Roddick Cruises, Henman Loses at ATP Washington
Posted on August 3, 2005No. 3 seed Tim Henman and wildcard entrant Mark Philippoussis continued their dismal 2005 campaigns Tuesday at the ATP stop in Washington, posting opening-round losses with the Brit falling to Wimbledon doubles winner Weslie Moodie in straight sets, and the moody Aussie going out in straights to Peru's Luis Horna.
"I didn't play badly tonight but that's the way things go sometimes. I ended up losing," Henman said. "Moodie is a guy that plays well. He's got a great serve and is aggressive."
The South African Moodie has been riding a wave of confidence since winning the Wimbledon doubles crown and hiring a full-time coach.
"The pressure was on him, I started to return very well at the end," Moodie said. "To beat a world-class player like Tim it gives me a lot of confidence. I know that I am able to win these types of matches."
Top-seeded Andy Roddick (d. G.Lapentti) cruised in straight sets, while No. 16 seed Tomas Zib recovered from a first-set bagel to defeat Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman in three sets.
"The momentum is definitely swinging my way," said Roddick, possibly suffering from heat-mania in describing his two biggest weaknesses as strengths. "Right now the biggest thing out there is I have options, if my serve is not there that night I can fall back on my backhand and concentrate on the volley."
No. 7 Max Mirnyi was another seeded victim, outlasted in three sets by Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic.
Other unseeded winners on the hardcourts were Americans Robby Ginepri (d. countryman K.Kim), (WC) Bobby Reynolds (d. (WC) Clayton) and (WC) Brian Baker (d. (Q) Heuberger), France's Arnaud Clement (d. N.Lapentti in three), Luxembourg's pride Gilles Muller (d. Sanguinetti), Aussie qualifier Nathan Healey (d. Carraz), and Czech Jan Hernych (d. (LL) De Chaunac).
"I hope that I can do something at the US Open," said the current US Open Series leader Ginepri. "That's what I'm preparing myself for with this summer sequence. And I've had a good run so far. I'm confident, I just need to keep the ball rolling from here."
On tap for Wednesday in Washington are Muller vs. (9) Massu, Blake vs. (4) Stepanek, Goldstein vs. (13) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, in doubles highlights (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Sebastien "The Skateboard Kid" Grosjean/Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, (12) Beck vs. Ginepri, (8) Grosjean vs. Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp, (11) "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. (Q) Healey, (15) Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. (WC) Bobby Reynolds "Wrap," (WC) Baker vs. (14) Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela, (LL) Bloomfield vs. Clement, Luis "Me So" Horna vs. (5) The Dominator, and Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs vs. (10) Berdych.
"I didn't play badly tonight but that's the way things go sometimes. I ended up losing," Henman said. "Moodie is a guy that plays well. He's got a great serve and is aggressive."
The South African Moodie has been riding a wave of confidence since winning the Wimbledon doubles crown and hiring a full-time coach.
"The pressure was on him, I started to return very well at the end," Moodie said. "To beat a world-class player like Tim it gives me a lot of confidence. I know that I am able to win these types of matches."
Top-seeded Andy Roddick (d. G.Lapentti) cruised in straight sets, while No. 16 seed Tomas Zib recovered from a first-set bagel to defeat Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman in three sets.
"The momentum is definitely swinging my way," said Roddick, possibly suffering from heat-mania in describing his two biggest weaknesses as strengths. "Right now the biggest thing out there is I have options, if my serve is not there that night I can fall back on my backhand and concentrate on the volley."
No. 7 Max Mirnyi was another seeded victim, outlasted in three sets by Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic.
Other unseeded winners on the hardcourts were Americans Robby Ginepri (d. countryman K.Kim), (WC) Bobby Reynolds (d. (WC) Clayton) and (WC) Brian Baker (d. (Q) Heuberger), France's Arnaud Clement (d. N.Lapentti in three), Luxembourg's pride Gilles Muller (d. Sanguinetti), Aussie qualifier Nathan Healey (d. Carraz), and Czech Jan Hernych (d. (LL) De Chaunac).
"I hope that I can do something at the US Open," said the current US Open Series leader Ginepri. "That's what I'm preparing myself for with this summer sequence. And I've had a good run so far. I'm confident, I just need to keep the ball rolling from here."
On tap for Wednesday in Washington are Muller vs. (9) Massu, Blake vs. (4) Stepanek, Goldstein vs. (13) Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, in doubles highlights (1) Bryan/Bryan vs. Sebastien "The Skateboard Kid" Grosjean/Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, (12) Beck vs. Ginepri, (8) Grosjean vs. Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp, (11) "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. (Q) Healey, (15) Ricardo Mello "Yello" vs. (WC) Bobby Reynolds "Wrap," (WC) Baker vs. (14) Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela, (LL) Bloomfield vs. Clement, Luis "Me So" Horna vs. (5) The Dominator, and Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs vs. (10) Berdych.