Clijsters v Kuzy at Eastbourne; Krajicek Pulls From Wimbledon
Posted on June 17, 2005
Rochus Chops Down Karlovic at ATP NottinghamNo. 7 seed Olivier Rochus withstood a barrage of aces to stop the run of one of the hottest grasscourt players on tour, Ivo Karlovic, downing the Croat 7-6(0), 6-7(3), 6-4 to advance into the semifinals at the ATP stop in Nottingham.
"You know you just have to play the ball, not the player," said Rochus, who weathered 26 aces to beat Karlovic for the third straight time. "It doesn't matter if he's 10 foot tall, 5 foot tall or 1 foot tall, you still have to hit the ball and that is what I thought about today."
No. 4 seed Richard Gasquet also demonstrated his grasscourt acumen with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win over No. 6 seed and defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan.
"Getting to the semifinals is a great feeling," said Gasquet, who ascended to the No. 1-ranked French position with the win on the ATP Rankings over countryman Sebastien Grosjean. "I came into this week without any expectations, just hoping to get some matches before Wimbledon, so it's a great feeling."
Also into the semis were No. 5 Taylor Dent who for once watched an opponent get injured when No. 2 seed Thomas Johansson retired in the second set with a groin pull, and No. 8 Max Mirnyi who straight-setted unseeded Dane Kenneth Carlsen.
Saturday's semifinal match-ups at "The Not" are (4) Gasquet vs. (5) Taylor "Acci-" Dent, and (7) Olivier "The Roach" Rochus vs. (8) Max "The Beast" Mirnyi.
Ancic, Philippoussis Headed for Showdown at ATP 's-Hertogenbosch
Grasscourt favorites No. 3 seed Mario Ancic (d. Arthurs, firing 19 aces) and wildcard Mark Philippoussis (d. Garcia-Lopez in two tiebreaks) served their way into the quarterfinals at the ATP stop in 's-Hertogenbosch during this the last week of grasscourt warm-ups before Wimbledon.
"It's been a long time since I won two in a row it feels like," Philippoussis said. "It's all positive stuff. I'm just looking forward to go out there in my next match, trying to improve on everything, stay healthy and just enjoy myself."
Also into the quarters Thursday were two un-seeds in Italy's David Sanguinetti (d. Schalken) and Swede Jonas Bjorkman (d. Benneteau).
Friday's quarterfinals line up as Sanguinetti vs. (WC) Philippoussis, Bjorkman vs. (3) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Kohlschreiber vs. Hernych, and Burgsmuller vs. Llodra.
Kuznetsova, Clijsters Into Semis at WTA Eastbourne
Rain disrupted play Thursday at the WTA stop in Eastbourne but not before the two favorites for the title, No. 2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. (8) Dechy) and No. 7 Kim Clijsters (d. (LL) Washington) slid into the semifinals on the grasscourts.
"I'm feeling more and more comfortable on the grass," Clijsters said. "I've been practicing here for a while, so it's been nice to have some matches to play."
Also into the semifinals was Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina, who received a free pass when Marion Bartoli retired trailing 0-5 with a foot injury.
Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci was threatening to make it two qualifiers into the semis, leading No. 4 seed Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 0-1 when the match was suspended for the day.
On tap for Friday in Eastbourne is Myskina vs. Vinci (to finish), Clijsters vs. Kuznetsova, and Douchevina vs. Myskina or Vinci.
"We know each other really well, and have good practice sessions together," said Clijsters on Kuznetsova. "But as I always say, I'm going to play the ball and not the opponent. For the moment, I'm thinking about my next match, not about winning the tournament yet."
Russians, Krajicek Sent Skidding at WTA 's-Hertogenbosch
Upsets Thursday at the WTA stop in 's-Hertogenbosch produced some ugly semifinals when the tournament lost its No. 2 and 4 seeds, and its biggest wildcard draw.
Russian No. 2 seed Nadia Petrova was sent out in three sets by No. 6 Gisela Dulko, while Russian No. 4 Dinara Safina was straight-setted on the grasscourts by Czech Lucie Safarova.
"I'm very happy with my game today," said Dulko who revealed her intricate strategy. "It was tough but I just kept trying to play my game and return all her balls."
Also into the semis were No. 8 seed Klara Koukalova (d. Czech compatriot Chladkova), and unseeded American Meghann Shaughnessy (d. (WC) Krajicek, who retired in the first set with a knee injury).
"I went over a little on my ankle and when I tried to catch myself I did something to my right knee," Krajicek said. "I've had a lot of bad luck over the last few months and hope that my luck changes from now on."
Scheduled for the Friday semifinals are (8) Klara "Kouky" Koukalova vs. Shaughnessy, and Safarova vs. (6) Gisela "Sgt." Dulko.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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