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Murray Trumps Henman in Shocker; Ivanisevic Says Play Me in Davis Cup FinalView Comments (3) | View Discussions
Posted on October 27, 2005
 Henman Humbled by Wildcard Murray at ATP Basel
Less like the passing of a torch and more like capping off a confidence-challenging injury-filled year, Tim Henman was dealt a humiliating blow Wednesday at the ATP stop in Basel when the fast-sliding British No. 1 lost in a first-ever encounter with teenage wildcarded countryman Andy Murray 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4).
"It's frustrating and disappointing," said the No. 6-seeded Henman, who staged a comeback with Murray serving for the match at 5-4 in the second. "Today I don't think I dealt with it as well as I have done. I think Andy was the one who handled it better."
Henman has failed to advance past the quarterfinals at an event this year.
Murray showed signs of nerves with some poor serving and a misplayed dropshot with the match on his racquet at 5-4 in the second, but regrouped impressively in the third set, capped off by the decisive tiebreak.
"To win against someone like that, who I have so much respect for, who inspired me -- if it weren't for him I might not even be playing," said Murray, whose voice cracked with emotion after the match. "It's definitely the biggest win of my career so far, to win against Tim who's been one of the best, most consistent players of the last decade."
The four other seeds in action advanced in straight sets in (1) Guillermo Coria (d. A.Martin), (2) David Nalbandian (d. Karlovic), (5) Dominik Hrbaty (d. Chela), and (7) Jiri Novak (d. (WC) Lammer in two tiebreaks).
"I always play good here, I like to play here," said Nalbandian after beating Karlovic for the second time this month. "I will try to do my best. I'm fighting for a place in the Masters Cup in Shanghai so I have to do play well. I'm not very far away but also far at the same time. I know that a win here would improve my chances so I will go for it."
Unseeded players advancing were Argentines Agustin Calleri (d. Sabau, bagel in the first) and Jose Acasuso (d. Massu from a set down), and Czech Tomas Berdych (d. (WC) Bastl from a set down).
On tap for Thursday are (1) Coria vs. Vliegen, Acasuso vs. (3) Ferrero, (8) Haas vs. Baghdatis, Mayer vs. (2) Nalbandian, Berdych vs. (WC) Murray, Calleri vs. (5) Hrbaty, (4) Gonzalez vs. Berrer, and (7) Novak vs. Srichaphan.
Spadea Ousts Ljubicic, Ginepri Illin' at ATP Lyon
Vince Spadea's boast of a return to the Top 10 received a boost Wednesday at the ATP stop in Lyon where the unseeded American ousted a tired No. 4 seed Ivan Ljubicic 7-6(5), 7-5 in first-round play.
Ljubicic was coming off his third consecutive final in his last three tournaments, on Sunday losing in five sets to Rafael Nadal at the Masters Series-Madrid.
"I haven't had enough time to recover, I lacked energy," Ljubicic said. "But I'm going to Paris on Thursday and there are several of us who can qualify for the Masters Cup still."
Spadea converted on only one of 10 break points during the match, which proved enough.
"I reached the semifinals here on two occasions, last year and six years ago, and I really hope to do as well again this year," Spadea said. "Ivan is in great form, he is one of the top sees here so it is a great win for me, it gives me a lot of confidence and hopefully I can take that into the next match."
No. 8 Robby Ginepri retired with illness in the first set against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, while No. 7 Mario Ancic delivered 32 aces to edge Swedish qualifier Thomas Enqvist 6-4 in the third.
Other unseeded winners were Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro (d. Dent) and qualifier Nicolas Mahut (d. countryman (WC) Benneteau), and Belgian Olivier Rochus (d. Djokovic).
On Thursday vying for the final quarterfinal positions are (Q) Gicquel vs. Sanguinetti, Gael "Force" Monfils vs. (3) Gaudio, (5) Robredo vs. Grosjean, (1) Roddick vs. (Q) Mahut, Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro vs. Mathieu in an all-French, and Spadea vs. (WC) Llodra.
Top-Seeded Davydenko Continues Cup Charge at ATP St. Petersburg
Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko led the seeded charge (d. Dlouhy) Wednesday at the ATP stop in St. Petersburg where the seeds went three-for-three, joined by (5) Nicolas Kiefer (d. Melzer from a set down) and (7) Greg Rusedski (d. Tursunov).
"I can't say I'm in a very good shape," said Davydenko, fighting for one of the last qualifying spots at the Masters Cup. "I want to achieve good results in order to prepare well for next week's event in Paris. Of course, it would be very nice to win here in Russia and gain some extra confidence for next week."
Un-seeds advancing on the day were American Paul Goldstein (d. Burgsmuller in three), Dane Kenneth Carlsen (d. (Q) Stakhovsky in three tiebreaks), and Czech Robin Vik (d. Serra in three).
On court Thursday in St. Pete are Pavel vs. (2) T.Johansson, (7) Rusedski vs. K.Kim, (4) Youzhny vs. Saulnier, (1) Davydenko vs. Goldstein, and (8) Verdasco vs. Monaco.
Dementieva Chokes WTA Champ Hopes at WTA Linz
No. 2 seed Elena Dementieva went for the throat-clutcher Wednesday at the WTA stop in Linz with her qualification for the year-end WTA Championship hanging in the balance, handing unheralded Czech Kveta Peschke her first win over a Top 10 player in five years with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.
"It was a tough first match for me -- she was playing very aggressively, and hitting the ball very flat," Dementieva said. "I wasn't playing my best today, but I have to respect her game. She didn't allow me to get into a rhythm, and she deserved to win."
Dementieva had won both her previous meetings with the Czech, and double-faulted twice to lose her opening service game.
No. 5-seeded Russian Elena Likhovtseva was also an upset victim in three sets at the hands of Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama, while (6) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Koukalova 7-6 in the third) and (9) Tatiana Golovin (d. Karatantcheva) safely advanced.
Other unseeded winners on the day were Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson (d. (Q) Strycova) and Austrian wildcard Tamira Paszek (d. (Q) Vesnina in three).
On tap for Thursday in Linz are Sugiyama vs. Dulko, Martinez vs. Hantuchova, Arvidsson vs. Petrova, Dushevina vs. Bammer, Schnyder vs. Benesova, and Paszek vs. Ivanovic.
Clijsters Deals Bych-slapping at WTA Hasselt
Top-seeded Kim Clijsters made her debut Wednesday at the WTA stop in Hasselt a quick one, cruising past Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem.
"There was definitely a bit of rustiness there tonight," Clijsters said. "She's a good player, she beat [Svetlana] Kuznetsova at the US Open, and she surprised me with her shots sometimes."
The 22-year-old Belgian has won 29 of 31 matches since Wimbledon.
"Its really nice to play in Belgium, to give something back to the fans, and give them a chance to see me play," Clijsters said. "It's amazing to think the last time I played here in Belgium eight months ago I was only coming back and now I've won a Grand Slam and am close to No. 1 in the world. It's incredible."
Other seeded winners Wednesday were (3) Francesca Schiavone (d. Italian countrywoman Camerin), and (8) Katarina Srebotnik (d. Santangelo, bagel in the second).
Unseeded winners on the day were American qualifier Meilen Tu (d. Loit 6-1 in the third), Italian Roberta Vinci (d. (Q) Minella), the Croatian Sprem (d. (Q) Savchuk 1-and-1), and Germany's Julia Schruff (d. (WC) Callens).
On Thursday's schedule are Krajicek vs. Safarova, Flipkens vs. Stosur, Safina vs. Craybas, Vinci vs. Dechy, and Clijsters vs. Sprem.
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
2005 Slam winners Roger Federer (ankle) and Marat Safin (knee) officially pulled from the Masters Series-Paris on Wednesday, joined by Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal...Andy Murray on beating Tim Henman: "It's not (a change of the guard) for me. He's still a Top 30 player even though he's had a bad year by his standards. If he comes back next year and plays the way people know he can, then he can still be in the Top 30 or even 20. At the moment I'm still just in the Top 70, so it's not like that at all." Ouch, not even giving "Our Tim" potential Top 10 props for 2006...Indian star Mahesh Bhupathi on the ATP doubles debacle: "The feeling on tour is very simple, our senior (ATP) management is not strong enough to do the right thing for the game, they try their best to please everyone and in the meantime lose control with every situation. It's been going on for years and until there is a change right across the board, no matter how much players give, they will always ask for more."...It's the retirement season: 35-year-old Belgian Els Callens announced she was pulling the trigger Wednesday after her loss at Hasselt. Callens reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 43 in 1997 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 12 in 2001, winning 10 doubles titles: "In singles my best ever match was against Serena [Williams] in 2002 Wimbledon, we played on court two and she won in two tiebreaks. She had to reach a sixth gear that day, because I was playing at my very best level, and if she hadn't I'm sure I would have taken that match. My proudest moment has to be winning the Bronze Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Dominique [Van Roost]. Now that my playing career is over after this week, I am the teaching pro at a club 20 minutes outside of Antwerp called T.C. Piepel. My ambition is to run an academy of my own." Nice club plug...Tom Tebbutt writing for Canada's The Globe and Mail: "There is a Canadian player in electronic linecalling. The Auto-Ref firm of Waterloo, Ont., has previously been tested by the ITF and will be again in an outdoor stadium in the coming weeks. CEO Peter Szirmak is confident the system will soon receive approval. "We feel our technology is superior," he said. "Hawk-Eye's really just transferring their TV replay system (called Shot Spot on ESPN) into a line-calling system. They walkie-talkie the result to the umpire whereas our system makes the call instantly available to the umpire on a screen at the chair." Auto-Ref will also be active in the courts. "We have a U.S. patent issued (for system and method for judging boundary lines) and we're in the process of making sure nobody's infringing on it," Szirmak said."...Tennisreporters.net's Matt Cronin: "The word off the court is that The Tennis Channel paid $875,000 for the Scottsdale men's tournament which, according to one industry source, was a high price. Nonetheless, the TTC has secured $1.6 million for the next two years from the city of Las Vegas, where it will hold the '06 tournament at the new Darling Tennis Center. To date, the TTC has signed James Blake, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri and Vince Spadea to play the tournament, which certainly isn't a list of players that going to pull the high stakes gamblers off the poker tables at Caesar's Palace. But, don't think the tournament won't make a hard play for Andy Roddick...if they can come up with the $200,000 or so it will take to sign him."...If Lleyton Hewitt also ends up skipping the Masters Series-Paris due to the impending birth of his baby, the "elite" event will only have one Top 6-ranked player in Andy Roddick...The LA Time's Lisa Dillman: "Andre Agassi -- Four seasons of Andre: winter, spring, summer, sabbatical."...From SI.com's Jon Wertheim, giving everyone at the ATP props: "Greg Sharko, the Biff Henderson of our show, sends us the following: "Our rankings coordinator Bram Tukker passed along this interesting tidbit from last week's ATP Masters Series Madrid: 'The king of tiebreaks, Ivo Karlovic, advanced to the quarterfinals without ever breaking his opponents' serve in four matches. He played 58 return games and eight of the 10 sets he played went to a tiebreak (6-2). His strong performance lifted his season record to 24-21 in tie-breaks. [Andy] Roddick has played the most tiebreaks this year (26-23), followed by Karlovic.'" The Braminator -- you don't want to be on the other side of the net -- or near a plate of food opposite Shark...From Giles Smith of the Times Online: "Tennis incoming! British forces in action in Switzerland! What's a national broadcaster to do but scramble Sue Barker and clear her for immediate take-off? Sympathy to fans of House Invaders, whose pleasures were rudely elbowed aside yesterday afternoon as BBC Two launched its squadrons on Basle. But surely even the most avid fan of a transformed bathroom must appreciate that a collision between the one true star of British tennis and its next big thing comes round only with the sweet rarity of a solar eclipse, say, or a Peter Crouch goal. Whereas a DIY makeover show...well, that's every 30 minutes, at present rates of tick-over. Presumably, since Murray broke into the public consciousness at Wimbledon, the entire BBC tennis team have been on 24-hour call for the moment when a tournament draw somewhere in the world would pair [Andy Murray] with [Tim] Henman. One likes to think they were all issued with pagers, or a special colourcoded, hotline phone at home." Could you see a U.S. major TV network interrupting their programming to show a tennis match? Ha! More the other way around, they would show the home improvement "reality show" instead...Rafael Nadal will have a fragrance on the market in 2006...Goran Ivanisevic, pushing to play a role in the Davis Cup final for Croatia: "I don't want to be there only because I did certain things for Croatian tennis. Being a decoration doesn't interest me," the 35-year-old told the Jutarnji List newspaper on Thursday. "I will play only if coach thinks I can help. I'm not saying that I should or will play, but the Davis Cup lasts for three days and anything is possible."...Tim Henman had not lost to a fellow Brit since "Grinning" Greg Rusedski in 1998.
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