Injured Sharapova Doubtful for No. 1-Ranking Match Tonight at WTA Los Angeles
Posted on August 12, 2005
Agassi, Nadal Into Quarterfinals at ATP MontrealTop seed Rafael Nadal is slowly silencing doubters of his hardcourt skills, on Thursday defeating fastcourt-specialist Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 6-4 to advance into the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters Series-Canada in Montreal.
"The fact that I didn't have much time to rest after last night didn't change anything," said Nadal, who was not broken once on serve during the match. "I think that taking his serve early in the match really helped me a lot. I'm very happy because in this tournament I think I never lost my serve. That's new for me."
Other seeded players into the quarters were (4) Andre Agassi (d. Kiefer), (6) Gaston Gaudio (d. (11) Robredo), and (8) Mariano Puerta (d. Malisse).
"I've played No. 1-in-the-world tennis before and there wasn't a time when I ever felt like a favorite," Agassi said on possibly being favored for the Montreal title. "It was always a match at a time for me. During all the years with Pete (Sampras), everybody would talk about the finals. I think Pete and I were the only two guys not thinking about that."
Slovak Karol Beck upset (5) Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 in the third to lead four un-seeds into the quarters, including France's Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. O.Rochus), Brit Greg Rusedski (d. Ancic in three), and fellow Slovak Dominik Hrbaty (d. Ferrero).
"I've never beaten him before so I am really pleased," said Rusedski of Ancic, who played like he needed an expresso shot during a changeover. "It was a really solid third set. I really came out strong mentally for that third set and that was the key. I've worked really hard this past year and a half and I've had a good run being healthy which is a big bonus. Now it is starting to pay off and I'm pleased about that and I look forward to continuing to play well."
On tap for the Friday quarterfinal round are Mathieu vs. Beck, (1) Nadal vs. (8) Puerta in a French Open rematch, (6) Gaudio vs. (4) Agassi, and Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. "Grinning" Greg Rusedski.
"Agassi is the most favorite, I think," said Nadal, reflecting on his No. 1 seeding for the event. "He won a tournament two weeks ago and he's playing good on these courts, so he's the favorite. I hope to play him and if I make the semifinals, there's a chance. I'm in fourth round -- there's a long way to go. For me to play the final here would be unbelievable and if I play Andre Agassi it would be unbelievable, too."
Injured Sharapova Advances at WTA Los Angeles
Maria Sharapova had trouble finding fifth gear, or even fourth Thursday at the WTA stop in Los Angeles where she had to fight back from a set down and injury to defeat No. 16 seed and fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals.
"It wasn't me out there today," said Sharapova, who struggled throughout the match with an inflamed chest muscle that limited her power. "I'm serving 93 miles per hour and not hitting my forehand. With that, it's tough to come out against a player that has nothing to lose."
Chakvetadze suffered a groin injury during the contest, breaking into tears after the match.
Tonight in L.A. the Russian former Wimbledon champ is scheduled to play for the No. 1 ranking, with a quarterfinal win over No. 9 seed Daniela Hantuchova propelling her to the top spot on the WTA Tour Rankings, supplanting current No. 1 Lindsay Davenport.
But Sharapova says she is doubtful for the match Friday night, suffering a cold on top of the muscle injury.
"It's been an on and off problem for me," said Sharapova on the pec injury. "I don't think the pain is going to go away with me trying to play and hit as hard as I can. There's no (No. 1 ranking) pressure at all -- it's not important for me to play (Friday night)."
Although tournament officials, who are putting on their Sharapova bobblehead promotion Friday night and have the Russian in the prime ESPN viewing slot, might disagree.
Other seeds into the quarters Thursday were (3) Elena Dementieva (d. (17) Bartoli), (4) Nadia Petrova (d. (15) Koukalova), (5) Kim Clijsters (d. (12) Safina, bagel in the first set), (9) Hantuchova (d. (Q) K.Bondarenko), and (13) Francesca Schiavone (d. (LL) Lepchenko in three).
"My mind was going and I was thinking maybe it was too easy for me," said Clijsters after bageling Safina in the first set. "But I ended well and that's the most important thing."
Two unseeded players also busted the seeded quarterfinal party in Italian qualifier Tathiana Garbin (d. Raymond), and the former No. 2-ranked Conchita Martinez (d. Daniilidou who retired in the second set with an ankle sprain).
Friday's quarterfinal line-up is (5) Clijsters vs. (4) Petrova, (13) Schiavone vs. Martinez, (3) Dementieva vs. (Q) Garbin, and in the night match (1) Sharapova vs. (9) Hantuchova.
Myskina Struggles Into Quarterfinals at WTA Stockholm
No. 2 seed Anastasia Myskina recovered from an opening-set hiccup, coming back to beat France's Camille Pin 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1 to advance into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Stockholm.
"My serve was really bothering me," Myskina said. "I hope it's not going to be like this very often."
Also into the quarters were (3) Vera Douchevina (d. Schruff in three), (6) Martina Sucha (d. Beltrame), and unseeded Swede Sofia Arvidsson (d. (9) A.Bondarenko).
Friday's quarterfinals in Stockholm line up as Srebotnik vs. Castano, Loit vs. Parra Santonja, Arvidsson vs. Myskina, and Douchevina vs. Sucha.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Last year, according to Sports Illustrated, of the world's 10 top-earning female athletes, seven were players on the WTA...When is Pete Sampras going to sue that guy Adrian Grenier from the HBO show Entourage for stealing his look?...Speaking of stealing, congrats to Tennisreporters.net for copying the Tennis-X 5 Questions Q&A format, well done...For everyone e-mailing their thanks for all the bank they won earlier in the week on our Sania Mirza injury tip -- we're looking for the 15 percent finder's-fee cut, not the thanks...Will Maria Sharapova play tonight with injury even though the No. 1 ranking is on the line? Short answer: no. Bailing on the match tonight will give her 5-6 days to rehab/rest the injured chest muscle, and she is guaranteed the No. 1 spot next week with Lindsay Davenport's points coming off, with the American not playing Toronto. Could more WTA players be injured without the WTA doing anything about it? Like the ATP, they will wait until six of the Top 10 are on the sidelines before convening a "task force" to look in to how the super-racquets, not the players playing too much, are demanding too much of players' bodies...Winners Thursday at the ATP senior tour event in Seiersberg, Styria, Austria were Carl-Uwe Steeb (d. Novacek), Thomas Muster (d. Gaudenzi), and Andres Gomez (d. Bruguera); on deck today are Muster vs. Bruguera, Goran Ivanisevic vs. Alex Antonitsch, and Gaudenzi vs. Gomez...Anna Chakvetadze will pull from Toronto next week with a groin injury, joined by Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva (ankle), Alicia Molik (ear infection), Jennifer Capriati (shoulder), Lindsay Davenport (back), Maggie Maleeva (elbow), Elena Bovina (shoulder) and possibly Mary Pierce (thigh strain) and Venus Williams (flu), with more to come. Molik says she will be ready by the US Open. "Fortunately for the tennis fans in this city we still have one of the deepest, star-studded fields in the tournament's history," said Tournament Director Stacey Allaster, putting on a brave face. "We can't wait to see this field in action." Neither can we -- judging by the field, is it a challenger event?...Former No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov shot 16-over in the first round of the Russian Open -- bring on the golf endorsements, well done: "At least, I'm not last. I've beaten (Russian amateur Igor) Kortchak -- that was the main thing," said the player referred to by ATP staff as "Dr. No" for his reluctance to basically do anything extra regarding the media/sponsors...Canadians Marie-Eve Pelletier, Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak have received wildcards next week at Toronto...Mardy Fish has pulled from next week's Masters Series-Cincinnati after coming back too early from wrist surgery...Today Justine Henin-Hardenne departs for Toronto to practice-up for her return to the tour at next week's Rogers Cup.