Sharapova, Myskina Win; Davis Cup Qualifying Previews

Other players into the quarters were Russian Maria Kirilenko (d. (Q) Nakamura), Japan's Shinobu Asagoe (d. Craybas), and Poland's Marta Domachowska (d. (WC) Zheng).

Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are Peng vs. Groenefeld, Domachowska vs. Venus, T.Sun vs. Kirilenko, and Sharapova vs. Asagoe.

Myskina Baking Russian Bagels at WTA Kolkata

Top-seeded Anastasia Myskina romped into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Kolkata, trouncing fellow Russian Galina Voskoboeva 6-0, 6-1.

"I played a very good game today though I don't know if this is the peak," Myskina said. "It was not so easy as the scoreline suggests but not too difficult either."

Other seeds joining the former French Open champ in the quarterfinals were countrywoman (2) Elena Likhovtseva (d. Rao), and Croat (7) Karolina Sprem (d. Castellvi 6-1 in the third).

Un-seeds into the quarterfinal round with upsets were Swede Sofia Arvidsson (d. (5) Ant. Serra Zanetti) and Austrian Sybille Bammer (d. (4) Camerin from a set down).

Friday's quarterfinal line-up in Kolkata is Bammer vs. Kanepi, Sprem vs. Czink, Myskina vs. S.Uberoi, and Arvidsson vs. Likhovtseva.

Tu, Un-Seeds Into Quarters at WTA Portoroz

American Meilen Tu orchestrated the lone upset Thursday at the WTA stop in Portoroz, outlasting No. 7-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

No. 2 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues pasted Slovenian wildcard Masa Zec Peskiric, while two additional unseeded players gained the quarters in German Vanessa Henke (d. Bychkova) and Greece's Eleni Daniilidou (d. Ani from a set down).

On tap for Friday in the quarterfinals are Henke vs. Tu, Srebotnik vs. Medina Garrigues, Koukalova vs. Vinci, and Daniilidou vs. Bremond.

Davis Cup World Group Qualifying Previews

While Russia, Croatia, Argentina and the Slovak Republic slug it out in the Davis Cup World Group semifinals this weekend, the real drama begins Friday with the World Group Qualifying round. Eight teams will battle to earn a berth for the 2006 World Group and eight teams will be relegated to zonal qualifying hell for at least a year.

Here is a look at the eight qualifying match-ups featuring (former?) powerhouses such as the U.S., Britain, Germany, Sweden, and 2004 world champs Spain:

Ecuador at Austria
Site: Werzer Arena, Portschach, Austria
Surface: Hard (Opticourt) outdoors
Ball: Pro Penn ATP

Thomas Muster says captaining the Austrian Davis Cup team makes him a nervous wreck, but Friday's clash with Ecuador should be somewhat less nerve-wracking in the face of the struggling Lapentti brothers, Nicolas and Giovanni.

Muster will post with the not-so-high powered Jurgen Melzer and Stefan Koubek in the singles, and looks for the home crowd and the hardcourt surface to make the difference, although the Ecuadorian brothers have proven themselves adept at adapting to any surface over their Davis Cup careers (see: beating Britain on grass).

Melzer has lost both of his career meetings with the elder Lapentti Nicolas, but both were on clay, and Melzer has never faced Giovanni. Koubek is 2-4 against Nicolas, and has likewise never faced Giovanni.

Muster can utilize Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya in the Saturday doubles, while the two-man team of Nicolas and Giovanni will be at a disadvantage with three consecutive days of play if things come down to a Sunday resolution, which they very well could in this toss-up tie with neither team holding distinct advantage. And no matter what their results during the year, the Lapenttis rise to the occasion with threat against country.

Rain is scheduled for Friday in Portschach.

Belarus at Canada
Site: Rexall Centre, Toronto, Canada
Surface: Hard (Deco Turf II) outdoors
Ball: Wilson US Open Regular Duty

Hard-up for singles talent, Canada will pair 33-year-old doubles-only specialist Daniel Nestor with Frank Dancevic in the Friday singles against the formidable Belarus team of Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov.

Nestor's long D-Cup resume includes singles wins over three former No. 1 players in Stefan Edberg (1992), Marcelo Rios (2002) and Gustavo Kuerten (2003), but the Canadian stalwart is coming off wrist surgery in June and has given up on tour singles over the last few years.

"Obviously I'm a pretty big underdog going in," Nestor said. "If I serve well, I've got a chance. I've got to play with the mentality of not expecting that much, just try to play loose and going for my shots."

In other words, play with the typical Canadian mentality.

Dancevic will open against The Vladiator, and Nestor will follow in a race to the net against The Beast.

"I've seen him play singles many times," Mirnyi said about Nestor. "He's only really been playing doubles for the last five or six years, until then he was a consistent singles player on the tour. I know what his game presents and it's just going to be a matter of executing the game plan and taking the opportunities when they come."

Pakistan at Chile
Site: Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile
Surface: Red clay outdoors
Ball: Pro Penn Extra Duty (Black Seal)

Aqeel Khan, Pakistan's No. 2 team and No. 988-ranked ATP player, let out a chuckle when he was drawn first to face Fernando Gonzalez. Props to the Pakistanis for reaching the World Group qualifying round, but now the not-so-laughable part begins against Gonzo and fellow dirt devil Nicolas Massu, who will have this one wrapped up by Saturday. Massu will open Friday against Pakistan's No. 1 player Aisam Qureshi.

"They already beat Thailand, with a player like Paradorn Srichaphan, so we cannot take this for granted," said a respectful Hans Gildemeister, Chile's captain.

Nicolas Massu was a bit more realistic about facing the Pakistan team, who rarely play on red clay.

"I don't want to fool anyone, we should win and it should be a strong victory," Massu said. "But we have to be very serious about it."

Germany at Czech Republic
Site: Arena Liberec, Liberec, Czech Republic
Surface: Red clay indoors
Ball: Wilson US Open CTS

The Germans enter hostile territory as the favorites with back-on-the-rise stalwarts Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas, and with the Czechs sitting out Jiri Novak at the last minute with a foot injury.

"For us it is not a surprise that Jiri is not on our team," said Czech captain Cyril Suk. "We still have a strong team, we play at home. Nevertheless, the Germans are little bit the favorites and it will be difficult for us to beat them."

Haas will open against Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych, then Kiefer will follow against unheralded Czech Tomas Zib.

Spain at Italy
Site: Sporting Club Oplonti, Torre del Greco, Italy
Surface: Red clay outdoors
Ball: Pro Penn ATP

Italian captain Corrado Barazzutti should be canned for choosing claycourts with the French Open champs Rafael Nadal and Juan Carlos Ferrero coming to town. Without their top player Filippo Volandri, who took a pass on this tie because he wasn't offered enough scratch from the Italian Tennis Federation, Andreas Seppi and Potito Starace will be lambs to the slaughter.

Spain won the Davis Cup in 2004, but this year was knocked into the qualifying round by the Slovak Republic.

Sweden at India
Site: R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi, India
Surface: Grass outdoors
Ball: Wilson Double Core

The Indians were the decided underdogs, even at home on their favored grass, even before Thursday when captain Leander Paes announced he was sitting himself out for the singles in favor of greenhorns Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna.

"They are the best two players in singles at the moment," Paes said. "The bonding in the Indian team is strong and we will play to the best of our abilities."

Bonding or not, India will likely be down 0-2 entering Saturday when the former No. 1s Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi take to the doubles court in India's best chance for a point.

Swedish captain Mats Wilander will bring the formidable one-two punch of grass-savvy veterans Thomas Johansson and Jonas Bjorkman in the singles.

Britain at Switzerland
Site: Geneva Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland
Surface: Red clay indoors
Ball: TBA

Brit captain Jeremy Bates couldn't figure out why the Swiss wisely put Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray on red clay this weekend, essentially nullifying the chance of any big-serving fast-court upsets, particularly with Rusedski. Bates noted clay was Federer's "worst surface," though apparently failed to note the Swiss reached the semifinals at the French this year and has won the Masters Cup-Hamburg an amazing three times.

Now Bates has gone out on a "tactical" limb, on Friday throwing unheralded Alan Mackin to the wolf (aka Federer) in place of Rusedski so that Scot-rocket Andy Murray gets a shot to put Britain on the board in the second singles against Swiss No. 2 Stan Wawrinka.

The plan is to keep Rusedski fresh for the Saturday doubles, and for any potential heroics on Sunday.

"I don't think the Swiss will have been expecting [that]," Bates told reporters following the draw. "It also puts a lot of pressure on Wawrinka who will now play his first match against Murray."

Bates will come out of this looking brilliant or, if Britain is 0-3 and out of the tie after the doubles on Saturday, like an ass when you consider Rusedski would have had a fighting chance for a win on Friday as opposed to Mackin.

"I'm happy not to be playing Murray in my first match," said Federer, heating up the bagel oven in anticipation of facing Mackin. "And I think Stan is pleased not to be playing Rusedski, who he has never beaten."

U.S. at Belgium
Site: SPORTPLAZA Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Surface: Red clay indoors
Ball: Babolat Team

The red clay has spelled doom a number of times over the years for the U.S. against lesser teams, and the Belgians hope this weekend will be no different as they host Andy Roddick and James Blake in singles, and the Bryan brothers in doubles.

The Roach brothers, Olivier and Christophe Rochus, will front for the Belgian team which is without Xavier "X-Man" Malisse who has been feuding with captain Steven Martens.

Roddick is 1-0 vs. both brothers, but has faced neither on clay. Blake is 1-0 vs. Christophe and has never faced Olivier.

How Roddick keeps his head about him on the slow dirt against the scampering Roaches will be the key determinant in the tie. Roddick will have the bug spray at the ready when he opens against Olivier, with Blake following against Christophe.

"By no means are we underestimating the Belgian team," Roddick said. "We're going to have to play very well to win this tie."

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