Hewitt Clinches Masters Cup Berth; Davenport No. 1 Again
Posted on October 21, 2005
Nadal Wins, Karlovic Streak Continues at ATP MadridCroat boomer "Dr." Ivo Karlovic followed up his win over Andy Roddick with another seeded upset Thursday at the Masters Series-Madrid, edging No. 14-seeded Czech Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty 7-6(9), 7-6(3) to move into the quarterfinals and place himself on the radar for Croatia's upcoming Davis Cup final at the Czech Republic.
Upsets among the seeds were orchestrated by (16) Robby Ginepri (d. (3) Davydenko), and (11) David Ferrer (d. (6) Puerta from a set down).
Other seeds advancing were (1) Rafael Nadal (d. Spanish countryman Robredo), (4) Guillermo Coria (d. (15) Gonzalez), (5) David Nalbandian (d. (9) T.Johansson), (8) Ivan Ljubicic (d. O. Rochus), and (10) Radek Stepanek (d. Acasuso 7-6 in the third).
"Today I played much better than yesterday," Nadal said, showing few signs of his knee tendonitis issue. "That's a good sign. Now I'm in the quarterfinals and I have a tough match against Stepanek. I won't think about anything else."
Nalbandian made light work of Johansson in straight sets.
"There was a lot of light in the arena and I didn't feel comfortable when I tossed the ball," Nalbandian said. "It has not been my best day serving, but I did well on the important points."
Scheduled for the Friday quarterfinals are (16) Ginepri vs. (11) Ferrer, (8) Ljubicic vs. (15) Gonzalez, (1) Nadal vs. (10) Stepanek, (5) Nalbandian vs. (Q) Karlovic, and in doubles Frenchmen (4) Llodra/Santoro vs. Americans (WC) Blake/Roddick, Aussies Arthurs/Hanley vs. Zimbabwe's (2)Black/Ullyett, Bhupathi/Damm vs. Paes/Zimonjic in an Indian tussle, and Spaniards (WC) Ferrer/Verdasco vs. (3) Knowles/Nestor.
Davenport Re-takes No. 1, Mauresmo Wilts at WTA Zurich
Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik provided the upset of the day Thursday at the WTA stop in Zurich, rolling over No. 2-seeded burn-out victim Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-0 to advance into the quarterfinals.
"There's no fun for me, for the crowd," said Mauresmo who complained of end-of-the-season fatigue and hinted at possibly skipping the WTA Championships. "There's no point for me considering what happened last week and today to keep going and pushing for no result."
Top seed Lindsay Davenport escaped a similar fate against Daniela Hantuchova, coming from a set down and fighting off two match points to beat the Slovak 6-2 in the third.
"I knew it would be tough," said Davenport, who will reclaim the No. 1 ranking on Monday. "I didn't feel I was playing my best or striking the ball that well, but I managed to win despite the circumstances...It was like two different matches. I was playing really badly to start off with, missing a lot of returns and she was playing really well. At the two match points, I thought 'I'm on the plane going home tomorrow' but then it can change around that quickly."
Other unseeded winners were Italian Flavia Pennetta (d. (LL) Karatantcheva from a set down), Francesca Schiavone (d. (5) Petrova), and Serb Ana Ivanovic (d. Jankovic).
Scheduled for Friday are Ivanovic vs. Srebotnik, Dementieva vs. Myskina in an all-Russian, Schnyder vs. Pennetta, and Davenport vs. Schiavone.
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
Lleyton Hewitt has joined world No. 1 Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick in qualifying for the Masters Cup, with three open spots remaining in the eight-man field...Luke Jensen on tournament directors leveraging the ATP to kill doubles so they can save money: "It makes me sick. If not for doubles opportunities, [me and Murphy] would not be the Jensen brothers. We beat players like Stefan Edberg and Petr Korda because we were the better doubles team. They want to take guys like Travis Parrott and the Bryan brothers and say, 'You don't play singles, so you don't play the game.' That doesn't make sense. It should be the best doubles players out there playing, period. Tournament directors want to squeeze the doubles specialists out so they don't have to pay for one more hotel room or meal or gallon of gas. It comes down to numbers, and it's sad. They're not going to quit until we're dead and gone."...James Blake is on Oprah today...From the ATP: "For the first time ever, the husband and wife team of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf will team up on court when they participate in Tamarack Resorts Rock-n-Racquets at Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University on Dec. 3. Rock-n-Racquets is an annual fundraising tennis exhibition to benefit The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. Joining Agassi and Graf for the event will be James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan...Blake and Agassi will take on the Bryans in a doubles match, while Agassi and Graf will team up to play in a mixed doubles match against an opponent to be named. Finally, Agassi and Blake will square off for the first time since their sensational five-set US Open quarterfinal match. For additional information and tickets, visit www.rocknracquets.com."...More from Tennis Channel CEO Steve Bellamy on landing his Tennis Channel Open ATP event in Las Vegas: "We did a large recon effort -- some 90 odd trips and investigations before we settled on the brand new Darling Memorial Tennis Center in Las Vegas. And we really appreciate all the time and effort that some of the other cities and sights put into this process. That being said, we are planning to build one of the greatest sport and entertainment events in the world and there is not a better place to do it than Las Vegas. The vision here is to build something more than a tennis tournament. We want to build a Woodstock, a Lollapalooza. Call it a Tennispalooza. An event where one infrastructure runs a myriad of extremely cool tennis events and social events and allows a consumer to do everything tennis and a few other things they might not get to do normally all on one ticket at one time. For this year's event, there will be an ATP men's event. There will be a women's event. There will be a spectacular junior event. Consumers will get to see their favorite stars playing table tennis for prize money, air hockey, fast serve contests. There will be some of the best speakers in the game talking about pertinent topics in tennis."...From Neil Harman in the Times Online: "The scratch pairing of Andy Roddick and James Blake played doubles yesterday in front of an almost full house, in stark contrast to the relative indifference that greeted the regular combinations. It was proof of the argument from tournament directors that until you get the superstars playing the event, it fails to have meaning. The Madrid Masters wanted to cancel its doubles championship in the wake of a lawsuit brought by 45 players against the ATP because of rule changes and what they perceive as attacks on future earnings and opportunities. Part of the reason for experimenting with shorter sets -- though that has been dropped here -- was to entice more of the leading singles players to try their hand...Could Roger Federer's ligament injury be worse than first feared? The Swiss world No. 1 would miss the rest of the year if an operation is required on the damage sustained in a routine practice session two weeks ago. Federer withdrew from the Masters in Madrid and he will not play his home-town tournament in Basle next week. But a whisper gathering strength yesterday is that he has damaged three ligaments, one significantly worse than the other two, and that an operation cannot be ruled out."...From The Age: "Pat Rafter is set to return to the game he departed four years ago, joining the growing list of contemporary players drafted by the architects of the coaching and administrative overhaul designed to rehabilitate Australian tennis. Although the specifics of Rafter's involvement are to be finalized, the dual US Open champion has met several times with new Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood and director of player development Craig Tiley since the pair took office in July."...If you're the Croat Davis Cup captain, suddenly you have to think hard about throwing the hot-handed "Dr." Ivo Karlovic in for the ice-cold, big-match-choking Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic against the Slovaks in the final. At this point the Croats could probably win by sitting Ivan Ljubicic and Baby Goran and fronting Dr. Evil and Goran Ivanisevic...Alicia Molik's manager says some of the damage from her long-term inner-ear infection may have caused permanent career-ending damage...Tennisreporters.net's Matt Cronin says Ivo Karlovic's serve is too big -- so make indoor courts slower: "That Ivo Karlovic can see off Greg Rusedski, Andy Roddick and Dominick Hrbaty at Masters Series Madrid says one very important thing about indoor tennis: The courts needs to be slowed down. The 6-foot-10 inch Croat has only one major weapon, his serve, which is why this year he has only had good results on grasscourts and reasonably fast surfaces. His groundstrokes are mediocre at his best, he doesn't volley very well and his returns in negligible. At his height, with his trajectory, he can bomb aces with the best of them, but how entertaining is that? Not at all for more than one set." Would the cry be the same if it was Roddick's serve in the quarterfinals?...Tommy Robredo speaking to Tennis Week on his most painful moment: "When I was 15-16 and I have my second consecutive back injury. And I have to stop for a half year again. Because I stopped when I was 14-15 half year with a plastic thing here (points to lower back), for the back, to protect. Half year. Then I start playing next year, at the same moment I had the same pain. I went to a doctor and he say to me I have to wear it again. Half year. And it was really hard for me."...The Telegraph on Andy Roddick and a "reality show" camera crew following him at the Masters Series-Madrid: "It was a little annoying, but the guy was looking for his shot. I mean, he was looking for me to get upset. He was looking to piss me off. There was no other reason than to try to antagonize me. I guess that is what makes for good television. Reality television is big these days, right? I guess that is what he was going for," said Roddick who had started the evening in good humor. Roddick said that it was obvious that he had not been in the mood for small talk. "I was curious as to why someone kept asking for an interview. I said, 'No, thank you' probably three or four times. They kept following and talking about this, that and the other. So I said calmly, 'Please stop'. It didn't happen. I thought that 'No' was a pretty universal word."...Mary Pierce has pulled from Linz (Austria) next week with a groin injury.