Belgians, Williams, Russians Feature Today in MiamiPosted on March 28, 2005 Safin, Moya, Nalbandian Ousted at ATP MiamiThe Nasdaq-100 Open draw in Miami was opened wide Sunday when two former No. 1s, and three of the Top 8 seeds overall were upset. Leading the hit parade of exits was No. 3 seed Marat Safin, putting on the flippers in a second-set tank 7-6(6), 6-1, and dropping his career win-loss record to 6-7 against No. 26 seed Dominik Hrbaty. "I really didn't play well," said Safin, reinforcing the self-fulfilling prophesy that he cannot win in the U.S. in March. "I didn't felt good on the court. I just couldn't find my game. Some moments, yeah. But like, normally, like I said, this month I never play well. So for me it's nothing new...Just for some reason I don't play well in both Indian Wells and Miami." Safin had 33 unforced errors to 11 winners. Hrbaty said beating Safin was all about taking chances. "With Marat I was playing -- I just wanted to risk it," Hrbaty said. "Either I take all or I lose. With him, you cannot play with his kind of player just to hold the ball there and hope he miss. I tried it to, you know, to play really fast, faster than him, and maybe when you get closer to the end of the set and you get little bit nervous, then you can make mistakes...He probably, in the end of the match, he gave couple points. But it was more like he resigned because he knew that with his game he cannot win today." No. 5 Carlos Moya was edged in three sets by No. 25 Thomas Johansson, and No. 8 David Nalbandian, apparently suffering from hepatitis, was ousted by unseeded Spaniard Dave Ferrer in straight sets. Other winners Sunday were (13) Ivan Ljubicic (d. (21) Spadea 7-6 in the third), (29) Rafael Nadal (d. Spanish countryman Verdasco, dropping only four games), unseeded former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Andreev), and French wildcard teen Gael Monfils (d. H.-T. Lee 7-6 in the third, dropping 25 aces on the Korean). "I felt really good today actually on the court for a set and a half," said Ljubicic on struggling with the tenacious Spadea. "And then he started to dropshot and come at the net, unusually, and play some great volleys and try to take the rhythm out, you know, the trainer and stuff. So it suddenly wasn't tennis anymore. It wasn't like easy-going. It was real difficult to hang it in there because even last half an hour was also hot." Upsets in the first round of the doubles were orchestrated by Frenchmen Clement/Llodra (d. (4) Bryan/Bryan), Gimelstob/Rusedski (d. (6)Arthurs/Hanley 7-6 in the third), and wildcards Acasuso/Lapentti (d. (7)Paes/Zimonjic in three). Scheduled for Monday in Miami are (4) Coria vs. (31) Dent, (9) Agassi vs. (Q) Clement, (1) Federer vs. Zabaleta, (27) Grosjean vs. (7) Gaudio, Mayer vs. (15) Gonzalez, (28) Chela vs. (6) Henman, (Q) Morrison vs. (23) Stepanek, and (18) Ancic vs. (16) Haas. Top Eight Womens Seeds, Belgians Advance Sunday at WTA Miami All eight top seeds advanced into the round of 16 Sunday at the WTA stop in Miami, where the bagels continued to fly. Top eight winners were (1) Amelie Mauresmo (d. (30) Smashnova), (2) Maria Sharapova (d. Irvin, bagel in the second), (3) Serena Williams (d. (Q) Peer), (4) Elena Dementieva (d. (27) Maleeva), (5) Anastasia Myskina (d. (26) Pennetta, bagel in the second), (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Randriantefy), (7) Alicia Molik (d. (29) Dulko in three), and (8) Venus Williams (d. (25) Zuluaga, bagel in the second). "Today it was very blustery," Molik said in outlasting Dulko in three. "But the wind is something that I can use for me, you know, if I'm smart about the way I play. It can add to my game, it can add to my serve, it can add to my spin and my speed." Serena says she felt out of sorts in her first meeting with the Israeli teen qualifier Peer. "I thought I made a lot of unforced errors and I thought I was swinging all out of key," Serena said. "It was weird. I don't think I played that great. I think I played better the other night, for sure." Venus says approaching 100 percent health is giving her a chance to find her rhythm in 2005. "All last year I had a hard time keeping my balls in because I never really was able to play my game because I never was able to get a good amount of practice because I was usually pretty injured," Venus said. "So this year I've had a much better chance to hit, and so I can hit it with a better velocity and keep it in so I don't have to take so much off my shots. Now I'm just striking it. You know, that's one of my assets. I don't know where I get the power from because it's not like I have tons and tons of muscles, but I got blessed, I guess." Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters continued her tear through the seeded ranks Sunday, overwhelming No. 12 seed Nathalie Dechy 6-0, 6-2. Other unseeded winners were Colombian qualifier Catalina Castano (d. (11) Schnyder 6-1 in the third), and Serb Ana Ivanovic (d. Vaidisova, who broke into tears after being broken at 5-6 in the second set) winning the teen battle. Lower-seeded winners on the day were (15) Elena Likhovtseva (d. (21) Sugiyama in three), (16) Karolina Sprem (d. (LL) Cohen-Aloro), (19) Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. Llagostera Vives), (22) Tatiana Golovin (d. (13) Bovina), and (23) Shinobu Asagoe (d. (14) Schiavone, bagel in the first). On tap for Monday in Miami are (23) Asagoe vs. (2) Sharapova, (7) Molik vs. (19) Henin-Hardenne, (15) Likhovtseva vs. (3) Serena, (8) Venus Williams vs. (Q) Castano, (1) Mauresmo vs. (16) Sprem, Clijsters vs. (5) Myskina, Ivanovic vs. (6) Kuznetsova, and (4) Dementieva vs. (22) Golovin. "It's going to be a good match," said Molik on facing former No. 1 comeback player Henin-Hardenne. "I think, you know, she hasn't played a lot of tennis in the last couple of months, so it's a very good opportunity for me. She's beaten me the last couple of times." 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 Serena Williams explaining why there are no young Americans breaking out in the rankings: "I think America is so charged into becoming a pop icon. I mean, 'Top Model,' I watch the show, I want to be on it. I also want to be on 'American Idol.' So, you know, everyone's kind of trying to do that. But then you have some people who are playing tennis and who are really dedicated. But I don't know, I think in some of these different countries they have different obstacles that maybe we don't have, unless you're from the urban area. And so I think that's where we should try to put our focus on, is the kids that have to go through some obstacles, that can appreciate it. Like, I mean, I appreciate where I am and I want to keep it this way."...Marat Safin on meeting others' expectations: "You know how many times I hear stories about me 'He should have done that, he should have won five majors, 10 Masters Series events, he should have won like 30 tournaments'? Who cares. It's my career. I have done it for seven years that I am on the tour. I've been like four years in Top 10, Top 5, and then I won, like, two majors, five Masters Series, I won a Davis Cup, so it's pretty good...Of course more tournaments will come. Just I'm a little bit tired, you know, like every time I hear opinions, 'I should be there,' or, 'He should be doing this.' It gets a little tiring."...Speaking of top players, remember how complaints from certain journos streamed in at last year's US Open that you cannot wear your favorite star's name or likeness on a simple t-shirt? Well, that hasn't changed much but you may be able to get other products. Ace Authentic, a new Tennis company out of Tampa, Florida and Tennis-X sponsor, produces officially-licensed player-signed memorabilia, posters, photos and trading cards. All the top ranked players in the world such as Sharapova, Roddick, Federer and Davenport are clients of Ace Authentic. Check out their site to order new 2005 products at www.aceauthentic.com. End plug...Ivan Ljubicic on Michael Llodra pulling a practical joke, hiding naked inside his locker: "Oh, was 10 to 10, 10 minutes to 10. I went to take a shower. I come back in locker room -- I mean, I came back and I see my stuff on the ground, from the locker. Yeah, I was like -- and a lot of people, a lot of people in locker room because the matches at 10 o'clock, they were just getting ready. I was like, 'What's going on? My stuff on the ground?' I see the doors of the locker just slightly open. So I went to open the locker and then shock, completely shocked. What happened, Michael Llodra naked in my locker. I mean...he was looking at me, I was looking at him. I said, 'What the hell are you doing here? I'm trying to focus for my match.' I said, 'It's 10 to 10, you're playing at 10 o'clock.'...I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if to laugh or, you know, looking at people around me. I mean, obviously, everybody knew because it takes time to get in. He said to me 'I'm trying to get positive energy from you. You're winning a lot of matches this year.' I mean, he is weird guy. Maybe next time I'm gonna tell you another stories with him. Just imagine that he's actually father. I mean, this kid is really lucky kid. I mean, he's gonna have great time with him. It's just, it's not easy to get in that locker, I'm telling you. He is not small guy. Very flexible. Very, very flexible. Naked." |
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