Molik Pulls From Wimbledon; Unhappiness Over Roddick Seeding Ahead of Hewitt
Posted on June 16, 2005
Karlovic Mows Down Ljubicic at ATP NottinghamSix-foot-10 giant Ivo Karlovic ousted top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1) Wednesday at the ATP stop in Nottingham, downing his Croat countryman to advance into the quarterfinals.
For Karlovic it was the second consecutive week of taking out a top seed after upending former No. 1 and Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt en route to the final at Queen's.
Also into the quarters Wednesday were six of the eight seeds in (2) Thomas Johansson (d. Berdych in two tiebreaks), (4) Richard Gasquet (d. (WC) Marray), (5) Taylor Dent (d. American countryman (Q) Rettenmaier in three), defending champ (6) Paradorn Srichaphan (d. (Q) Vacek in two tiebreaks), (7) Olivier Rochus (d. Beck), and (8) Max Mirnyi (d. H.-T. Lee).
"He's a good player on grass so it was tough at the beginning but I got better as the match went on," Gasquet said of the Brit Marray. "I feel like my game is getting better on grass and I think I can play very well on this surface and I'm looking forward to Wimbledon."
Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen joined Karlovic as the second unseeded entry into the quarters, upsetting (3) Dominik Hrbaty in straight sets.
The Thursday quarterfinal line-up will be (6) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan vs. (4) Gasquet, (5) Taylor "Acci-" Dent vs. (2) T.Johansson, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic vs. (7) Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, and Carlsen vs. (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi.
"I played Gasquet not long ago on clay and he beat me easily so we'll see how it goes tomorrow," said Srichaphan on his meeting with the French wunderteen. "I'm not thinking about defending my title. I'm in the quarterfinals already and I just think about it one match at a time so that there is less pressure."
Top Two Robredo, Coria Lead Seeded Exodus at ATP 's-Hertogenbosch
All four seeds in action exited at the ATP stop in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands Wednesday, lead by No. 1 Tommy Robredo (l. to Burgsmuller) and No. 2 Guillermo Coria (l. to Hernych).
"I have to improve on this surface," Coria said. "It's a real pity that I lost. I'll give my best for Wimbledon and I'll practice as hard as I can."
Also to the bench was No. 5 seed Robin Solderling (l. to Kohlschreiber) who blew two match points, and No. 8 Paul-Henri Mathieu who lost a three-set struggle against French compatriot Michael Llodra.
Scheduled on the lawns Thursday are Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez vs. (WC) Mark "The Scud" Philippoussis, Sanguinetti vs. Schalken, Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs vs. (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, and Bjorkman vs. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau.
Krajicek Thrills With Upset at WTA 's-Hertogenbosch
Wildcard teen Michaella Krajicek, sister of Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, made her own cut on the grasscourts at the WTA stop in 's-Hertogenbosch Wednesday, ousting No. 3 seed Anabel Madina Garrigues 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to advance into the quarterfinals.
"I'm really happy that I won today because I need more matches, especially on grass," Krajicek said. "I was a little nervous in the third set because it was really windy and I missed some easy balls. It's important for me to get more ranking points and get into bigger tournaments."
American Meghann Shaughnessy also produced an upset, defeating No. 7 seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld when the German retired in the third set trailing 0-3 with a thigh pull.
Others into the quarterfinals were (2) Nadia Petrova (d. Diaz-Oliva), (4) Dinara Safina (d. Kirilenko), (6) Gisela Dulko (d. Camerin, bagel in the second), (8) Klara Koukalova (d. Schaul, bagel in the third), and unseeded Czech Lucie Safarova (d. Ruano Pascual 1-and-1).
On court Thursday are (WC) Krajicek vs. Shaughnessy, (6) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko vs. (2) Petrova, Chladkova vs. (8) Klara "Kouky" Koukalova in an all-Czech, and Safarova vs. (4) Safina.
Mauresmo Ousted by Qualifier at WTA Eastbourne
Amelie Mauresmo's grasscourt preparation hit a mole hole Wednesday at the WTA stop in Eastbourne when the former No. 1 was dismissed 6-4, 6-4 on the lawns in the second round by Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina.
"She was obviously playing better than me today, but I was not happy with my form," said Mauresmo who lost serve three times. "I was hoping to have a better preparation for Wimbledon, and get a few matches here, but it was difficult to find my rhythm today. I was feeling good in practice, but it wasn't there in the match."
Also mowed under Wednesday was No. 5 seed Vera Zvonareva (l. to (Q) Vinci) and former Wimbledon champ and wildcard Conchita Martinez (l. to (7) Clijsters).
Others seeds into the quarterfinals were (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. countrywoman (Q) Chakvetadze 7-6 in the third), (4) Anastasia Myskina (d. (LL) Vento-Kabchi 6-0 in the third), and (8) Nathalie Dechy (d. Frazier in three).
"I think it was obvious she was nervous serving for the match at 5-4," said Kuznetsova, who is known for battling her own nerves in big matches. "I think I have an advantage with my experience, and that helped me to win this match. Last year when I won the title I had a few three-set matches, so I know how to handle the pressure here."
For Myskina the win snapped a four-match losing streak.
"I'm very happy because I won my first match in a long time," said the 23-year-old Russian, who will face Roberta Vinci on Thursday. "Roberta is a qualifier, but she's played a lot of matches this week, so she's going to have some good form. I'm going to have to play well and take my chances."
Winners in all-unseeded contests were France's Marion Bartoli (d. (LL) Raymond) and American lucky loser Mashona Washington (d. Razzano).
On court Thursday in Eastbourne are Dechy vs. Kuznetsova, Clijsters vs. Washington, Myskina vs. Vinci, and Douchevina vs. Bartoli.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Alicia Molik has pulled from Wimbledon, still suffering the effects of an inner ear infection: "After competing last week and in doubles yesterday, I've realized I'm not fully recovered yet. The condition affects by balance, perception and vision and I haven't been able to play my usual serve-and-volley game as a result. It also makes me tired, so it's a number of things. I don't want to compete if I'm not feeling 100 percent, and at the moment I'm feeling around 70 percent. I've been told the recovery period for this condition can be up to six months, and it's only been two-and-a-half months for me."...SI.com's Jon Wertheim says more of the slams should do their own seeding: "Grass is probably more of a "specialty surface" than clay, but I'd like to see Roland Garros employ subjective seeding as well. Tossing the No. 2 seed at (Andy) Roddick, for instance, is just plain silly. Yes, it reflects his ranking and rewards him for his play over the past 52 weeks. But who does this serve?" Well, it served Roddick, since as you said, he earned it...The BBC pulled a Wimbledon ad showing a player shattering into tiny fragments as she is hit by a tennis ball because people calling in said it was too upsetting to children. Here's American Peter Bodo's (TennisWorld blog) take: "You don't really think about the staid and stodgy BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) getting embroiled in controversies over advertising, mainly because the Beeb (the UKs version of our own U.S. Public Broadcasting Corporation) doesn't even air commercials. It's a publicly owned and operated network, which means that it gets most of its operating revenue from taxpayer dollars. So I have to assume the trailer that got the network into trouble is some kind of in-house promotion of their Wimbledon coverage. The irony here is that this is exactly the kind of story the Beeb itself would pounce on if it were happening at a U.S. network, because "Auntie" (a favorite nickname for the BBC among Brits, because of the network's prudish and earnestly educational aura) is an extremely anti-American outfit."...Jelena Dokic, who once beat world No. 1 Martina Hingis as a qualifier at Wimbledon, is still a mystery over suddenly pulling out of her wildcard spot in the qualifying this year at the All-England Club...Long-time Tennis Week senior contributing writer Edward T. "Ned" Chase passed away at his home in New York on June 9th after a long illness. He was 86. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ethelyn Atha Chase, two sons, Edward Thornton and Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase, who starred on Saturday Night Live and in several feature films, two daughters, Cynthia Chase-Culler and Daphne Chase Rowe, and nine grandchildren...Wimbledon released their "we made these up" seedings Wednesday, putting Andy Roddick at No. 2 behind Roger Federer...Maria Sharapova will have to win Wimbledon and pray for an early-round loss by Lindsay Davenport to ascend to the No. 1 ranking...With husband Andre on the decline, is Steffi Graf prepared to make a Wimbledon singles appearance? "It's not 100 percent sure, but I would like to play on that (Centre) court very much," Graf told the German media. "And my shape is good enough for that."...According to Tennis Week, Maria Sharapova "has improved her serve studying with serving specialist Phil Dent, a former Australian Open runner-up and father of serve-and-volleyer Taylor Dent."...Wacky Dad Alert: Richard Williams will be the main mentor for Venus and Serena Williams at Wimbledon rather than mother Oracene...Pat Cash on the No. 2-ranked Lleyton Hewitt being shuttered behind Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon seedings: "I think it's a real slap in the face. I don't think it's fair that they should be changing it around. Lleyton Hewitt is the number two player in the world. He should have stayed No. 2. He is a Wimbledon champion. He is the (2005) Australian Open finalist. I don't like them tinkering with the seeds. The guys work the whole year to get rankings to win the grand slams. It has certainly given (Andy) Roddick a boost that I don't think he deserves over Hewitt. The rankings are there for a reason. They are fair."...Today in the Wimbledon qualifying, American Ashley "Anna 2.0" Harkleroad faces Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in a battle of former Wimbledon junior champs...John McEnroe on Roger Federer at Wimbledon: "If he plays well, there's no way he's going to lose. I could see him not playing his best and winning. That's how much better he is on this surface. When it gets to like hard courts, then you can throw other guys in the mix, like Marat Safin if he's hot, Rafael Nadal has come into the mix, and hopefully Andy Roddick is going to get back on the right track. But I thought Andy played the best match I ever saw him play last year in the final, and Roger didn't play his best, and Roger still won. That just shows you how good he is. It's like beating Pete Sampras. It's the same type of situation. It's really, really difficult if he's on his game. And last year he found a way even when he wasn't playing his best. When I saw him win the first one, I thought he'd win at least five. There's no reason for me to think otherwise at the moment"...The Wimbledon draw ceremony will commence today at 10:30 a.m. Brit time...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, ranked No. 21, has been seeded No. 10 at Wimbledon.