Federer Says No to Replay, Coria Says Bring On NadalPosted on May 26, 2005 Nadal, Gasquet Advance to Match-up at French OpenNo. 4 seed Rafael Nadal defeated Belgian Xavier Malisse in straight sets Wednesday to set up the much-anticipated meeting with French teen and No. 30 seed Richard Gasquet, who also advanced with a straight-set win over Dutchman Peter Wessels. "It will be a nice match," said Nadal, who leads Gasquet 2-1 in their career head-to-head meetings. "It was tough in Monte Carlo (where Nadal came back from a set down to win). He's a complete player with a good backhand. If I concentrate on my game, I'll have a chance to win." Top-seeded Roger Federer also advanced with an easier-than-expected straight-set win over Spanish riser Nicolas Almagro. "I thought it was quite different today, you know, than my previous match," Federer said. "First of all, the opponent, but then also the conditions. I thought it was different court, as well. I thought it was much quicker. Had to kind of get used to that. I feel I'm in the tournament, of course. I got the rhythm." Seeded victims on the day who didn't have the rhythm were (7) Tim Henman (l. to Horna in four), (26) Jiri Novak (l. to Mantilla in five), (31) Juan Ignacio Chela (l. to Hanescu in four), and (33) Robin Soderling (l. to H.-T. Lee). Henman received a warning for an audible obscenity during his loss. "Sometimes you get French and Spaniards...seems to be a leeway there," Henman said after losing to Horna. "But as soon as anything English comes out, then, you know, it's another warning. I can't defend what I said, but it seems that sometimes in other languages, it's okay." Other seeded winners were (5) Gaston Gaudio (d. Tursunov by walkover (knee injury)), (10) David Nalbandian (d. (Q) Berdych, dropping only five games), (14) Carlos Moya (d. Vik in four), (16) Radek Stepanek (d. Serra), (18) Mario Ancic (d. O.Hernandez after dropping the first), (20) David Ferrer (d. Patience), (23) Sebastien Grosjean (d. Sanguinetti), and (25) Fernando Gonzalez (d. (Q) Behrend). In the only all-unseeded match on the day, Spain's Fernando Vicente defeated Serb Janko Tipsarevic in four sets. Scheduled for Thursday are (8) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria vs. Djokovic, (28) Kiefer vs. Clement, Mathieu vs. Chris "Penthouse" Guccione, (2) Roddick vs. Acasuso, (21) Haas vs. Spadea, (3) Safin vs. Dlouhy, (9) Canas vs. Montanes, (32) Ferrero vs. Hernych, (29) Youzhny vs. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, (19) T.Johansson vs. D.Sanchez, (27) Volandri vs. Flavio "Of the Day" Saretta, Blake vs. Wawrinka, (12) Davydenko vs. Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, (15) Robredo vs. D.Norman, Puerta vs. Vliegen, and Nieminen vs. Andreev. Americans Davenport, Venus Struggle at French Open Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport (d. Peng after dropping the first set) and No. 11 Venus Williams (d. Zuluaga in three) struggled into the third round Wednesday at the French Open. It was the second consecutive three-set win for Davenport, who skipped all the European claycourt lead-up tournaments. "I definitely got lucky and escaped one today," said Davenport, who sounded resigned to her fate of eventually exiting without raising the trophy at Roland Garros. "This is going to be my toughest two-week tournament, however long I last. I don't expect to reach for the stars here." Venus didn't help her cause with nine double faults against the Colombian Zuluaga. "It was a challenging match," Venus said. "I think the best part was she's a player with variety. Sometimes she's hitting harder, and sometimes with more spin. I got to see everything I'll see throughout the rest of the tournament." Other seeded winners Wednesday were (4) Elena Dementieva (d. Mamic), (8) Patty Schnyder (d. Kloesel), (9) Vera Zvonareva (d. Birnerova 6-0 in the third), (14) Kim Clijsters (d. Cervanova), (16) Elena Likhovtseva (d. Diaz-Oliva), (18) Silvia Farina Elia (d. Parra Santonja), (20) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Castano), (21) Mary Pierce (d. Kostanic 1-and-0), and (32) Flavia Pennetta (d. Domachowska). "For me it's never easy to play first or second round because I need some time to get to the game, to get to the tournament," Dementieva said. "I think it was a tough match, but I'm glad I could finish in two sets." Orchestrating upsets on the day were Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva (d. (19) Asagoe), France's Emilie Loit (d. (27) Frazier), and Japan's Akiko Morigami (d. (31) Sprem). Winners in the only all-unseeded meetings were Italy's Virginie Razzano (d. C.Fernandez 1-and-1) and Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi (d. Sanchez Lorenzo). On court Thursday for the women are (2) Sharapova vs. Rezai, (13) Dechy vs. Stosur, (10) Henin-Hardenne vs. Ruano Pascual, (3) Mauresmo vs. Cornet, (7) Petrova vs. Beltrame, (17) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin vs. Antonella Serra "Nevada" Zanetti, (6) Kuznetsova vs. Arvidsson, (22) Schiavone vs. Vaidisova, (29) Ivanovic vs. Benesova, Brandi vs. Nuria Llagostera "Pancho" Vives, (24) Maleeva vs. Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, (30) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko vs. Irvin, (12) Bovina vs. Garbin, Smashnova-Pistolesi vs. Groenefeld, Chakvetadze vs. Klara "Kouky" Koukalova, and Peschke vs. Peer. 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 Roger Federer says 'just say no' to the replay system or allowing players to challenge a call with a video replay: "I spoke to (US Open Tournament Director) Jim Curley. I spoke to him. We spoke about the issue. I have a very strong opinion about it. I'm absolutely against it. I'm against the challenge system. I'm for the way it is right now, don't change that. Told him about the difficulties about looking also ahead for all the other tournaments, how much money will blow out by doing that because I think it's going to cost too much money. We can use that for other reasons than for this couple of calls a match. Of course, the big issue's about the Serena and Jennifer Capriati match, and that was in the beginning of the third that that happened. So for me it didn't really play a big role for the outcome. So I was against it. He acknowledged that. That's my opinion."...Tim Henman on why he can't win Wimbledon: "I always felt like it was getting slower and slower at Wimbledon. I couldn't quite put my finger on it...So then I spoke to Wimbledon, and Wimbledon said they open all the balls 'about' a week before the tournament. I think that might have a part to play in why you feel like you're using flat balls after four or five games. It's obviously one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard of. But they said certainly for the last couple of years there they've opened the balls, you know, a couple of weeks before the tournament...When you're out there trying to hit your serve and it won't go past 60 (miles per hour)...might have something to do with it." Never seemed to bother Pete...Do French fans no longer seem interested in showing up at Roland Garros? Lots of empty seats during matches...What's up with ESPN showing a Maria Sharapova tape while there's live tennis being played? Save that for the rain or late afternoon, or 2 a.m...Martina Navratilova and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who boast 72 slam titles between them, lost in the first round of the doubles Wednesday at Roland Garros...Paul Haarhuis was inducted into the U.S. Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame...Guillermo Coria says after two losses this claycourt season to Rafael Nadal, he will be awaiting the Spaniard eager to reverse the result: "I think really he is the rival I need to defeat. I would really like to be able to play against him once more. He knows that he's going to fight hard if he wants to beat me." |
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