Nadal Ousted, Safin Says Career at Risk at ATP Cincy
Posted on August 17, 2005
Nadal, 3 Other Slam Finalists Ousted at MS-CincinnatiNot too unpredictably, Masters Series-Montreal winner Rafael Nadal's exhausting run in Canada resulted in a first-round loss Tuesday at the MS-Cincinnati after the Spanish teen was pitted against one of the few men who defeated Roger Federer in 2004, 6-foot-4 monster-groundstroker Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
The 19-year-old Berdych lost the first set before hanging on for a 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-6(3) win over the No. 2-seeded Spaniard, slapping 70 winners to 41 for Nadal.
Berdych saved three match points on serve in the third set, forcing a tiebreak which saw a tired Nadal toss in two double faults.
The loss ended Nadal's 16-match winning streak. Those familiar with the Czech teen's explosive game saw trouble when the Cincy draw came out, as did Nadal.
"Yes, I think I don't have good luck in the draw," Nadal said. "I say that (when I saw the draw) in Montreal because today I was play against Tomas Berdych, so I know he's very good player...I am little bit tired. I don't have the same explosion when I run. So for that, and because for -- because Tomas Berdych play very, very good match."
Berdych reversed the result of the final the two played in Bastad after Wimbledon this year.
"The serve is one of my best shots, so I have to make my style of the tennis on the serve and then not to play long rallies like Rafael is doing," Berdych said of his first-strike style. "So I need to play something different than he's like, and I think I make it today."
Other seeded winners Tuesday were (3) Lleyton Hewitt (d. Andreev), (4) Marat Safin (d. (Q) Hernych), and (6) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Grosjean).
Three other Grand Slam finalists/winners were sent home early Tuesday in (8) Gaston Gaudio (l. to Robredo in three), (10) Mariano Puerto (l. to (WC) Ginepri), and (13) Thomas Johansson (l. to Hrbaty).
"I'm giving 110 percent day in, day out," said the heat-tested Ginepri after sending Puerta home. "I know I can beat these guys, it's just a matter of time and confidence and playing up to my capabilities."
Other un-seeds into the second round were Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. Haas 6-1 in the third) and qualifier Gilles Simon (d. Spadea from a set down), Brits Greg Rusedski (d. (Q) Tursunov from a set down) and wildcard Andy Murray (d. Dent in two tiebreaks), Spaniards Carlos Moya (d. (LL) Malisse) and Dave Ferrer (d. (Q) Moodie), Swede Robin Soderling (d. Mirnyi), and Argentine Jose Acasuso (d. El Aynaoui).
"I like playing against serve-and-volleyers because returning is one of my best things that I do on the court," said Murray after beating Dent. "So playing against him, it kind of suits me a bit more than him playing against me."
Scheduled for Wednesday in Cincy are "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. (3) Hewitt, (1) Federer vs. Kiefer, Youzhny vs. Berdych, (5) Roddick vs. Ferrero in a battle of former No. 1s, (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils vs. Beck, (16) Gasquet vs. Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, (4) Safin vs. (WC) Murray, Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela vs. (12) Henman, (WC) Robby "Baby Courier" Ginepri vs. Ferrer, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (11) Nalbandian, (9) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria vs. (Q) Luis "Me So" Horna, (6) Davydenko vs. Mathieu, (Q) Simon vs. Moya, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus vs. Fabrice "The Original Magician" Santoro, Soderling vs. Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, and Acasuso vs. Robredo.
Mauresmo Cruises, Serena Struggles at WTA Toronto
No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo made a successful comeback after a self-imposed five-week absence, winning her opener Tuesday at the WTA stop in Toronto with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Madagascar's Dally Randriantefy.
"I need a little time to really get my rhythm back," Mauresmo said. "I have a few adjustments to make in my game. A few things worked pretty well today. I'm thinking about the serve especially. other things, I'm still looking for, including the right timing on the court."
Other seeded winners on the day were burnt-out Russian (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Medina Garrigues), (5) Serena Williams (d. Cohen-Aloro from a set down), (10) Nathalie Dechy (d. Zuluaga), (12) Ana Ivanovic (d. (Q) Garbin), (14) Flavia Pennetta (d. (Q) Sanchez Lorenzo), and (15) Dinara Safina (d. Llagostera Vives).
Serena says tending to her injured ankle has also caused some problems with her knee.
"Ankle's good, but I'm just dealing with some issues with my knee because of my ankle," Serena said. "Since it went bad, my ankle, my knee got a little weak. Well, weaker than it has been in the past...I was so angry (during the match), I just wanted to crack every racket. But I didn't do it. That's a plus...I wasn't even moving to any balls. I have tomorrow off so maybe that can help but I'll have to see what my therapist says."
The Asian contingent again comes on strong this week with winners Na Li of China (d. (11) Jankovic in three), Chinese qualifier Jie Zheng (d. (Q) Salerni), and Japanese qualifier Rika Fujiwara (d. (Q) Camerin, bagel in the first).
Other unseeded winners Tuesday were Russian Alina Jidkova (d. (13) Hantuchova, who retired at 4-4 in the third with heat exhaustion), Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva (d. Craybas in three), Czech Nicole Vaidisova (d. Chakvetadze), Spain's Conchita Martinez (d. Groenefeld in three), France's Virginie Razzano (d. (LL) Ruano Pascual in three), Italian lucky loser Antonella Serra Zanetti (d. (WC) Dubois), and Argentine qualifier Mariana Diaz-Oliva (d. Linetskaya who retired with injury).
San Diego champion Mary Pierce pulled from the event Tuesday, with her thigh injury forcing the Frenchwoman to miss her second consecutive event, replaced in the draw by lucky loser Hana Sromova.
On court Wednesday in Toronto are Petrova vs. Karatantcheva, Diaz-Oliva vs. Henin-Hardenne, Granville vs. Myskina, Razzano vs. Clijsters, Safina vs. Martinez, Dulko vs. Golovin, An.Serra Zanetti vs. Pennetta, Vaidisova vs. Dechy, Sugiyama vs. Zheng, Jidkova vs. Asagoe, Ivanovic vs. Bartoli, Sromova vs. Fujiwara, and Vento-Kabchi vs. Li.
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