Friday night drinkies at Sportinglife.com: "MOYA GOES DOWN TO PEURTA"...A stalker bluffed his way into Serena Williams press conference Friday at Paris, approaching the American and announcing "I'm a fan and I just wanted a kiss" before being escorted out by security officers...According to the Irish Examiner: "Reebok is to launch a new advertising campaign featuring 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Lucy Liu and tennis star Andy Roddick. The ad campaign, entitled I Am What I Am, is a bid by the company to sharpen its image as a hipper, edgier brand with youth appeal. The celebrities recall their childhood in the adverts."...The Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) announced Friday that Josep Perlas has been dropped from the "G3" three-man coaching team of Spain's Davis Cup squad. Perlas' recently became the coach of Guillermo Coria. "Josep Perlas has been an exemplary coach over these years...but this year he has taken up a new challenge with Argentina's Guillermo Coria," RFET said in a statement reported by Reuters. "The Davis Cup team needs to be protected from any detail that could affect the smooth functioning and spirit of the group, which has been the driver of our fans' happiness."