Williams Reality Bites, Fish Swims Past Murray at ATP Indy
Posted on July 21, 2005
Fish Outlasts Murray-Mania at ATP IndianapolisNo. 16 seed Mardy Fish survived a three-set test from celebrated Wimbledon break-out player Andy Murray Wednesday at the ATP stop in Indianapolis, outlasting the British teen 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
"He's a very good counter-puncher and he passes well," said Fish, returning to the tour this week after a wrist injury. "He's a good, talented player and I am happy with the win."
Other seeded winners on the day were (2) Nicolas Kiefer (d. Dupuis), (4) Taylot Dent (d. Gambill), (9) Paradorn Srichaphan (d. Carraz), (10) Karol Beck (d. Bjorkman), and (12) Kenneth Carlsen (d. Baghdatis in three).
Local Indiana wildcard Rajeev Ram continued his torrid play in front of the home fans, defeating Czech lucky loser Tomas Cakl in straight sets, joined by fellow American upset winners Paul Goldstein, who shocked No. 6 seed Max Mirnyi after getting bageled in the first set, and Kevin Kim who ousted No. 14 seed Hyung-Taik Lee.
Other un-seeds with upsets into the third round were Swiss George Bastl (d. (3) Hrbaty in three), Ecuador's Giovanni Lapentti (d. (11) Saulnier in three), German Bjorn Phau (d. (13) Hernych), and Israel's Noam Okun (d. (15) Malisse).
The quarterfinal spots are up for grabs Thursday with match-ups (9) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan vs. Robby "Baby Courier" Ginepri, K.Kim vs. (2) Kiefer, Phau vs. (4) Taylor "Acci-" Dent, (1) Roddick vs. Okun, Goldstein vs. G.Lapentti, Bastl vs. (16) Fish, (10) Beck vs. (WC) R.Ram, and (7) "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. (12) Carlsen.
Nadal, Gaudio Grind Dirt Wins at ATP Stuttgart
The top four seeds moved into the fourth round of play Wednesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Stuttgart in French Open champ (1) Rafael Nadal (d. (Q) Armando), Russian clay specialist (2) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Ramirez Hidalgo), former French champ (3) Gaston Gaudio (d. (WC) A.Beck), and Spaniard (4) Tommy Robredo (d. Starace from a set down).
"I'm happy about my first match, I think I played at a good level today," said Nadal after recording his 30th consecutive win on clay. "People think I'm the favorite because I won the last tournaments. But I know that every match is difficult."
Other seeds advancing were (6) Jiri Novak (d. Sabau 6-0 in the third), (11) Tomas Berdych (d. Kohlschreiber in three), and (16) Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. A.Costa).
Seven players orchestrated seeded upsets Wednesday in Argentine Juan Monaco (d. (5) Ferrer), Germans Rainer Schuettler (d. (7) Youzhny) and (WC) Alexander Waske (d. (13) Acasuso), Fin Jarkko Nieminen (d. (10) Melzer in three), Czech Tomas Zib (d. (12) Pavel from a set down), Spaniard Fernando Verdasco (d. (14) Andreev 7-6 in the third), and Italy's Andreas Seppi (d. (15) A.Martin).
Scheduled for Thursday in Stuttgart are Nieminen vs. (6) Novak, (4) Robredo vs. Seppi, (WC) Waske vs. (2) Davydenko, Schuettler vs. (11) Berdych, (1) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco in an all-Spanish, Simon vs. Zabaleta, (16) Mathieu vs. (3) Gaudio, and Zib vs. Monaco.
Puerta Makes Transition From Grass to Clay at ATP Amersfoort
Mariano Puerta, coming off the triumphant Davis Cup upset at Australia on grass where he and David Nalbandian secured a clutch doubles point, successfully made the transition back to clay Wednesday at the ATP stop in Amersfoort, defeating Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-2.
No. 3 seed Nicolas Massu advanced into the quarterfinals with a straight-set win over Jiri Vanek, avoiding the upset bug that claimed No. 4 Christophe Rochus (l. to (WC) Van Gemerden) and No. 6 Victor Hanescu (l. to Calleri).
In the only all-unseeded match-up on the day, David Sanchez breezed by Spanish countryman Alex Calatrava in straight sets.
On tap for Thursday are (1) Puerta vs. (Q) Marin, Vik vs. (2) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter vs. Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali, and Minar vs. Ventura.
Two Seeds, 17-Year-Old Rookie Into Quarters at WTA Palermo
No. 3 Anabel Medina Garrigues (d. Martinez Granados) and No. 7 Roberta Vinci (d. Kostanic) advanced into the quarterfinals Wednesday at the WTA dirt stop in Palermo.
Stopped short of the quarters was No. 6 seed Marta Domachowska, beaten to the crowd's delight by 22-year-old unheralded Italian Nathalie Vierin.
Bulgarian 17-year-old Tszvetana Pironkova, competing in only her second WTA-level event of the year, surprised Anna Smashnova in straight sets to advance into the quarters.
Competing for spots in the quarters Thursday in Palermo are Muller vs. Llagostera Vives, Koukalova vs. Ani, Gagliardi vs. Pennetta, and Castano vs. Diaz-Oliva.
Schnyder Survives, Rubin Out at WTA Cincinnati
Top seed Patty Schnyder survived a three-set challenge Wednesday at the WTA stop in Cincinnati, outlasting Japan's Aiko Nakamura 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
No. 4 seed Daniela Hantuchova also ended the comeback run of No. 125-ranked Chanda Rubin with a 6-2, 7-5 win.
"I just tried to stay upbeat and positive and focus on every point," said Hantuchova who was behind a break in the second set. "When I was up 2-0 in the second set, she started to get more aggressive and I was also surprised by how much she was coming to the net. She played good shots and every game seemed to be close."
Other winners were Korea's Yoon Jeong Cho (d. Panova from a set down) and Israel teen Shahar Peer (d. (6) Sugiyama from a set down).
"She was trying to lose my rhythm by mixing it up a bit," said the slumping Sugiyama, who has not reached the quarterfinals in her last 16 events. "I was trying to keep my rhythm going, but just couldn't. I didn't start the season good and I haven't been able to keep my rhythm going all year. My health is getting better, but I just need to get my game together."
Scheduled for Thursday are Mirza vs. Brandi, Pin vs. Mattek, Morigami vs. Zvonareva, and Jankovic vs. Bammer.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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Nor does anyone get voted out of the family, and there are no actors pretending to be the sisters' masseuse or personal chef for comic relief. But how real is it to watch the prosaic routines of someone who makes tens of millions of dollars in endorsements and tournament winnings? The daily grind is the daily grind regardless of how glamorous the surroundings. There's nothing particularly fascinating about watching Kerrie, the Williams personal trainer, trying to get Venus to do her workout when she doesn't feel like it. It's not Venus and Serena's fault that the show is a dud. They are intelligent, attractive, and energetic young women living out their dreams on a very large stage, and there should be something inherently dramatic in that. The problem is that the show fails to find a line that would tie together the various elements. 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I always say that if there are people who take a genuine interest in me, I appreciate it with all my heart...My arms, my physique; that's all natural. I work out, but I don't lift weights like you might think. Just a normal workout. And a good head on your shoulders; that's something that either you've got or you don't. My family has instilled values in me since I was a kid. My uncle has always made me give 100 percent, and that's surely the reason why I'm a player with a good mentality."