Nadal Tests Knee in Madrid; Tanner Thrown in Jail
Posted on October 19, 2005
Rusedski, Ferrero Losers at ATP MS-MadridBig-serving Croat "Dr." Ivo Karlovic and Greg Rusedski brought out the serving fireworks Tuesday at the Masters Series-Madrid, with Karlovic edging the Brit 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to advance to a meeting with No. 2 seed Any Roddick.
"If you could have written the worst draw for me then this was it," said Rusedski, who threw down nine aces to Karlovic's 24. "With the altitude here and the hardcourts his serve was even faster than usual and it's not fun for anyone to play him. I didn't do much wrong and didn't lose my serve but he played some really good tennis."
Max "The Beast" Mirnyi serve-and-volleyed past former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets.
"He played very well and these conditions were very quick," Ferrero said. "I was a little slower than normal."
Seeded winners Tuesday were (5) David Nalbandian (d. Melzer), (11) David Ferrer (d. Calleri in three), (15) Fernando Gonzalez (d. Verdasco in three), and (16) Robby Ginepri (d. Grosjean from a set down).
Other unseeded winners were former No. 1 Carlos Moya (d. Volandri), Slovak Karol Beck (d. Kiefer who retired with injury), Argentine Jose Acasuso (d. Youzhny who retired with injury), and the Belgian Rochus brothers Olivier (d. Berdych from a set down) and Christophe (d. Monfils).
Scheduled for Wednesday in Madrid are (Q) C.Rochus vs. (4) Coria, (10) Stepanek vs. Henman, (1) Nadal vs. Hanescu, (Q) Karlovic vs. (2) Roddick, Moya vs. (13) Robredo, (14) Hrbaty vs. Haas, Acasuso vs. (7) Gaudio, (3) Davydenko vs. Beck, Mirnyi vs. (6) Puerta, (Q) Chela vs. (9) T.Johansson, O.Rochus vs. (12) Ancic, and (8) Ljubicic vs. (Q) A.Martin.
Schnyder Wins, Molik Downslide Continues at WTA Zurich
No. 6 seed Patty Schnyder was the high-ranking winner Tuesday at the WTA stop in Zurich, rolling over Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-1, 6-3 to move into the second round.
"I think I still have some timing issues to improve to feel more comfortable," Schnyder said. "I was happy with the returns and serving so that was good."
Jelena Jankovic moved past No. 8 seed Alicia Molik when the Aussie retired in the second set with problems related to her recovery from an ear infection.
Other unseeded winners on the day were Serb teen Ana Ivanovic (d. Golovin in three), Daniela Hantuchova (d. Sugiyama from a set down), Nathalie Dechy (d. Kuznetsova 7-6 in the third), and Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik (d. Asagoe).
On tap for Wednesday are Schiavone vs. Vinci, Martinez vs. Petrova, Dementieva vs. Dechy, Schnyder vs. Maleeva, and Farina Elia vs. Myskina.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Justin Gimelstob blogging for SI.com on the latest doping controversy: "I had a good laugh when I read some of Guillermo Coria's quotes a couple weeks ago. Apparently, in addition to being the world's No. 6-ranked player, Coria is also Argentina's communications ambassador. He took offense to the assertion that Argentine tennis has a tainted image, even though four of his country's top players ([Mariano] Puerta, Juan Ignacio Chela, [Guillermo] Canas and Mr. Coria himself) have all tested positive for banned substances in the past four years. Coria was adamant that the stereotype was exaggerated and that they were being unduly criticized. It's pretty amusing that Coria somehow twisted it around to make it sound like he's the victim. The real victims in these situations are the fans, the sport and the players on tour. We already know Canas was only allowed to compete at the French Open while appealing his positive test a few months prior. And if Puerta did indeed test positive, who knows who rightly deserved to be competing against Rafael Nadal for the title last June?"...From the AP: "Former tennis star Roscoe Tanner was in jail Tuesday after his arrest for violating probation. Tanner, a Chattanooga native who won the 1977 Australian Open, was arrested Monday on a fugitive warrant from Florida and will remain in the Knox County jail without bail pending an extradition hearing Oct. 24, officials said. Florida authorities list Tanner as an absconder/fugitive. He was sentenced to 10 years' probation in November 2003 in Florida for bouncing a $35,595 check he used to buy a boat in 2000. The Pinellas County state attorney's office has accused Tanner of failing to make restitution payments."...Pat Cash tells the Herald Sun that the problem in Australian tennis is in the coaching: "I'm very keen on coach education. It is a very big issue. When I was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, I criticized the coaching standards here. I said the standards were terrible and the people there almost started booing and (master of ceremonies) Fred Stolle had to stop it. But what I said has rung completely true. I had letters of complaint written to me over my supposedly unfair comments. Sometimes you've got to hear the ugly truth and you can't candy-coat it. We've always had great talent coming through in tennis, but if you have bad coaches, you end up having players with bad habits. I would like to help with coach education because it is so important we get that right. If you don't get the basics right, you end up with nothing. We need to be more like what the French are doing. It would be good to work with a bunch of kids who are 14 or 15. I've had my hand up to help since I moved back to Australia four years ago and I've still got my hand up."...From the AP: "Maria Sharapova is heading out on a tennis and fashion tour of Japan. The 2004 Wimbledon champion will play exhibition matches against Japan's Ai Sugiyama in Osaka on Dec. 21, Nagoya on Dec. 22, and Tokyo on Dec. 23. The events will include fashion shows with jewelry and bags designed by Sharapova and available in Japan, her management company IMG announced Monday. The three days, being marketed as "Maria Sharapova Japan Tour 2005," is the start of what is planned as a series of international tours that could include future stops in Russia and India."...Part-time Roger Federer coach Tony Roche has confirmed he will also be working with India's Sania Mirza. Says Roach: "I think at this stage the people who are looking after her just felt that she needs a bit of work on a few areas of her game, so I'm just going to have a look at her and just see what she needs to do. She's had a pretty good year, made some big inroads, so it will be interesting to see. I'm not going to be travelling -- I'm just going to help her with a bit of what she needs to work on for a couple of weeks."...The WTA Tour has been nominated by the Horizon Awards for its Professional Organization of the Year Award for 2005, alongside the NFL, the Arena Football League and Professional Bass Fishing. The winners will be announced at an awards gala at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 2...From Tennis.com's Steve Tignor: "From the 70s-camp "Players" to the 80s-teenploitation "Spring Fever" to last year's Dunst-cap "Wimbledon," tennis and movies have never mixed. (Not that I've seen any of those flicks -- just taking an educated guess. Let me know if I'm wrong.)" -- Now that's good commentary...From the Times Online on the Top 10 Sporting Odd Couples: "2. Andre Agassi and Barbra Streisand -- Each to his own. Agassi saw Babs in the 1991 film The Prince of Tides, in which she starred as a frankly mumsy psychiatrist. He suggested bed-tennis (she said "we talked for hours") and by the time she paid a royal visit to the 1992 US Open, they were an item. "He plays like a Zen master out there," she purred, underlining her limited understanding of a) tennis, and b) Zen masters."...Check out a pic for the venue of The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas: http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/2005/lasvegas.asp...Mats Wilander has signed on for another two years as Swedish Davis Cup captain.