Nalbandian Surprise Semi at Masters Cup; Activists Burn Mirza Posters
Posted on November 18, 2005
Federer Wins, Nalbandian Trumps Ljubicic for Masters Cup SemiWorld No. 1 Roger Federer bounced back from a second-set nap Thursday against Guillermo Coria, ending his round robin play with a perfect 3-0 mark and sending the Argentine home at 0-3 after a 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 win.
"I'm not 100 percent fitness-wise, but it was a quick three-setter and I'm happy I didn't use too much energy," said Federer who extended his current win streak to 34 matches. "I couldn't get the practice on the court or on a running machine or lifting weights coming here [with the ankle injury]. But to win puts me in a good mind-set for tomorrow's practice and the next match."
Coria had called the trainer to treat his left ankle trailing 0-5 in the first set, then came out aggressively in the second set.
"I wanted to stop playing (after the first set)," Coria said. "But for the respect I have for Roger Federer...and for the fans, I felt I had to give it my best."
Federer broke for 4-2 in the third, holding serve then winning on a Coria double fault.
Federer is now two wins away from matching John McEnroe's Open Era record of 82-3 for a season, set in 1984.
Federer, Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian have secured semifinal spots, with the final place going to either Gaston Gaudio or Fernando Gonzalez.
Nalbandian steamrolled a flat Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 6-2 to gain the semis and eliminate the Croat.
"There's really not much I can say," Ljubicic said. "I couldn't do much really, he was playing unbelievable."
Nalbandian was called away from a fishing trip as a last-minute replacement at the event and finds himself in the semifinals. Now Gonzalez, who was called away from a party-filled vacation for a 30-hour plane trip to Shanghai, can join the Argentine in the semis Friday with a win over Gaston Gaudio. In the second singles match Friday, Nikolay Davydenko squares off against Mariano Puerta.
In early doubles results Friday, French pair Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro claimed the last semifinal berth, defeating Wimbledon champs Stephen Huss and Wesley Moodie when Huss injured his right knee in the second set and the pair retired. Earlier in the day Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett beat Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in three sets.
Saturday's semifinal doubles pairings will be Llodra-Santoro vs. two-time defending champs Bob and Mike Bryan, and Black-Ullyett vs. Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjic.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The ATP is featuring a podcast wrap-up from the Masters Cup each day on its website...Roger Federer stayed up until 4:30 a.m. the morning before his match against Guillermo Coria to watch Switzerland's World Cup soccer qualifier against Turkey: "I couldn't believe they were showing it," Federer said. "I thought I might as well take it while it's here." And he also thought, 'What the hell, I'm playing Coria on a fast court tomorrow -- maybe I should have a six-pack too.'...From the ATP: "Shortly after clinching the No. 1 doubles spot for 2005 on Wednesday, Bob and Mike Bryan set about rocking the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. With Bob on keyboards and Mike on a Gibson guitar, the part-time rock stars belted out four classic hits, including U2's 'With or Without You,' Santana's 'Ai Como Va' and Van Morrison's 'Brown Eyed Girl' which sent the crowd at Qi Zhong Stadium into a screaming frenzy. After coming off stage the twins were impressed with the reaction from the fans. "We felt like the (Rolling) Stones. We usually don't get screaming fans when we perform," Bob said. "It was great having lots of screaming girls in the front row," added Mike."...From the AP: "Once considered too elitist, tennis is now on the school curriculum for 200 million Chinese students and could become a boom sport for the world's most populous country. Sun Jinfang, vice-president of the China Tennis Association, said more than a million people play tennis on the mainland. "We have a very important plan working with the China education administration," she said. "There are more than 200 million people benefiting from the nine-year education system -- you can imagine how many people will play tennis in future. "We have already started testing in this program." Sun proudly announced in a news conference Thursday that "the official Wimbledon website" had described China as the "centre of the new tennis revolution." "It was only 10 years ago that tennis was considered a luxury sport for only senior officials and relatively rich people," said Sun. "But now there's a lot of tennis facilities that have been built not only in different cities but in communities. It's very close to the public." She cited China's gold medal in women's doubles at the Athens Olympics, where Li Ting and Sun Tiantian were surprise winners, as the perfect example of China's rise."...Rafael Nadal on his 2005 season: "Yesterday, in my hotel room, I was looking at the points that [Lleyton] Hewitt and [Andy] Roddick had when they were each No. 1, and they had less than I have now. That gives me confidence, because I'm not No. 1, but I would have been at a different time. I'm not going to get obsessed about it or put myself under pressure to do it. I'm going to keep following my own path, fighting 100 percent. If I do it, perfect. If not, I'll be No. 2 -- or 10."...Bob Bryan in Shanghai: "In China we feel like heroes. We feel like stars. They're doing a great job, and doubles is on a big stage so we're happy we're playing well. I think the ATP's going to do a better job next year. We've got a new chairman in Etienne de Villiers, and he's got a lot of great ideas for doubles. So, we're optimistic for next year, and I think doubles is going to go forward in the future."...From Chris Bowers for Tennisreporters.net: "David Nalbandian delivered the performance of the tournament to upset the formbook and defeat Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. It was a devastating display by the former Wimbledon runner-up, showing what he can do if only he feels bothered. "It's not easy playing always this well," he said, a big smile on his face. (That's not always a given with Nalbandian; he's as likely to scowl after a victory.) "I need a lot of motivation to play these kinds of matches." Nalbandian has told Argentine journalists that there's more to life than winning tennis matches. Sure, he likes to do well, but he loves fast cars, women, and spending time with his family. And fishing. He treated the media in Shanghai to an eloquent discourse on how river fishing can't really be compared with ocean fishing -- this from a man who claims to have once caught a shark."...Peter Bodo in his own TennisWorld: "We'll never really know how hurt [Roger Federer] is in comparison with Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, or Justine Henin-Hardenne. For all we know, he may even have been faking his own ankle injury to make himself stand out as the goody two-shoes, or some sort of martyr. I don't think so, though. I see him as a combination reprimand and reality-check in a game that sometimes seems to be devolving into a tawdry miniseries covered with all the dross of celebrity and wealth."...From Reuters on the social disintegration in China: "China's ancient Shaolin Temple, made famous in the West by Grasshopper in the 1970s "Kung Fu" television series, is entering the age of reality TV with a show its own. "Chinese Kung Fu Star Search" will invite viewers to vote for their favourite martial arts masters by text messages or through the Internet after each episode, due to hit living rooms across China in March, Xinhua news agency said on Friday."...From the Deccan Herald: "Tennis star Sania Mirza's remarks on safe sex "before or after marriage" have evoked sharp reactions in her hometown, with some calling the statements "un-Islamic" and others demanding an apology. A day after Sania backed Tamil actress Khushboo -- who has been dragged to court for comments on pre-marital sex -- activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took to the streets and set afire posters of the tennis player. A Muslim cleric who had earlier called Sania's on-court dress code "un-Islamic" also said if Sania supported pre-marital sex she could have nothing to do with Islam."...From Chris Bowers writing for Tennisreporters.net: "Worried at the dwindling popularity of doubles beyond those fans who attend tournaments and enjoy rounding off the day with a nice foursome, the ATP has tried tinkering with the entry qualifications for doubles tournaments, and has in the past three months tried to shorten sets, giving rise to some untennislike scores." Newsflash -- truth be told, the ATP made the changes under pressure from tournament directors so they could simply save money by reducing the doubles fields, not to improve doubles...Ivan Ljubicic after losing to David Nalbandian: "We all know that he's not good in the important moments when it's something about win. So I was just hoping to get maybe the match relatively equal. He's fantastic player, but he never won anything. I knew if I can get to the situation where it's going to be one or two points, I know that I'm going to have a chance. But unfortunately I was not even close."...Roger Federer in his post-match conference on coach Tony Roche arriving in Shanghai: "He doesn't just come here to hang out with me. I mean, he likes to visit the most sexiest guy alive once in a while (laughter)."...While Venus Williams couldn't compete two weeks ago to qualify for the WTA Championships and Serena was out for the tail end of the year with ankle problems, their injuries have mysteriously disappeared this week when Thursday night the sisters kicked off an exhibition tour in Seattle, with additional stops in Cleveland (Dec. 1) and Washington D.C. (Dec. 8).