Federer, Hewitt Win; Safin Dented at Indian WellsPosted on March 16, 2005  While the other top seeds rolled Tuesday against unseeded players at Indian Wells, Australian Open winner Marat Safin found himself on the losing end against hot-handed No. 30 seed Taylor Dent, ousted in a shocker by the American 7-5, 6-4. "Just the worst match I ever played probably in my career," said Safin, who double faulted on match point. "I didn't feel so bad on the court ever in my life. No matter what I would do, it just would not go my way. It's a terrible feeling." Dent, with a reputation for getting injured while toweling off between points, says he is looking to put his injury-ridden days behind him for a move into the rankings elite. "I've learned how to compete a little bit better, learned how to hold myself together," Dent said. "My aspirations are to climb the rankings and compete for some of the biggest tournaments in the world." Other seeded winners Tuesday were (1) Roger Federer (d. Muller), (2) Lleyton Hewitt (d. Llodra), (7) Carlos Moya (d. Spanish countryman Ferrer), (13) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Berdych), and (14) Guillermo Canas (d. Argentine countryman (22) Chela in three). Two un-seeds also advanced into the fourth round in Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro (d. (24) Lopez) and Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. Hernych 7-6 in the third). On Wednesday's IW schedule are (10) Nalbandian vs. (29) Kiefer, (17) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (3) Roddick (Gonzo won their meeting last year at the Athens Olympics), (5) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. (9) Agassi, (1) Federer vs. (13) Ljubicic in their fourth meeting of the year, (12) Robredo vs. (6) Henman, (7) Moya vs. Fabrice "The Original Wizard" Santoro, Mathieu vs. (2) Hewitt, and (30) Dent vs. (14) Canas. |
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