Federer the Escape Artist; Kournikova Stalker Plays Attorney
Posted on February 25, 2005
Federer Pulls Another 7-6 Out of the Hat at ATP DubaiWhat Roger Federer may have lost of his unbeatable aura since stumbling at the Australian Open, he has made up for with a strong-willed tenaciousness.
Thursday the Swiss No. 1 won his third consecutive third-set tiebreak match (stretching back to last weekend's Rotterdam final) with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) win over former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrero was up 6-4 and 2-0, then 4-3 in the third, and even served for the match at 6-5 in the tiebreak before Federer performed his final magician's trick, closing out the last three points.
"This was a fantastic match, against a fantastic player in front of a fantastic crowd," Federer said. "He should have won the match I think because he was up a break in the third and he had (two) match points...I definitely had a slow start again, the same as in the last couple of matches...I again felt that I couldn't quite cope with the conditions."
Three other seeds advanced into the quarterfinals Thursday in (3) Tim Henman (d. Andreev), (7) Mikhail Youzhny (d. Schuettler), and (8) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Verdasco 7-6 in the third, saving a match point).
"He (Andreev) is a classic example I think of how the game has changed, and he is the modern-day player," said Henman of the Russian. "It's just pure power and athleticism. It may not be the most classical technique but it's so effective. He serves really heavy on both first and second serve and then his game was dominated by his forehand. He can generate so much power from anywhere on the court, it was my job to try and stay clear of that and get to his backhand as much as possible."
In the doubles quarterfinals, unseeded Czechs Martin Damm/Radek Stepanek ousted (1) Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor in straights.
On tap for the Thursday quarters are (1) Federer vs. (7) Youzhny (Club Fed leads their career encounters 5-0), (4) Agassi vs. (6) Davydenko (Agassi won their lone meeting in 2003), (3) Henman vs. (8) Ljubicic (Croatian has won their last three meetings), and (5) Robredo vs. Kiefer (first meeting).
Defending Champ Spadea Into Quarters at ATP Scottsdale
No. 2 seed and defending champion Vince Spadea, earlier in the week suffering from the flu, a bad back and tendinitis in his shoulder, pulled out another thriller Thursday at The Tennis Channel Open in Scottsdale with a three-set win over Serb Janko Tipsarevic to advance into the quarterfinals.
"I just buckled down at crunch time and made no errors and just made him beat me," Spadea said. "I went for my shots. My focus really was my strength at that point. I stayed tough."
Belgium's Christophe "The Roach" Rochus ousted No. 5 seed Kevin Kim, dropping only four games.
"I didn't know what to expect this week," said Rochus, who came to Scottsdale from a minor-league challenger event in France. "I didn't get in until Tuesday and I had to adjust to the courts, coming from indoors to outdoors."
Also into the quarters were un-seeds American James Blake (d. countryman Salzenstein) and Italy's David Sanguinetti (d. (LL) Goldstein in three).
Friday's QF line-up at TTC Open is Sanguinetti vs. The Roach, Giovanni "Little L." Lapentti vs. (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Arthurs vs. Weiner, and Blake vs. (2) Spadea in an all-American (Spadea leads career meetings 6-3, including the last four).
"I owe him some revenge, he's gotten me bad a few times," said Blake, who was fed a bagel set by Spadea in San Jose. "I need to try and get him back."
Nadal, Puerta Advance on Dirt at ATP Acapulco
Argentine wildcard Mariano Puerta continued his resurgent form Thursday at the ATP claycourt stop in Acapulco, following up his win over Carlos Moya with a 7-6 third-set tiebreak victory over Spaniard Felix Mantilla to gain the semifinals.
"I was not 100 percent today so I had to take a lot of risks that I am not used to," Puerta said. "I was a bit tired from yesterday since I finished quite late against Moya."
Puerta will now have his hands full in the semis against No. 8 seed Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, who ousted No. 3 seed Guillermo Canas in straight sets.
"I started very focused, playing to his backhand, going forward as soon as I could," Nadal said of his strategy against Canas. "It would be very important for me to play a second consecutive final, especially since I would gain a lot of points that would be very important for my ranking, and the upcoming claycourt swing that is very important to me."
Other upset winners into the semis were un-seeds Albert Montanes (d. (6) Volandri in three) and Agustin Calleri (d. (5) Novak).
"Tomorrow it is going to be difficult since Montanes is the typical Spanish player that returns every ball and moves really well," Calleri said. "I know it will be difficult but I have the extra motivation in this tournament since it would be a dream to play the final again here in Acapulco, and why not dream about the second title here in this great event."
The semifinal match-ups Friday are Montanes vs. Calleri (the Spaniard won their only previous encounter in three sets) and (8) Nadal vs. (WC) Puerta (career meetings tied 1-1).
Mauresmo, Sharapova Into WTA Doha Semifinals
Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo breezed into the WTA Doha semifinals Thursday (d. Kirilenko), setting up a meeting with No. 4-seeded Aussie Alicia Molik (d. Schiavone 7-6 in the third).
"I am very happy that I am playing well here in Doha," Mauresmo said. "I hope I can do as well in the semifinal. I am playing good tennis right now."
No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova (d. Bartoli) set up a semifinal meeting with unseeded Daniela Hantuchova (d. Martinez), who weathered a three-hour rain delay.
"I stayed calm during the break and I was able to stay focused when play resumed," Hantuchova said.
On tap for Friday are Mauresmo vs. Molik (Frenchwoman leads career meetings 3-1, including a win last week in Antwerp), and Hantuchova vs. Sharapova (the Russian gruntstress leads 2-1, with all three meetings in 2004).
Pennetta Wins, Shaughnessy Edged at WTA Acapulco
Two Italians gained the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA claycourt stop in Acapulco in top-seeded Flavia Pennetta (d. Diaz-Oliva) and unseeded Antonella Serra Zanetti (d. Gagliardi).
For Pennetta it was her seventh straight win on clay after last week's Bogota title, and her 12th straight on clay stretching back to 2004. Pennetta is defending runner-up points from last year in Acapulco.
Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja was another unseeded player into the quarters with an upset over American No. 2 seed Meghann Shaughnessy in three sets.
Friday on the dirt in Acapulco quarterfinal action features Randriantefy vs. Loit, Pennetta looking for a birthday win vs. Osterloh, Cervanova vs. Parra Santonja, and Castano vs. Ant. Serra Zanetti
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The Anna Kournikova stalking case just keeps getting more entertaining/scary, depending on who you are. According to the Associated Press, Anna has hired bodyguards for the first time. "I was absolutely shocked and fearful, and I was very much concerned for my safety," Kournikova testified. "It was very frightening and scary and just knowing there is someone out there who's obsessive." The stalker, who served a Wisconsin prison term for stabbing a man sleeping in a university student union coffeehouse and telling police he was "a slave to an evil that he could not escape," acknowledged past mental illness at the hearing, where he acted as his own attorney. When the judge concluded the man showed "stalking behavior," he interrupted the judge to say, "Proper courting behavior." After he was told contact with Kournikova wasn't allowed, the man lashed out at the judge and her "Mafia accent," and said he may pursue an insanity defense in his criminal case. "Pursue?" Sounds more like they are already in the midst of that...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic on he and Ivan Ljubicic facing the Bryan brothers in Davis Cup doubles when the Croatians take on the U.S.: "We can play great doubles. We won the bronze in Athens. We reached the quarterfinals at the US Open and a couple of times we played the Bryan Brothers and it was a really tough match." The Croat pair is 0-3 career versus the Bryans, with all three matches going three sets...The WTA and ATP will for the first time ever host a combined awards ceremony to honor players and tournaments at a new event called Stars for Stars -- A Celebration of Tennis Excellence, on March 22, 2005 during the Masters Series-Miami. The Tennis Channel will film a behind-the-scenes special about Stars for Stars to be aired at a later date. "I am absolutely thrilled that the ATP, Mercedes-Benz and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour have chosen Miami and the Four Seasons Hotel Miami as hosts for this event," says Butch Buchholz, chairman of the MS-Miami. "It's wonderful that the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and ATP are working closely together on joint initiatives, and we're all happy to be part of what we hope will be the start of a great tradition here in Miami."...Before agreeing to play the Davis Cup for the U.S. and captain Patrick McEnroe, Andre Agassi personally called Andy Roddick and the Bryan brothers to ask if it was all right with them...Nicolas Kiefer revealed that he was confronted by an escaped convict with a gun in the lobby of his hotel just days before the start of the Australian Open...Winners at Thursday's senior tour stop in Frankfurt were John McEnroe (d. Leconte), Anders Jarryd (d. Courier in two tiebreaks), Cedric Pioline (d. Ivanisevic), and Mikael Pernfors (d. Cash in three). "The condition of these guys on the Champions Tour, like Courier and Jarryd, is way better than it used to be years ago," McEnroe said. "I would like to play between six and eight events this year, and the more I play the better I do." Scheduled for today are Courier vs. Pioline, McEnroe vs. Pernfors, Ivanisevic vs. Jarryd, and Cash vs. Leconte...Tim Henman says that the Brit up-and-comers need to show the heart of his Russian opponent Igor Andreev at Dubai: "There have been plenty of guys come through at home with an enormous amount of ability who have ended up doing nothing in the game. Lots have more talent than Andreev but they don't have the appetite. You see players coming through from countries with nothing like the facilities and support we have in the UK but they get to the top through hunger and desire."...Gaston Gaudio, who pulled from Acapulco this week with a stomach injury, will also miss the Davis Cup for Argentina, sidelined a total of 3-4 weeks. Robin Soderling has also pulled from D-Cup duties for Sweden with a foot injury.