Both World No. 1s Lose Friday; Roddick Dumped by ReebokPosted on April 16, 2005 Federer Blows Match Points in Loss at ATP Monte CarloRoger Federer's claycourt campaign hit a snag Friday as the world No. 1 failed to convert on three match points in a 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(8) quarterfinal loss to French qualifier Richard Gasquet at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo. "He played good, you know, when it mattered," Federer said. "He could have closed it out earlier. He missed it, though. That gave me a chance, I came back. I should have won it. But it was a close match. I thought it was good, quality tennis." Gasquet was competing in his first ATP-level event of the year after coming off injury, and snapped Federer's 25-match winning streak, handing the Swiss only his second loss of the season. "He played very well in the beginning, then he started becoming a bit nervous," Gasquet said. "I was able to return well and to play crosscourt, which bothered him. I don't know what I did better than he did." The most stunning quarterfinal display was put on by Spanish teen and No. 11 seed Rafael Nadal, who embarrassed the current French Open holder and No. 4 seed Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-0. "It was a very complicated and very difficult match," Nadal said. "He was a bit nervous at the start. I learned the lessons from Buenos Aires, because then I rushed too much. This time, I played being more calm and I was waiting for him to miss." Also into the semis were No. 6 seed Guillermo Coria, who came back to beat Spaniard Dave Ferrer from a set down, and resurgent former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero who easily handled Italy's Filippo Volandri in straight sets. "When I came here I was not very confident, but Monte Carlo is a place where I feel good and it suits me well," said Coria in a statement that could have easily also come from Ferrero. "So this result is good for my confidence." Saturday's semifinal match-ups are (6) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. (WC) Ferrero (JC has won both their career meetings on clay), and (Q) Gasquet vs. (11) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (Nadal won their lone meeting in three sets). The doubles semis will see Frenchmen (6) Llodra/Santoro vs. Americans (3) Bryan/Bryan, and Aussies (4) Arthurs/Hanley vs. (5) Paes/Zimonjic. "Every time I play against (Gasquet), I get injured," Nadal said. "Once I had to abandon the match because of my injury, and the second time they had to carry me off of the court because I was not even able to walk." Davenport Not Hip on Retirement Against Henin at WTA Charleston Former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne advanced into the semifinals Friday at the WTA stop in Charleston when her much-anticipated match with world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport was cut short after the American retired in the third set with a hip injury. "It's not the way I like to win, but you have to take it," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm happy I'm in the semis, but I would for sure prefer it another way." Davenport received medical treatment as early as the opening set. "I was doing a pretty good job of just going for my shots and going for winners right away," Davenport said. "But you know, after a while, you just can't play under 50 percent out there." No. 13-seeded Tatiana Golovin continued her dirt streak in Charleston, following up her win over Venus Williams with a straight-set win over No. 7 seed Nadia Petrova. "This really has been a great tournament for me," Golovin said. "I'm really excited. I think I played a solid match out there." Others into the semis were No. 2 seed Elena Dementieva (d. Srebotnik in three), and No. 8 Patty Schnyder (d. Vaidisova). "I think that was the most difficult condition that I have ever played, and it was a great fight for both of us," Dementieva said. "With all this cold weather and wind, I was like, 'Is it a tournament or is it the Survivor show,' because you really had to survive on the court today." Aside from her stellar analogies, Dementieva says her meeting with Schnyder in the semis could be even more difficult. "I think she's the toughest player on the claycourts," Dementieva said. "She's so unpredictable, and it's very difficult because she has a great feeling here with all the slice and drop shots that she can make." Saturday's line-up is the unseeded Henin-Hardenne vs. (13) Golovin, and (8) Schnyder vs. (2) Dementieva, and in doubles Raymond/Stubbs vs. Benesova/Peschke, and Dominguez Lino/Medina Garrigues vs. Martinez/Ruano Pascual. DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning 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 Anna Kournikova shot to the top of the Yahoo! Buzz sports search topic list Friday, with the former Russian tennis Barbie's activities including shopping with boyfriend/husband/whatever Enrique Iglesias in L.A. as he records his next album, and composing a will: "I think everybody should do that," Kounikova said. "It's really, really good. I like to have everything kind of in order. I'm a little too organized. I have every single paper you can imagine." Except that paper that reads "Kournikova Wins First Title." Boo-ya! Yeah, can it with the "You're mean!" e-mails, you were thinking that too...Andy Roddick has been dumped by Reebok, and will reportedly sign a deal worth approximately $5 million per year with French clothing manufacturer Lacoste. Should make A-Rod a big hit at Roland Garros for the one or two rounds he is around...From the Daily Democrat Friday: "John McEnroe was up to his usual antics visiting UC Davis Thursday afternoon to participate in the dedication ceremony of the new $800,000 upgrade to the UCD tennis facilities, The Marya Welch Tennis Center. Despite the friendly atmosphere, McEnroe was up to his normal behavior -- staring down line judges, throwing his racquet in disgust, and even giving the chair umpire a piece of his mind. Most of it was all for fun and entertainment, but a couple times his profanity crossed the family-appropriate barrier." Who would have thought that was a possibility...Venus Williams said Charleston was probably her last WTA event before the French Open. |
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