Four Players Fight for 2 Remaining Masters Cup Berths
Posted on November 4, 2005
Roddick Rolls, Masters Contenders Lose at ParisTop-seeded Andy Roddick dominated No. 16 seed Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 6-2 Thursday at the ATP Masters Series-Paris, flexing his muscles with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the sidelines to move into the quarterfinals.
For Roddick it was a relieving rebound after barely edging countryman Taylor Dent in his opening round.
"Especially after (Wednesday), I did not feel comfortable about my game, but every aspect of it went fine," Roddick said. "I felt everything was flowing. I was not thinking, I just played. I had a pretty good start and he felt that."
In matches between Masters Cup contenders, No. 6 seed Ivan Ljubicic eliminated No. 9 Thomas Johansson from Shanghai contention 6-3, 7-6(4), and No. 7 Gaston Gaudio eliminated No. 12 Robby Ginepri in straight sets. Unseeded Tomas Berdych also cut off No. 13 Juan Carlos Ferrero's chances 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4.
Other seeded winners were No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko (d. (Q) Tursunov from a set down) who has clinched his first Masters Cup berth, No. 8 Radek Stepanek (d. Mathieu), No. 10 Dave Ferrer (d. Haas in three) who still remains in Masters Cup contention, and No. 14 Tommy Robredo (d. (Q) Djokovic) who is also in contention.
Davydenko keeps winning, but also keeps testing an injured shoulder that could hamper him during the demanding Masters Cup.
"It's not a serious injury but it's painful," Davydenko said. "It's been a long season and my body needs a rest."
The unheralded Spaniard Ferrer will now have to beat Roddick in the quarterfinals to stay alive, then potentially beat Ljubicic in the semifinals.
Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are (1) Roddick vs. (10) Ferrer, (6) Ljubicic vs. (14) Robredo, (3) Davydenko vs. (8) Stepanek, and (7) Gaudio vs. Berdych.
Mauresmo Into Quarters at WTA Philadelphia
No. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo took a first-round bye and a second-round win into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Philadelphia, continuing her dominance over Japan's Ai Sugiyama with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
"I felt really comfortable on the court today," said Mauresmo who improved to 8-0 against Sugiyama. "But coming back on these two losses, I really wanted to get this one out of the way. I wanted to make sure I was going to be coming out of the court as a winner today."
Other winners on the day were (6) Nadia Petrova (d. (WC) Shvedova), Czech Kveta Peschke (d. Karatantcheva 1-and-0), and American Lisa Raymond (d. (LL) Gehrlein in three).
Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are Sucha vs. Petrova, Dementieva vs. Peschke, Vaidisova vs. Raymond, and Washington vs. Mauresmo.
"It's important for her to qualify for the WTA Tour Championships," Peschke said on facing Dementieva. "But it's also important to me because I want to be seeded at the Australian Open."
Seeds Dechy, Bartoli Win at WTA Quebec City
Top seed Nathalie Dechy (d. Salerni) and No. 3 Marion Bartoli (d. Laine from a set down) led the winners into the quarterfinals Thursday at the WTA stop in Quebec City.
Also into the quarters were un-seeds Stephanie Dubois of Canada (d. Rodionova from a set down) and American Shenay Perry (d. (9) Schruff).
"I am so excited," said Dubois, who reached her first quarterfinal. "I tried to stay focused on my game during the entire match and worry about myself. The crowd was unbelievable and their support certainly did help. I could have let up in the second set but I hung in there and I fought for it."
Featured Friday in the quarterfinals are Arvidsson vs. Vesnina, Perry vs. Bartoli, Dechy vs. Dubois, and Nagyova vs. Frazier.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Guillermo Coria, who lost a pivotal match to Tomas Berdych this week at the MS-Paris, on qualifying through the back door for the Masters Cup after the withdrawal of Marat Safin due to an ongoing knee injury: "I am really happy to be playing in my third consecutive Tennis Masters Cup. I heard a lot of good things about Shanghai and the stadium which I have seen pictures of. It is really impressive. Although I will not be playing on my favorite surface, I expect to have a good tournament and share this great moment with the medical staff that supported me during my injury, my technical staff and especially my wife Carla." Coria went 0-3 last year at the Masters Cup. Two open spots remain in Shanghai among potentials Ivan Ljubicic, Gaston Gaudio, David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo...Emma venting on the X-Discussion board: "god i feel like shaking the ATP sometimes. how long are the lunch breaks at ATP headquarters? does anyone there actually watch the tennis? they winge about the problems of marketing and promotion -- then at this time of the year, when they should be providing up to the minute coverage of the race to Shanghai, really milking it for all its nail biting potential..once again they drop the ball. spot the difference....Eurosport website: 'Coria and Davydenko qualify for Masters Cup' ATP website: 'Davydenko Eyes Shanghai -- No. 3 seed Nikolay Davydenko moved one step closer to claiming one of the spots'......and on and on in its infinite blandness (no mention of Coria). Come on, its simple for christ's sake -- it pisses me off -- their coverage could be exciting, intriguing, enticing -- instead its just bollocks. a chimp with a calculator, sat in front of the Eurosport website, could really make some radical improvements to the ATP's race to Shanghai coverage -- maybe that's what they should be recruiting, instead of unpaid interns." Ouch...From Tennis Week's Scoop Malinowski: "...I spoke with tennis photographer Bev Schaefer, who was shooting the action courtside. She told me a humorous Marcelo Rios story. It was at Roland Garros in about 1994, when adidas was doing a publicity event on the grounds of the French Open. adidas had a stage set with three of the company's highest-ranked players -- Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Rios, who was about 19 at the time. The moderator asked each player in front of a crowd of fans and media this question: "Is there a shot from one of the other players here that you admire and wish you had yourself?" Both Graf and Edberg graciously praised a shot from each other. Then when it was Rios's turn, according to Schaefer, the churlish Chilean commented "No, there's nothing I would like from their game." "The moderator almost fell off his chair. Graf and Edberg were stunned. It sucked all the life out of the event," Schaefer recalled. "It was so rude. Rios was there representing adidas. He didn't play the game." I asked her if she ever saw Rios happy or smile on the court. She answered, "Yes, once. It was when he became No. 1 in Miami. Right after they announced he would be number one next week, and Rios got up to get the trophy, he smiled for about one second. Then it was gone," Schaefer said."...Injuries have also hit France hard this week in Paris with young guns Gael "Force" Monfils and Richard Gasquet sidelined with injuries, but still in attendance at the Masters Series stop...Check out some of the very un-sexy photos of Maria Sharapova from Italian Vogue on the WTA website -- did Maria surgically have her spine removed? What's with the posture problem, young lady? Sit up straight!...Nikolay Davydenko on qualifying for the Masters Cup: "I did not want to think too much about it because I was very close but still needed to win matches and points. Since the US Open, everybody around me was saying I had a big chance but I wasn't in yet. It feels great, it's such a big achievement as there are 1,000 players in the rankings and I will be among the Top 8. I know the Masters Cup is a very special tournament and now I will experience it."...Will the former ATP Milan event go to Minsk or Zagreb for 2006?...Lindsay Davenport speaking to Reuters on Monica Seles, who is still holding out hope for a return from foot problems: "I think she's done. I think she's loved her last year and won't go out there and play unless she's the good Monica that's everyone's used to. I'd put a comeback at five percent."...Venus Williams was given "The Comeback" award at the 16th Annual Glamour [magazine] Women of the Year awards at Lincoln Center...From The Australian: "Former tennis player Scott Draper was forced to withdraw from the Queensland Open golf tournament yesterday with a rib injury but the pain was lessened somewhat after he received sponsors' invitations to play in the two biggest tournaments on the local calendar -- the Australian Open and Masters."...Serb Novak Djokovic is having nose surgery to clear up a breathing problem...ESPN2 will be showing the semifinals and final of the Masters Cup on tape in the U.S.
Friday Rage:
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2005-11-04/c.php