Davenport v Myskina Today; Argy Hood Also Fingered for Doping
Posted on October 7, 2005
Baghdatis Bombs Puerta at ATP TokyoUnderrated Cyprus comer Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis orchestrated the upset of the day Thursday at the ATP stop in Tokyo, ousting doping-clouded top seed Mariano Puerta 6-2, 6-7(11), 7-5 to reach his first career ATP quarterfinals.
Baghdatis has been alternating between tour and challenger events during most of the year, and entered Tokyo with a 4-10 mark at tour events.
Other players into the quarters were (3) Robby Ginepri (d. (13) Muller), (5) Mario Ancic (d. (Q) Gambill in three then (12) Saulnier), and German Bjorn Phau (d. (10) Carlsen).
"I thought I returned extremely well, which helped me get into a lot of his service games, and that won the match," Ginepri said. "I don't feel as sharp as I did in the summer but that's going to change shortly."
Other upsets on the day were orchestrated by South African Weslie Moodie (d. (6) Youzhny in three) and Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs (d. (16) Monaco from a set down).
Other winners in second-round matches were (12) Cyril Saulnier (d. (Q) Sluiter in three before losing to Ancic later in the day), (2) Radek Stepanek (d. Vanek), and (4) Taylor Dent (d. Tursunov), (7) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Schuettler 1-and-1), and (11) Luis Horna (d. Karanusic).
In first-round doubles action, the Indian-American tandem of Bhupathi/Gimelstob defeated Levinsky/Stepanek 4-5(4), 5-1 5-3 under the ATP's "Confused Yet?!? Have We Chased You Away From Doubles Yet?!?" experimental scoring campaign.
Matching up for Friday on the Tokyo rain-backed-up schedule are (3) Ginepri vs. Phau, K.Kim vs. (2) Stepanek, (7) Nieminen vs. (9) Srichaphan, Moodie vs. (11) Horna, Arthurs vs. (4) Dent, Baghdatis vs. (5) Ancic, then Moodie or (11) Horna vs. K.Kim or (2) Stepanek, and (7) Nieminen or (9) Srichaphan vs. Arthurs or (4) Dent.
Gasquet, Monfils Thrill Home Crowd at ATP Metz
The ATP stop in Metz continued to be an exhibition for its break-out French homecountry players on Thursday, with No. 2 seed Richard Gasquet punishing countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-2, and No. 6 Gael "Force" Monfils doing likewise against veteran countryman Arnaud Clement 6-2, 6-2.
"I played my game today, I think I was quite happy with the way things turned out," Monfils said. "Apart from two or three points, everything I tried, seemed to work out really well and I didn't think I was going to win with such an easy result."
Other players into the quarters Thursday were (1) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Llodra), (3) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Santoro 7-6 in the third), (5) Robin Soderling (d. (Q) Luczak), and unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi (d. Pavel).
"Nobody likes to play against Fabrice Santoro," Ljubicic said. "His anticipation, his touch and hands are unbelievable. Every time we play, I know I am going to have a tough match but today, I felt good and I think I did the right things tactically. I am working on having a more complete game. I know I can't reach my goal of being a Top 10 with just a big serve. I think I am on a good track at the moment, I am playing well and have a lot of confidence from the Davis Cup."
Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are (1) Davydenko vs. Seppi, (3) Ljubicic vs. (5) Soderling, (6) Gael "Force" Monfils vs. (2) Gasquet in an all-French, and (WC) Mark "The Scud" Philippoussis vs. (4) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty.
Davenport v Myskina Friday at WTA Filderstadt
Former No. 1s Kim Clijsters (d. (Q) Sprem), seeded No. 2, and No. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo (d. Jankovic who retired with a viral infection) did not drop a set in moving comfortably into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Filderstadt.
"It was a harder match than the score indicated," Clijsters said. "I felt quite good. I did what I had to do."
Also into the quarters were (5) Elena Dementieva (d. Dechy from a set down) and (6) Nadia Petrova (d. countrywoman Likhovtseva, also suffering from the flu, 1-and-1).
Matching up for the Friday quarterfinals in Filderstadt are Pennetta vs. Hantuchova, Davenport vs. Myskina, Dementieva vs. Clijsters, and Petrova vs. Mauresmo.
Zvonareva v Mirza Friday at WTA Tokyo
Top three seeds Vera Zvonareva (d. Peer), Nicole Vaidisova (d. Fujiwara), and Tatiana Golovin (d. Obata) all moved into the quarterfinals without dropping a set Thursday at the WTA stop in Tokyo.
"I thought my rhythm was off today, and I didn't feel so good out there," Vaidisova said. "After I was 4-3 down (first set), I tried to stay calm and get focused. I was able to get through the match, but I definitely need to improve my game."
The lone upset victim on the day was (6) Gisela Dulko, ousted in straight sets by American Jill Craybas.
Other seeded winners were (4) Maria Kirilenko (d. Nagyova), (5) Ai Sugiyama (d. Pin from a set down), and (8) Sania Mirza (d. Nakamura).
"I thought I played a good match," Mirza said. "I knew that she can run well and that she likes a certain pace, so I tried to change the pace as much as possible. She hits a very solid ball and takes it early, so she can also make you run a lot. But I stuck to my game and played my shots."
Lining up for the Friday quarters in Tokyo are Zvonareva vs. Mirza, Golovin vs. Sugiyama, Craybas vs. Kirilenko, and Arvidsson vs. Vaidisova.
Bychkova-Fight for Quarters Berth at WTA Tashkent
Top-seeded Ekaterina Bychkova of Russian moved comfortably into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Tashkent, defeating Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-1.
It is a career-first WTA quarterfinal for the No. 72-ranked 20-year-old, who has spend the year almost exclusively playing minor-league Futures events.
Other winners Thursday were (7) Maria Elena Camerin (d. Gagliardi), Kateryna Bondarenko (d. (4) Laine), and Elena Vesnina (d. Obziler, bagel in the third).
Scheduled for the Friday quarters are Vesnina vs. Amanmuradova, Camerin vs. An.Serra Zanetti, K.Bondarenko vs. Krajicek, and Bychkova vs. Rodina.
DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. Get the Tennis-X Daily Dish in your e-mail in-box, even before it's posted on the web, by signing up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From Wired News on pro golf addressing technology issues: "The situation has reached the point that the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which preside over the game's rules, sent a letter to ball manufacturers earlier this year, asking them to produce prototype balls that fly 15 and 25 yards shorter than the balls on the market today. The request is widely seen as a first step at creating a "competition ball" for the world's top players, while leaving equipment for weekend duffers unchanged. Golfers including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have spoken in favor of a ball rollback, but manufacturers are fighting the idea, perhaps envisioning a situation where they can no longer market their product to amateurs as the same ball the pros play." That's the difference with golf, where PGA officials still dictate how the game will be played, and tennis where officials are lucky to find their ass with both hands, much less wrestle control away from racquet manufacturers...American Taylor Dent says Mariano Puerta hasn't gotten a fair shake since being accused of doping by a French newspaper and that the ATP is hanging him out to dry: "I'm a little disappointed with the system. The agency doing these tests is leaking the results. Mariano Puerta deserves a fair trial...Lance Armstrong was wrongly accused and maybe it's the same for Mariano Puerta. It's unfair it came out in a newspaper. The ATP should take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."...From the Times Online, framing the ATP as the underdog in its battle to force Madrid to hold a doubles event: "Quite what sanction the ATP can bring against a tournament of Madrid?s influence -- Ion Tiriac is the tournament chairman and Manuel Santana, the 1966 Wimbledon champion, its director -- remains to be seen. Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, one of the present doubles champions in Madrid and a leading campaigner to save its place in the sport, said: "Even if they decide to play the event, we are hardly going to go there thinking we are wanted. It is such a shame."...TennisWorld's Peter Bodo on the Madrid doubles controversy: "But that's just what Madrid did the other day, unilaterally declaring that it will not host a doubles event this year (excellent analysis here (link); this story is Tennis Geek's -- oops, Tennis Week's -- all the way) if the current lawsuit brought by disgruntled doubles players against the ATP isn't settled within the next week or so (rest assured, that isn't about to happen). Gut reaction: I just hope someone has already found a bullhorn and convinced doubles tennis dad Wayne Bryan to lay down the AK-47 and climb down from the bell tower."...From Reuters: "Argentina's Mariano Puerta, the subject of doping allegations, said on Thursday he took anti-inflammatory tablets for a sore leg after his French Open semifinal win over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko."...Where is the ATP statement as one of its players gets raked over the coals?...And from The Australian: "Argentine tennis has been rocked by another doping scandal, with doubles specialist Mariano Hood accused of failing a French Open drugs test. The revelation, made on the website of the La Nacion newspaper, comes just a day after Roland Garros singles runner-up Mariano Puerta, the world No. 10, was said to have also tested positive after the June 5 final. La Nacion said that Hood's test revealed the presence of finasteride, a substance used in treatment for baldness. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has informed Hood of his failed test. Hood, 32, ranked at 26 in the world for doubles, becomes the sixth Argentine player to be embroiled in a doping scandal in the last five years." Dammit Argentina, just say no to the baldness dope!