Henman-Murray Clash in All-British at Basel; Rosset Retires
Posted on October 26, 2005
Ferrero, Haas Sharp in Openers at ATP BaselSeeds (3) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Volandri), (4) Fernando Gonzalez (d. Seppi) and (8) Tommy Haas (d. Waske) all advanced in straight sets Tuesday at the ATP stop in Basel.
"I felt pretty good on court. I'm playing good indoors for the moment," Ferrero said. "The first set went almost too quickly and the second set [was] not so easy to finish."
Unseeded players into the second round were Germans Florian Mayer (d. Moodie) and (LL) Michael Berrer (d. Zib), Thai Paradorn Srichaphan (d. C.Rochus), Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. Wawrinka in three), and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis (d. (LL) Mackin).
Scheduled for Wednesday in Basel are Chela vs. (5) Hrbaty, (1) Coria vs. A.Martin, (WC) Murray vs. (6) Henman in the all-British first-time meeting, (7) Novak vs. (WC) Lammer, Karlovic vs. (2) Nalbandian, Berdych vs. (WC) Bastl, Calleri vs. Sabau, and Acasuso vs. Massu.
Defending Champ Youzhny Wins Opener at ATP St. Petersburg
All four seeds in play advanced safely into the second round Tuesday at the ATP stop in St. Petersburg in (2) Thomas Johansson (d. Kohlschreiber), (4) Mikhail Youzhny (d. Beck who retired with a knee injury), (5) Nicolas Kiefer (d. Garcia-Lopez in three), and (8) Fernando Verdasco (d. (WC) Philippoussis in three).
"We met in last year's final here so I pretty much knew what to expect from him this time," Youzhny said after overcoming Beck.
Johansson delivered eight aces and did not face a break point against the German Kohlschreiber.
"This was a good match," Johansson said. "I was serving and returning very well, which gives me confidence for the next round. I'm happy. I feel like I'm back at pretty much the same level as in 2002 when I won the Australian Open."
Unseeded winners on the day were American Kevin Kim (d. Minar in three), Argentine Juan Monaco (d. (Q) Gabashvili), and Ukraine qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky (d. Popp in three).
On tap for Wednesday are (Q) Stakhovsky vs. Carlsen, Melzer vs. (5) Kiefer, (1) Davydenko vs. Dlouhy, (7) Rusedski vs. Tursunov, Goldstein vs. Burgsmuller, and Serra vs. Vik.
Roddick Ends Losing Streak with 300th Win at ATP Lyon
Top-seeded Andy Roddick ended a three-match ATP losing streak Tuesday at Lyon, defeating French wildcard Thierry Ascione 7-5, 6-3 to move into the second round.
"When I lost to [Ascione] in the juniors six years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be celebrating my 300th career win with a win over him," Roddick said. "I wasn't thinking too much about it, but now that I've accomplished it I feel proud of this achievement."
Upset-makers on the day were Belgian Olivier Rochus (d. (2) Puerta from a set down) and French qualifier Marc Gicquel (d. (6) Ferrer, bagel in the second).
"I'm not disappointed as I think I played a good match today," said Puerta, all but eliminated from qualifying for the Masters Cup after the loss. "I just came up against a really good player. The tournament here is really strong and there are lots of tough first-round opponents. He plays well on this kind of surface. But I'm happy with my level on this surface and it gives me confidence for the future."
No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo was also a winner after coming from a set down to defeat Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.
Three Frenchmen led the unseeded winners in Sebastien Grosjean (d. Hanescu from a set down), Gael Monfils (d. Hernych in three) and (WC) Michael Llodra (d. Malisse), joined by Swedish qualifier Thomas Enqvist (d. (Q) Carraz), and Italy's Davide Sanguinetti (d. F.Lopez in three).
Waiting in the wings for Wednesday play are (4) Ljubicic vs. Spadea, Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro vs. Taylor "Acci-" Dent, Djokovic vs. Olivier "The Roach" Rochus, Mathieu vs. (8) Ginepri, (Q) Enqvist vs. (7) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, and (Q) Mahut vs. (WC) Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau in an all-French.
Seed Ivanovic Takes Root at WTA Linz
No. 8 Ana Ivanovic, the only seed in action Tuesday at the WTA stop in Linz, began her campaign with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Japan's Shinobu Asagoe to advance into the second round.
"It's my first time here, and I've had a really good first impression," Ivanovic said. "The atmosphere here is great, and it's nice to play in front of a crowd like that. I had a good week in Zurich last week, so hopefully I can take my chances again here and do well in Linz."
Unseeded winners were Argentine Gisela Dulko (d. (WC) Raymond saving two match points), Czech Iveta Benesova (d. (Q) Domachowska), Austrian wildcard Sybille Bammer (d. Razzano), and Czech Kveta Peschke (d. Zvonareva).
Scheduled for Wednesday in Linz are Arvidsson vs. Strycova, Likhovtseva vs. Sugiyama, Peschke vs. Dementieva, Vesnina vs. Paszek, Koukalova vs. Hantuchova, and Golovin vs. Karatantcheva.
Unseeded Krajicek Into 2nd Round at WTA Hasselt
Michaella Krajicek was the beneficiary of misfortune Tuesday at the WTA stop in Hasselt, advancing into the second round after No. 7-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze was forced to retire trailing 1-6, 1-3 with a right wrist strain.
Seeds safely into the second round Tuesday were (2) Nathalie Dechy (d. Yakimova), (3) Francesca Schiavone (d. (Q) Kanepi), and (4) Dinara Safina (d. Foretz).
Unseeded winners were Aussie Sam Stosur (d. Llagostera Vives, bagel in the second), American Jill Craybas (d. Sucha), and Czech Lucie Safarova (d. Salerni).
Wednesday in Hasselt will feature Santangelo vs. Srebotnik, Callens vs. Schruff, Minella vs. Vinci, Sprem vs. Savchuk, Clijsters vs. Bychkova, Camerin vs. Schiavone, and Loit vs. Tu.
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