Roddick Announces Hurricane Donation; U.S. Davis Cup Line-Up Still TBA
Posted on September 15, 2005
Nadal Beats Wang at ATP BeijingTop-seeded Rafael Nadal beat Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 6-2, 6-4 at the ATP stop in Beijing Wednesday to advance to a second-round meeting with the leaping net-crashing American Justin Gimelstob.
Nadal finally got his hands on Wang after the wildcard controversially arrived two days late to the tournament, reportedly from some business in Turkey, but was not defaulted by Chinese officials.
"My confidence was low after I lost (to James Blake) in New York," Nadal said of his attitude before mastering Wang. "But it wasn't very complicated today. I took my chances early and set the tone. I didn't play great but I did enough to win. I lost focus a bit in the second set but only because it was too easy. A few wins will quickly get my confidence level back."
Nadal worked Wang side to side in the straight-set beating, refining his fastcourt technique for the fast-approaching year-end Masters Cup in Shanghai.
After the experience Nadal said Wang cleaned up well, especially after the Spaniard quickly got a grip up 4-1 in the first set.
"He's had a good year, won (a) challenger last week in Istanbul and he's getting better and better," Nadal said. "I got a good start for a 4-1 lead and felt more comfortable out there which was good for my confidence."
No. 3 seed David Nalbandian (d. (Q) Hadad, bagel in the second) and No. 6 Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Tursunov) also recorded wins to line up a quarterfinal meeting.
"I missed a few chances to break in the first set which was frustrating," Nalbandian said. "But once I broke to go up 5-4 it all started to go perfectly for me."
Ferrero withstood 15 aces from Tursunov, and won in the second-set tiebreak after dropping his serve at love when serving at 5-4.
Nalbandian sees his chances against the former No. 1 Ferrero, a former US Open finalist whose mojo has also taken a walkabout.
"I saw his match today and I think he played very well," Nalbandian said. "The next match will be different and I think both of us have the same chance to win."
Other winners were No. 4 seed Thomas Johansson (d. Nieminen) and No. 8 seed Carlos Moya (d. Koubek from a set down).
Looking to secure the final quarterfinal spots Thursday will be Peter "Nuclear" Wessels vs. (WC) Y.Wang Jr., (7) Youzhny vs. Udomchoke, (LL) Matsui vs. (2) Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, and (1) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. Justin Gimel"blog."
Puerta Wins, Serra Upsets Volandri at ATP Bucharest
French Open runner-up Mariano Puerta was back in his element Wednesday on the claycourts at the ATP stop in Bucharest, making easy 6-2, 6-4 work of a difficult Spanish opponent in Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to advance into the quarterfinals.
"I'm very happy reaching the quarterfinals again after a few weeks. Now I have one day off to practice and then I can attack fully in the quarterfinals," Puerta said. "I think I played more consistent and concentrated than him. We had a lot of rallies and I felt great on the court today."
France's Florent Serra scored the upset of the day, downing No. 2 seed Filippo Volandri after getting rolled 6-1 in the opening set.
"I'm very happy, it's one of my biggest victories on clay," said the 24-year-old Serra. "It was very difficult in the beginning of the match because I was too far behind the baseline. I tried to change things in the second set moving up in the court and to put more pressure on the ball. I will try to continue like this."
Serra will next face countryman and No. 7 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu, who blew past qualifier Al Portas 6-2, 6-0.
"He's a friend, so we know each other since many years," Serra said. "It's a very interesting match for both of us. It will be fun and I think it will be a good match."
Other winners were Austrian qualifier Oliver Marach (d. (Q) Fyrstenberg) and Russian Igor Andreev (d. Montanes).
Scheduled for Thursday on the dirt are (8) Verdasco vs. Mayer, (Q) Ramirez Hidalgo vs. (6) Acasuso, (Q) Marach vs. (3) Pavel, and (4) Hanescu vs. Sanguinetti.
Davenport Creaks Into Quarterfinals at WTA Bali
Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, looking to regain her edge in the race for the year-end No. 1 ranking with Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters, opened her campaign with a win Wednesday at the WTA stop in Bali.
A late wildcard entrant, Davenport rebounded from her quarterfinal loss at the US Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Japan's Rika Fujiwara in Bali.
"I did not play my best and know I have to get better, but typically I tend to get better as the tournament goes on," Davenport said. "Coming here, it's been a really great opportunity to relax and get back out on the court right away after losing in New York."
Other winners Wednesday were (4) Francesca Schiavone (d. Pous Tio), (6) Flavia Pennetta (d. (Q) Muller), and (7) Na Li (d. (Q) Yan), all in straight sets.
On tap for Thursday are Pennetta vs. Zheng, Molik vs. A.Bondarenko, Ruano Pascual vs. Schnyder, Camerin vs. Bychkova, and Groenefeld vs. Nakamura.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
U.S. Davis cup captain Patrick McEnroe says don't jump the gun on the Davis Cup website showing James Blake as the No. 2 singles player, since his actual choice will be announced as late as 24 hours before the match: "According to Davis Cup rules, the country must elect four players 10 days before the match," P-Mac told Tennis-X. "Those players can be changed for any reason up to the draw ceremony, which takes place 24 hours before the match begins. Thus, my selection of the four players [Andy Roddick, James Blake, the Bryan brothers] at this point is simply a technicality."...India's rising Uberoi sisters say they see the Willams sisters as role models: "The Williams sisters have inspired us. They play power tennis. They are known for their athleticism. As sisters, we look up to them as our role models," said Sikha and Neha Uberoi, speaking with OutlookIndia. "We want to reach where they have gone. They have definitely set new standards in women's tennis. They have brought more power and athleticism into the game." Better start eating then...The currently-injured Marat Safin on qualifying for the year-end Masters Cup: "I am looking forward to going back to Shanghai for the Tennis Masters Cup. I played there in 2002 but was not so successful, so I want to do better this year. I know they have built a brand new stadium, which is very modern and impressive. It was a big disappointment to have to pull out of the US Open but my knee is getting better and better."...Respect with the passing of former UNLV tennis coach Larry Easley, who coached the men's tennis team to three conference titles and produced two individual NCAA champions, and at one time worked with a young Pete Sampras...Sweden's Thomas Johansson weighing in on the ATP doubles scoring change instituted this week in Beijing: "Of course I hate it. The changes are likely to ruin the game. They've made a scoring system that doesn't exist."...Kim Clijsters on her website: "I'll be having more time for the fans on Wednesday as I am organising a party in Bree, because the letters and the encouragements (also on the forum) have done me a lot of good. Winning the US Open is of course fantastic. I can easily put this next to my two world titles. I'll be resting a week now to overcome the jetlag: seeing family, playing with the dogs and above all spend time with Brian. At the weekend I might go out with my sister Elke. But first, I'd better unpack, which will keep me busy for a couple of days...Next week I'll be starting to prepare for the Luxemburg tournament. Some journalists might very well be writing that I might not be playing in Hasselt but I can assure you that I will be there! I wouldn't want to miss 'my' tournament. Especially now most of my fans would be there. On top of that, In Hasselt Els Callens is saying goodbye to her many years in the professional circuit, which is why I'll be playing the doubles with her."...From Andy Roddick's website: "The Andy Roddick Foundation is pleased to announce that Andy Roddick has personally selected the McCormick Tribune Foundation's Special Hurricane Relief Campaign to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The $50,000 donation will be used to support organization providing for food, shelter, health care and other basic necessities for the victims."...Mark Philippoussis has received a wildcard at Bangkok...From ExpressIndia: "With India's latest tennis sensation Sania Mirza's "scantily" dressed posters occupying more and more space and Muslim fundamentalists issuing threats, Kolkata Police is gearing up for the Sunfeast Open Women's Tennis Tournament which starts at Netaji Indoor Stadium on September 19, the first major event in the city where Sania will appear since acquiring stardom. The police will deploy women commandos to steer the participants, especially Sania, out of harm's way during the 'big event'" (Insert Austin Powers accent) Will they be sexy women commandoes?...From Britain's The Telegraph: "It's A good job Serena Williams makes her living with a tennis racket because she does not appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. In 1998 she claimed the word 'ghetto' was invented during the Second World War. Several years later she misunderstood 'hypochondriac' and cheerfully admitted to being one. 'Diva' was her undoing [recently]: she inadvertently said she was honoured to be classed alongside Madonna and Mariah Carey when it comes to celebrity tantrums. "To even be put in that category is definitely kind of cool," she said."...Jeremy Shales, who officiated at more than 40 Wimbledon Championships, has died after a short illness.