Safin, Gaudio Losers; Swiss Prepare for Federer-less D-Cup

Posted on February 23, 2005

Spadea Survives, Haas Pulls at ATP Scottsdale

No. 2 seed and defending champion Vince Spadea put in a Herculean effort Tuesday at the Tennis Channel Open in Scottsdale, fighting through the flu and a bad back to post a 1-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(2) win over fellow American Bobby Reynolds "Wrap," saving two match points.

"All excuses aside, I decided to play," said Spadea, who has spent time this week in the hospital with an i.v. drip to get fluids in his body. "My preparation wasn't ideal, but I still was out there to compete."

The Tennis Channel Open lost its top seed Tuesday when Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew, citing the flu and a bad back.

"I plan to rest up to get over the flu," Haas said. "I'm looking forward to Davis Cup play and being a part of the German team. I need to be healthy so I can play my best."

Haas was replaced in the draw by American lucky loser Paul Goldstein.

Other seeded winners on the day were (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (d. (WC) Evans in three) and (5) Kevin Kim (d. (Q) Tecau).

"It was tough with the rain delays and I didn't play my best tennis but I am happy to pull this match out," said Ancic, who closed out the match over the American with his eighth ace. "He was confident at the beginning and I had to get used to the conditions since I've been playing indoors the last month. I wanted to shorten the points and come in on second serves and short balls."

Unseeded Aussie Mark Philippoussis recorded his first win since Wimbledon of last year with a three-set victory over German Tomas Behrend.

"I've been hitting the ball well in training, but it's tough to find the rhythm," said Flipper, who was passed over for Davis Cup duty by Australia. "Matches are so different. You get the same balls but you spray them, it's easy to lose confidence. I took an extra two or three weeks to make sure I was ready. I didn't want to rush like I've done in the past."

Other un-seeds into the second round at Scottsdale were Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs (d. (4) Dent 7-6 in the third), Americans James Blake (d. last week's Memphis winner (7) Carlsen), the (LL) Goldstein (d. (WC) "The" Donald Young 3-and-1) and Gleen "I.C." Weiner (d. (Q) Frank "You Can" Dancevic), joined by Italy's Dave Sanguinetti (d. (Q) Kohlmann in three) and Serb Janko Tipsarevic (d. Gambill).

Arthurs improved to 3-0 lifetime versus Dent with the upset of the No. 4 seed.

"We're both serve and volleyers and we've had some close matches in the past and I've been fortunate to get through each time," said Arthurs, who dropped 13 aces on the American. "The last time we played at Wimbledon we played four tiebreakers and only a few points here and there is the difference."

On tap for Wednesday in Scottsdale are Jeff "Baby Krajicek" Morrison vs. Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, Arthurs vs. Gimelstob, (6) Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze vs. G.Lapentti, Philippoussis vs. (3) Baby Goran, in doubles (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Gambill/Gimelstob in an all-American, and Weiner vs. (8) Burgsmuller.

Safin Slumps, Henman Wins Brit Showdown at ATP Dubai

Australian Open winner and No. 2 seed Marat Safin showed why he is one of the most unpredictable talents on tour, Tuesday exiting in the first round to unseeded German Nicolas Kiefer 7-6(2), 6-4 at the ATP stop in Dubai.

While Safin led the German 3-2 in their career meetings going into the first-round clash, he fell for the second consecutive time to Kiefer after losing their last encounter 7-6 in the third at the 2004 Masters Series-Canada.

"I found the court was a little bit too fast so I couldn't really time the ball," Safin said, also dealing with some sand that had blown on the court. "I was missing a lot and wasn't comfortable at any moment."

In the most anticipated match of the day, unseeded "Grinning" Greg Rusedski failed to close the door after his opening-set win, blowing a match point and losing in three to No. 3 seed and fellow Brit Tim Henman.

"I think that's the best match we have ever had between us," Rusedski said. "If that's the last time we ever play each other I will have fond memories of it. We have had our difficult moments in the past but we have matured a bit since then."

The two other seeds in action moved into the second round in straight sets in Russians (6) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Santoro, bagel in the second) and (7) Mikhail Youzhny (d. T.Johansson).

Un-seeds into the second round Tuesday were Spaniard Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez (d. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan in three), Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee (d. Soderling), and Russian Igor Andreev (d. Marco "Chud" Chiudinelli).

"I always play well here," said F-Lo, the rare fast-court-loving Spaniard. "I like coming to the net and this is the way I have to play. I think I volleyed well, especially the last point when I made a great volley."

The win earns F-Lo a meeting with hip-injured Andre Agassi, who edged him 7-6 in their last meeting (punter alert).

On Wednesday's schedule in the desert is Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. (6) Davydenko, (1) Federer vs. (Q) Minar, (4) Agassi vs. F-Lo, H.-T. Lee vs. Kiefer, (8) Ljubicic vs. (Q) Lisnard, and (5) Robredo vs. Berdych.

Moya, Spaniards Surge, Gaudio Gutted at ATP Acapulco

Top-seeded Carlos Moya (d. (Q) N.Lapentti) led the Spanish seeded contingent into the second round Tuesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, joined by (7) Dave Ferrer (d. Ricardo Mello "Yello" in three) and (8) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (d. countryman Calatrava).

"Finally I managed to beat Nicolas," said Moya of the elder Lapentti brother. "He is one of my best friends and I am happy for him to see he is playing much better now. I wish him all the best of luck."

Nadal, who struggled at times during his straight-set win over Calatrava, says he hopes to play his way into the event as the week progresses.

"It was my first match here and I am very happy the way the result went since I did not play great," The Prodigy said. "Alex is a very experienced guy and I am still learning. I like this tournament and I hope I can make it to quarters or semis so that I can collect some important points for the year."

The only non-Spanish seed sprouting on Tuesday, No. 6-seeded Italian Filippo Volandri, took out Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta in straight sets.

No. 2 seed Gaston Gaudio retired at one set apiece against Czech Tomas Zib with acute hip pain, the injury du jour these days with players forced to react quicker to balls launched by the modern super-racquets.

"I have to make some tests tomorrow to see the reality," said the current Roland Garros holder Gaudio with a line straight out of The Matrix. "I felt some pain on my left hip and want to check it out. I don't know if it will be one day, one week or one month off, we'll see."

Three unseeded Spaniards also moved into the second round in Felix Mantilla (d. (WC) Gallardo Valles baking the 1-and-1 breadsticks), Oscar Hernandez (d. countryman D.Sanchez), and Al Martin (d. Vanek 6-0, then 7-6 in the third), joined by French qualifier Nicolas Devilder (d. Acasuso).

Playing in the dirt-box Wednesday at Acapulco are Calleri vs. Juan "The Principality" Monaco, Ventura vs. (8) The Prodigy in an all-Spanish, (3) Canas vs. (Q) Devilder, (1) Moya vs. (WC) Puerta in an all-veteran, Montanes vs. Zib, (5) Novak vs. O.Hernandez, (6) Volandri vs. A.Martin, and another all-ESP in Mantilla vs. (7) Ferrer.

Schnyder Squeaks by Qualifier at WTA Doha

No. 5 seed Patty Schnyder was forced to work overtime Tuesday in the first round of play at the WTA stop in Doha, edging Chinese qualifier Na Li 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.

Unseeded players into the second round Tuesday were Aussie Nicole Pratt (d. (WC) Selima "S'close" Sfar), Russian qualifier Maria Kirilenko (d. (Q) Safarova), Japan's Ai Sugiyama ending a five-match losing streak in 2005 (d. (LL) Stosur), Slovak Daniela Hantuchova (d. Maleeva, coming from a set down and 0-3 in the third), Argentine Gisela "Sgt." Dulko (d. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues in three), and former Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez (d. (Q) Roberta "Da" Vinci, coming from a set down).

"I needed to change the pace of my shots. I was playing quite low in the beginning," said Martinez, who rebounded from the first-set loss to win 6-0, 6-2. "Only when I started mixing it up things began to happen in my favor."

On tap for Wednesday in Doha are Molik vs. Pratt in an all-Aussie, Dulko vs. Sharapova, Martinez vs. Myskina in a battle of slam winners, Mauresmo vs. Ivanovic in a battle of non-slam winners, Bovina vs. Hantuchova, Sugiyama vs. Schiavone, Kirilenko vs. Schnyder, and Bartoli vs. Kostanic.

All Four Qualifiers Lose Tuesday at WTA Acapulco

It was not a good day for qualifiers at the WTA stop in Acapulco Tuesday, with all four sent home on the same day by winners (4) Alina Jidkova (d. (Q) Rosa Maria Andres Rodriguez, bagel in the first), Severine Beltrame of France (d. (Q) Agnes Szavay in three), Colombia's Catalina Castano (d. (Q) Julie "P." Ditty), and Spain's Arantxa "Not That Aranxta" Parra Santonja (d. (Q) Erica Krauth 7-6 in the third) in first-round play.

No. 8 seed Nuria Llagostera Vives, the only other seed in play Tuesday, was unearthed by Italy's Antonella Serra "Nevada" Zanetti, winning only three games.

Other un-seeds into the second round were Argentine Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. countrywoman Salerni), American Marissa Irvin (d. Pisnik), and the Ukraine's Tatiana Perebiynis (d. Kurhajcova).

On tap for Wednesday in second-round play on the dirt are Pennetta vs. Schruff, Torres Sandoval vs. Shaughnessy, Jidkova vs. Castano, Beltrame vs. Loit, Pin vs. Gagliardi, Cervanova vs. Irvin, Osterloh vs. Domachowska, and Randriantefy vs. Perebiynis.

DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Read what tennis industry insiders read to get the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. Get the Tennis-X Daily Dish in your e-mail in-box, even before it's posted on the web, by signing up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer and Andre Agassi hit some balls Tuesday in Dubai on the Burj Al Arab hotel's round helipad, converted into a tennis court nearly 700 feet in the air. "This was an absolutely amazing experience," Agassi said. "When you first get over how high you are and start playing it's an absolute joy and it was a great time. I had no issues with the height as long as I didn't have to bungee jump off the side." You can see the odd sight at http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/gallery/. "The view is absolutely amazing here and it was very different when I was asked to do this as I didn't know what to expect," Federer said. "I have been in Dubai many times and have stayed at Burj Al Arab before, but this was an absolute treat. To play tennis with Andre on top of such an amazing hotel and overlooking the whole of Dubai was absolutely spectacular."...All that big serving has taken its toll on Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, who has been ruled out of Sweden's upcoming Davis Cup match with a shoulder injury...Swiss Davis Cup captain Marc Rosset, now the best player on the squad since world No. 1 Roger Federer said 'Good luck without me, let me know how it goes,' is preparing to get thumped by the Netherlands next week. Rosset will roll the dice to figure out who will play singles among the less-than-thrilling selection of Stanislas Wawrinka, Ivo "I Dated Hingis" Heuberger, and Marco "Chud" Chiudinelli, with doubles specialist Yves "Allegra" Allegro chipping in. Doing the damage for the Dutch will be veteran Sjeng Schalken and "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter, with Michel Kratochvil out with a broken leg...India's sweetheart Sania Mirza says although she spends her fair share of time in front of the mirror, don't look for an Anna Kournikova-like career spiral: "I don't go on to the court to look glamorous but to win matches," said Mirza, sporting a nose piercing. "I have always idolized Steffi Graf and my aim is to have a long and memorable career. I really need to work hard on my fitness for that."...Mark Philippoussis snapped an eight-month run without a win yesterday at ATP Scottsdale, recording his first "W" since last year at Wimbledon.