Federer Beats Coria; Sharapova Two Wins From No. 1Posted on May 14, 2005
In a battle of two guys who know how to play in Hamburg, World No. 1 and two-time tournament champ Roger Federer sent a crisp and clear message to the Roland Garros contenders that he is for real after defeating Guillermo Coria 6-4, 7-6(3) in a quarterfinal encounter on Friday. Federer, who has faced some serious competition amid poor conditions, has dropped ZERO sets all week and is the outright favorite to capture his sixth ATP title on the season on Sunday. “I have the feeling, I'm back to a very good form on clay,” said Federer. “The last few years I've always felt good here in Hamburg. I don't want to over estimate my level of play. Because once I get on the French Open courts, the balls are different, the clay a bit quicker, who knows. I will just have to adjust again. I'm feeling good.” Federer was actually 3-1 down in the first set and 5-3 down in the second set before overcoming both deficits. Coria served for the second set at 5-4 but Federer broke for the third time in the match. “I had my chances, especially serving at 5:4 in the second set. I had to fight very hard for each point. The game was played at such high intensity,” Coria said. “It was a shame I couldn't take my chances. Today the way I feel is that it is almost impossible to beat Federer.” Sorry, Guillermo, it wasn’t a shame. Among the other winners on Friday were a pair of qualifiers who will face each other in the semifinals with Richard Gasquet (d. Seppi) and Christophe Rochus, a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victor over Juan Ignacio Chela. Federer will meet Nikolay Davydenko, who defeated Filippo Volandri 7-6(5), 6-4 in Saturday’s semifinals. “It's the best moment of my career so far,” said Rochus, who sort of resembles a tennis ball. “I have to enjoy it, even if I know I have one more match tomorrow. Today, it's like a present to me. So, I have to enjoy it first and then tomorrow start to be back for the semifinal.” In the doubles semifinals, No. 2 seeds Bjorkman-Mirnyi take on Croatians Ancic-Ljubicic and No. 6 seeds Paes-Zimonjic play No. 8 Llodra-Santoro
Top dawgs Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo both advanced to the Rome semifinals with little trouble. The second-seeded Mauresmo defeated four-time Rome winner Conchita Martinez 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes. The Frenchwoman converted five of seven break points in her third straight win against Martinez who won titles in Rome from 1993 through 1996. "She had some opportunities early in the first set," said the third-ranked defending champion. "I was able to break her first and then play some great tennis." Top seed Sharapova was equally impressive ousting No.9 seed Elena Bovina 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour to advance to her first career clay court semifinal. "I think working hard physically, which has been my goal in the last year, is paying off," said Sharapova. "It's going to get tougher and tougher as the matches go on, so you have to be really ready for it." Should she win the title here, Sharapova will become the 15th player and first Russian to ascend to No.1 on the WTA Tour singles rankings. Yikes. Also on Friday, No.6 seed Vera “Warren” Zvonareva was a 7-5, 7-6(4) winner over Italian hero Francesca Schiavone and No.8 seed Patty “Cake” Schnyder routed unseeded Russian teenager Evgenia Linetskaya 6-1, 6-0. In the Saturday semifinals, Sharapova faces Schnyder, while Mauresmo takes on Zvonareva. Sharapova and Schnyder have played just once prior to Rome, a tough three-set win for the Russian in the semifinals at the grass court event in Birmingham last year. "I think she is one of the strongest players on Tour," said Schnyder on the reigning Wimbledon champion. "I will focus on returning her serve and playing good rallies." Mauresmo and Zvonareva have faced each other six times previously, with Mauresmo coming out the victor on each occasion. In Saturday's doubles semifinals, No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber will face No.3 seeds Zvonareva and Elena Likhovtseva, while No.4 seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Meghann Shaughnessy will battle the unseeded pair of Maria Kirilenko and Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Top seed Dinara “Lil Sis” Safina cruised past her doubles partner and local favorite Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-4 in the Prague quarterfinals on Friday. The 19-year-old Safina is seeking her fourth career title, having won tournaments at Sopot in 2002, Palermo in 2003 and her biggest at the Paris Indoors earlier this year. Second-seeded Czech Klara “Kooky” Koukalova was kooky just enough to defeat American vet Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-4 and give the locals something to cheer about. In the semifinals, Safina will face 123rd-ranked qualifier Laura Pous Tio of Spain, while Koukalova will play 98th-ranked Czech Zuzana Ondraskova. Pous Tio is making just her second main draw appearance on the WTA Tour while Ondraskova is making her first semifinal appearance. Koukalova and Ondraskova have split two career meetings, with Koukalova victorious at Ortisei in 2003, and Ondraskova a winner at Antwerp the same year. Safina and Pous Tio will be meeting for the first time. In Friday's doubles semifinals, No.2 seeds Emilie Loit and Nicole Pratt ousted the unseeded Czech pair of Olga Blahotova and Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-11, but top seeds Benesova and Safina weren't so lucky, losing 7-6(4), 6-2 to Kostanic and Barbora Strycova, who were unseeded. DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS |
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Federer Clubs Coria at ATP Hamburg