Larose Caught Coked-Up, Clijsters Beats Petrova
Posted on February 17, 2005
Federer Wins, Coria, Ferrero Early Losers at ATP RotterdamWorld No. 1 Roger Federer, making his first appearance since his loss in the semifinals at the Australian Open, eased past qualifier Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 6-4 Wednesday at the ATP indoor stop in Rotterdam.
"It's never easy you know, the first-round matches," Federer said. "I'm happy that I'm through. I'm playing against another Swiss in the second round, that will be interesting."
Upset victims on the day were (2) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria, ousted in three sets by Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, and (7) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, beaten in three sets by big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic.
"It was the first time I've played him," said The Thai Fighter after beating El Fragile. "I've practiced with him many times but I think it was a great win. It's a great feeling to play a top player and to finally win."
No. 5 seed Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson turned back a stiff challenge by Taipei qualifier Yeu-Tzuoo Wang in three sets, while No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko rolled Tomas Berdych with a bagel in the second.
Other unseeded winners Wednesday were Dutch wildcard Sjeng Schalken (d. Pavel, coming from a set down), 19-year-old Swiss qualifier Stanislas Wawrinka (d. Grosjean), and Radek Stepanek keeping the losing ways of former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero alive with a three-set win.
Thursday's scheduled second-round matches are Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. (Q) Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, (5) The Jackhammer vs. T.Johansson in an all-Swedish all-Johansson, (1) Federer vs. (Q) Wawrinka in a rare all-Swiss, Ljubicic vs. (WC) Schalken, and (3) Henman vs. Llodra in a race to the net.
Roddick, Haas Winners Wednesday at ATP Memphis
Top-seeded Andy Roddick (d. Clement) and No. 2 seed Tommy Haas (d. (Q) Salzenstein) led the winners Tuesday at the ATP stop in Memphis, taking another step toward a second-consecutive week meeting on tour after Roddick defeated the German last week en route to the San Jose title.
"Jeff Salzenstein is a tough first-round opponent in my eyes," Haas said. "He's a guy that's not going to give you much rhythm. He's going to go for the shots when he has a chance and he serves extremely well. It's a dangerous, lefty serve, one of the fastest out there on tour."
Unseeded winners Wednesday were Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs who upset No. 7 seed Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer in two tiebreaks, and France's Cyril Saulnier who edged American qualifier Robert Kendrick, coming from a set down to win 6-4 in the third.
"I served very aggressively. I had to because his returns are good," said Arthurs on chomping the Tuna Melt. "He took apart (Andre) Agassi last week. I had to go for my first and second serves."
On tap for Thursday in Memphis are Robby "Baby Courier" Ginepri vs. (6) Fish in an all-American, Dupuis vs. (3) Spadea, (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. (WC)Gambill/Ginepri in an all-American doubles, K.Kim vs. (2) Haas, Gambill vs. Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze, (5) Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. (Q) Frank "You Can" Dancevic, (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi vs. Saulnier, and Carlsen vs. Arthurs.
Zabaleta Wins at Wet ATP Costa Do Sauipe
Only three results in the books Wednesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil, due to rain, with winners (7) Mariano Zabaleta (d. (LL) Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez), and Spaniards Santiago Ventura (d. (WC) Corretja) and Al Martin (d. Mathieu).
"Since the beginning of the (South American claycourt) swing in Vina del Mar, I am saying that I am playing great tennis at the moment," Zabaleta said. "I feel really confident with my game and today, again I was really solid. I am very motivated and my objective is to win the tournament here."
Thursday's rain-backed-up schedule is (WC) Sa vs. (Q) Luczak, Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. (Q) Vassallo Arguello, (7) Zabaleta vs. A.Martin, (3) Chela vs. Calleri in an all-Argentine, Calatrava vs. (6) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (8) Costa vs. (Q) Massa, then round two on the day in (8) Costa or (Q) Massa vs. (WC) Sa or (Q) Luczak, Mello or (Q) Vassallo Arguello vs. Ventura, and (3) Chela or Calleri vs. Calatrava or (6) Nadal.
Unseeded Clijsters Upsets Petrova at WTA Antwerp
Kim Clijsters showed some of the tenaciousness that brought her to the No. 1 ranking Wednesday at her homecountry WTA stop in Antwerp, defeating No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova 6-1 in the third to advance to the quarterfinals.
Unseeded in Antwerp, Clijsters is competing in her first tournament of 2005 after wrist surgery kept her out of play for most of last year.
"I think I surprised myself in how well I've done so far," Clijsters said. "It's a long time since I played someone that highly ranked -- at the Australian Open last year I think. My backhand's held up really well and tonight was a good test for it."
Seeded players into the quarters Wednesday were (3) Venus Williams (d. (WC) Razzano, bagel in the second) and (7) Patty Schnyder (d. (Q) Pin 6-1 in the third).
The wins by Clijsters and Venus set up a Friday quarterfinal meeting.
"I'm looking forward to playing Venus," Clijsters said. "It's just like old times again. Hopefully we'll both play many more times this year. What ever happens in that match, I've exceeded my expectations thus far."
Other unseeded winners on the day were Luxembourg lucky loser Claudine Schaul (d. (WC) Callens), and France's Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin (d. Safina).
Featured Thursday in Belgium are Molik vs. Maleeva, Mauresmo vs. Pierce in an all-French for the second consecutive week, Chakvetadze vs. Srebotnik, Golovin vs. Myskina, and Schaul vs. Klara "Kouky" Koukalova.
Zvonareva Upholds Top Seeding at WTA Memphis
Top-seeded Russian Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva held back the waterworks and opponent Severine Beltrame of France Wednesday at the WTA stop in Memphis, almost blowing a first-set lead with an eventual 7-6(0), 6-3 win.
"I was trying to rush too much in the first set," Zvonareva said. "After being up 4-1, I found myself in a tiebreak. I let her back into the match, but was able to recover my form in the second set."
Three other seeds eased into the quarterfinals Wednesday in (3) Meghann Shaughnessy (d. Sromova), teenager (7) Nicole Vaidisova (d. Brandi), and (8) Evgenia Linetskaya (d. (Q) Yoshida), all in straight sets.
In other matches on Wednesday, un-seeds Yoon Jeong Cho of Korea (d. Spears), Japan's Akiko Morigami (d. (WC) Krajicek in three), and Ukrainian wildcard Katherina Bondarenko (d. (Q) Haynes) gained the quarterfinals.
On Thursday's schedule in the city of barbecue is Vaidisova vs. Jackson, Zvonareva vs. Bondarenko, Cho vs. Shaughnessy, and Morigami vs. Linetskaya.
Lorenzo a Loser Wednesday at WTA Bogota
Only one seeded victim on the clay at the WTA stop in Bogota Wednesday, with Czech Eva Birnerova edging No. 4 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo of Spain 6-4, 7-6(6).
Seeded winners into the second round were (8) Lubomira Kurhajcova (d. Cervanova in an all-Slovak) and (3) Emilie Loit (d. Czink).
Unseeded winners on the dirt Wednesday were Swiss cover girl Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. Martinez Granados), Colombia's Catalina Castano (d. Fernanda Alves), and Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay (d. Mouhtassine).
Thursday's line-up on the crushed red brick is Szavay vs. Pennetta, Zuluaga vs. Diaz-Oliva, Fernandez vs. Loit, Strycova vs. Gubacsi, and Dominguez Lino vs. Kurhajcova.
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