Iglesias Says No Kournikova Marriage; Clijsters, Mauresmo Win at IW

Unseeded former No. 1 Kim Clijsters continued her strong form in her return from wrist surgery, ousting No. 16 seed Shinobu Asagoe 6-3, 6-3. Indian Wells is the second tournament of 2005 for the Belgian, who lost to Venus Williams in her return a few weeks back in the quarterfinals at Antwerp.

"I feel like I'm hitting well and maybe a little bit more under control than before I got injured," Clijsters said.

Six other seeds were losers in their opening-round matches in (8) Elena Bovina (l. to countrywoman (Q) Kirilenko), (9) Francesca Schiavone (l. to Japan's (Q) Fujiwara), doubles specialist (12) Paola Suarez (l. to (WC) Jamea "Action" Jackson), (18) Jelena Jankovic (l. to the Russian Chakvetadze), (21) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko (l. to Argentine countrywoman Diaz-Oliva in three), and (26) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (l. to the Frenchwoman Beltrame).

Other seeded winners in second-round play Friday were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. Spears), (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. (Q) Birnerova), (14) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin (d. Fedak), former IW champ (23) Conchita Martinez (d. Randriantefy), (24) Iveta Benesova (d. Llagostera "Pancho" Vives), (28) Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues (d. Domachowska), (30) Evgenia Linetskaya (d. Granville), and (32) Maria Vento-Kabchi (d. (Q) Talaja in three).

"I still feel like I need more matches to get in," said the confidence-challenged Kuznetsova. "I feel like I need to play more singles to get my good shape because I don't feel like I'm on the top of my game now."

On court Saturday is a star-studded line-up featuring (3) Maria "Grunt-o-rama" Sharapova vs. (WC) Haynes, (1) Davenport vs. (WC) Karatantcheva, Anne "Kosmo" Kremer vs. (13) Hantuchova, (Q) Uberoi vs. (27) Shaughnessy, Loit vs. (7) Dechy in an all-French, (Q) Ant. Serra "Nevada" Zanetti vs. (6) Petrova, Lee-Waters vs. (25) Safina, (11) Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem vs. Vaidisova, Cervanova vs. (20) Pierce, (29) Stosur vs. Cho, (WC) Kutuzova vs. (15) Pennetta, (17) Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier vs. (WC) Daja "Caught" Bedanova, (31) Raymond vs. (LL) Bondarenko, (10) Likhovtseva vs. Craybas, (WC) Jessica "Captain" Kirkland vs. (22) Bartoli, and (19) Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga vs. Sanchez Lorenzo.

Ferrero, Blake Lead Comeback Winners at ATP Indian Wells

Two players currently mounting comebacks after 2004 campaigns halted by injury, former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Andreev) and American James Blake (d. A.Martin), led the unseeded winners on day one of men's play Friday at the ATP stop in Indian Wells.

The Spaniard Ferrero suffered through a number of injuries and illnesses in 2004, as did Blake whose feature folly came after sliding head-first into a net pole at Roland Garros. Ferrero's win Friday set up an all-star Spanish second-round clash against another former No. 1 and French Open winner, countryman Carlos Moya.

"I played against him a lot of times, a lot of important matches, so we know each other very good," Ferrero said. "I think is going to be interesting match for me because I'm going up, I'm playing well. I'm very hungry to win matches. I will go to the court with everything."

Former French No. 1 junior Gael "Force" Monfils was the only wildcard winner out of four wildcards in action Friday, defeating American Jeff "Baby Krajicek" Morrison in straight sets. Wildcards on the losing end were Americans Alex Kuznetsov (l. to Schuettler) and "The" Donald Young (l. to (Q) Clement), and the continuation of Mark Philippoussis' slide with the cradle-dipping newly-engaged Aussie losing to French qualifier Gregory Carraz.

Kevin Kim was one of the three Americans to advance (d. (Q) Giovanni "Little L" Lapentti), with six of the nine Americans in play Friday hitting the skids.

Other un-seeds into the second round were Max "The Beast" Mirnyi (d. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse 7-6 in the third), Argentines Agustin Calleri (d. Tursunov in three) and Juan "The Principality" Monaco (d. Dupuis), Spaniards Dave Ferrer (d. (Q) Vahaly) and Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco (d. (Q) Odesnik), Swedes Thomas Enqvist (d. Beck, bagel in the first) and Jonas Bjorkman (d. Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze), Czechs Tomas Berdych (d. Arazi) and qualifier Tomas Zib (d. Volandri), Britain's "Grinning" Greg Rusedski (d. (Q) Salzenstein in three), Dane Kenneth Carlsen (d. Florian "Oscar" Mayer), Aussie qualifier Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs (d. "You Say" Potito Starace), Frenchman Fabrice "The Original Wizard" Santoro (d. Ricardo Mello "Yello"), Belgian Olivier "The Roach" Rochus (d. Zabaleta), American qualifier Paul Goldstein (d. H.-T. Lee), Armenia's Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian (d. (Q) Reynolds), and Croatian "Dr." Ivo Karlovic (d. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau).

"I got a little bit more aggressive, started chipping and charging on his second serve and taking a few more risks," said Rusedski after his three-set win over the big-serving American qualifier Salzenstein. "I haven't had the ideal preparation for this week. I was just pleased with the way I fought and got through."

This week in Indian Wells marks the one-year anniversary of Rusedski being exonerated by an anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for nandrolone. The Brit is looking to shoot up the ATP Rankings with no points to defend in Indian Wells.

On tap for Saturday in IW are Gambill vs. Fish in an all-American, Verdasco vs. (3) Roddick, (Q) Arthurs vs. (9) Agassi, (12) Robredo vs. (WC) Monfils, (Q) Clement vs. (6) Henman, (5) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. K.Kim, Mirnyi vs. (8) Gaudio, Acasuso vs. Robby "Baby Courier" Ginepri, (10) Nalbandian vs. Monaco in an all-ARG, (15) Davydenko vs. (WC) Blake, Calleri vs. (31) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, Llodra vs. (LL) Sanguinetti, (32) Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer vs. (Q) Goldstein, Rusedski vs. (17) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, (Q) Lisnard vs. Muller, Nieminen vs. Luis "Me So" Horna, (21) Pavel vs. (Q) Carraz, Cyril "The Chef" Saulnier vs. Hanescu, Enqvist vs. (18) Youzhny, (26) Novak vs. O.Rochus, Bjorkman vs. (23) T.Johansson in an all-Swedish, Calatrava vs. Mathieu, (Q) Delgado vs. Hernych, and (29) Kiefer vs. Sargsian.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Headline from Friday's SI.com: "Young seeks first ATP title" -- pretty lofty goal considering Donald Young has never won an ATP match now in three appearances...The ATP All-Star Rally for Relief Friday night at Indian Wells raised $18,282.76 for UNICEF, a figure that does not include revenue from ticket sales. "I cannot think of a better way for UNICEF and the ATP to begin their partnership," said Anne-Marie Grey, UNICEF Chief, International & Corporate Alliances Private Sector Division. "The gesture of the all world's top tennis players to donate their time, energy and enthusiasm for this event and cause was extremely impressive. We also applaud the generosity of the Pacific Life Open fans for providing this tremendous benefit to the world's most vulnerable children." ATP players participating were Roger Federer, who hosted the ATP Foundation event, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Carlos Moya, Andre Agassi, David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria, Paradorn Srichaphan and Tim Henman. Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players who played and also helped pass UNICEF buckets through the crowd to collect funds were Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Amelie Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova. Lindsay Davenport, Taylor Dent and Lisa Raymond also raised funds for UNICEF at a pre-event gathering at the Indian Wells Village Stage...Kim Clijsters on not wanting, or being able to, change to a two-handed backhand when she injured her left wrist: "I can't completely change to a one-hander. It's ridiculous. I'm not like that. People on the street would come up and say that to me. It's almost impossible to make that change after all these years and there's no reason to. You train to come back and play the big matches against top players, not to just use the slice. If I would have done that in the very big matches, it would be a weakness."...Lleyton Hewitt on the tough Davis Cup scheduling: "It's pointless talking to (the ITF) any more about it," Hewitt said of the International Tennis Federation. "At the end of the day, my career or (Andy) Roddick's career or whoever, nothing is going to change in our careers. I've stated my case as hard as anyone...If you don't want the best players to play, then keep going the way it's going."...Marat Safin said the U.S. had no shot at the Davis Cup this year even if they did get past Croatia: "They had no chance against us (in the semifinals) anyways," Safin said smiling. "They were not dangerous this year at all because we will play at home also. There is no chance for them, unfortunately."...From The Desert Sun: "A guest on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' on Monday, (Andy) Roddick said he asked his agent to "pull the plug" on his guest spot after his five-set loss to Ivan Lubjicic on Saturday in a match that closed out the Croatian victory, "I slept on it and realized I'd be a bit of a brat if I didn't do it," Roddick said. "I didn't feel I deserved to be there." Later on, Roddick answered questions about the future of American tennis after Andre Agassi retires. A fan of Agassi since his youth days, Roddick said, "Are you sure about that?" after a reporter brought up the probability of his idol retiring in the near future. "I think everybody will be sad. It'll be the end of an era. Actually about 26 eras. How he's handled himself off the court is something that's pretty special."...In her free time, 2002 (IW) champion Daniela Hantuchova said she is hoping she will get some time to play some golf, but on one condition: She needs a golf cart. "I can't walk. It's too boring for me," Hantuchova said. "I'm too lazy for walking around." Hantuchova said she doesn't have a handicap, but once got a hole-in-one in Perth, Australia. Using a 9-iron, Hantuchova sank the shot from approximately 110-yards out. However, Hantuchova failed to buy drinks. "I didn't know the rule," said Hantuchova, who was with her coach Nigel Sears and her parents. "(Sears) didn't know. It was only him and my family and they didn't know either.""...Daniela Hantuchova on dealing with her weight and personal problems since winning at Indian Wells in 2002: "I don't want to go too deep into that. It's the same things in a normal life. Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't. It's how you deal with it when it's rough and not going your way. I've learned so much from those experiences and I'm actually thankful for the things that happened to me. Now I think I'm more aware of what I have to do to make things go right. Even through it was difficult, I still loved being on the court. It wasn't easy at times, but if I didn't like it, I don't think I would be here. It just proves how much I love the game and how much I enjoy being out there on the court and out there playing for the people...I have worked very hard in the off-season and made sure I do everything it takes to be effective on the match court again. It's making sure I give my best and always do the right thing, and having fun again and enjoying the game."...Matt Cronin with the low-down on yet another Russian to watch, Maria Kirilenko: "Not all the Russian kids speak English with a flourish, but not all of them play with the style and grace of Maria Kirilenko, who's about as fun a teen as anyone could want to watch. She defeated eighth seed Eleva Bovina 6-3,6-1 and recall that the now 17-year-old nearly took out Serena Williams at Roland Garros last year. This year the 5-foot-8 all-courter reached the semis of Hyderabad, qualified for Doha and upset Patty Schnyder before losing to (Amelie) Mauresmo. At 126 pounds, she's not going to be knocking the likes of Davenport off court, but she's cut, super-fit and can run forever. "I like to try all shots," she said. "I use the whole court and different angles. I've had to work a lot of my fitness and it's helped me improve a lot.""...The Spanish newswire Agencia EFE has reported that Enrique Iglesias has nixed the rumors that he is married to former tennis barbie Anna Kournikova: "For now, I'm not getting married. I think I've been married three times already in the tabloids, but it's all untrue. Anna is a great girl who puts up with me, and I'm not easy to put up with. But with my career right now, I'm not mature enough for marriage or to have a family."