Roddick v Haas in Houston; Hewitt Pulls, Still Suing ATP

Other seeded winners in opening-round matches were (4) Marcos Baghdatis (d. (WC) Witten) and (7) Paul Goldstein (d. Tipsarevic), while Brazil's Marcos Daniel had the lone upset on the day with a straight-set win over (6) Luis Horna.

"I think Cypriots are everywhere," Baghdatis told reporters concerning his vocal following. "It's fun playing in front of your countrymen, your own people. It's a big responsibility. The whole country sees what I do, especially the kids so I try to have a good image for them and try not to do any bad things in life, trying to show them good examples."

Both Haas and Baghdatis returned from 2-5 set deficits Wednesday.

Doubles winners Wednesday included (1) Bryan/Bryan (d. (WC) T.Blake/Goldstein) and (WC) J.Blake/Fish (d. Horna/Monaco).

Scheduled for Thursday on the dirt are Schuettler vs. (WC) Fish, (4) Baghdatis vs. Spadea, (7) Goldstein vs. (Q) Jenkins, Daniel vs. Melzer, Vicente vs. (Q) Dupuis, and Behrend vs. Montanes.

"I'm looking forward to playing Tommy," Roddick told reporters ahead of their Friday meeting. "He's been playing great. I feel like I'm playing well, I've turned the corner and this will be a great test. He's in form and on a surface he likes. I want to play well against an elite player."

Safin, Gaudio Feature Thursday at Valencia

Only one seeded player was in action Wednesday at the ATP claycourt stop in Valencia, where No. 7-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco advanced into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Italian Potito Starace.

Unseeded players moving into the quarters were Spaniard Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez (d. Hernych), Italian Andreas Seppi (d. (Q) Ascione from a set down), and Frenchman Gilles Simon (d. Sanguinetti from a set down).

On court Thursday on the dirt are (6) Volandri vs. Zib, Phau vs. (Q) Almagro, (WC) Safin vs. Pashanski, and Mayer vs. (2) Gaudio.

No U.S. Clay Winners in 2006 Says Tennis-X.com Poll

Andy Roddick has won three career claycourt titles in Houston and one overseas, but with his recent poor form, Tennis-X.com readers are leaning toward Roddick -- and all Americans for that matter -- failing to collect a claycourt title in 2006.

Roddick is also the last American to win a claycourt title on European soil, at the small St. Poelten event in 2003. The year before, Andre Agassi took home the prestigious Masters Series-Rome crown.

According to the Tennis-X.com poll, 38 percent of nearly 1,200 readers surveyed believe an American man or woman will earn a clay title during the next two months leading up to the French Open -- with 5 percent voting Roddick will win a clay title, and an equal 5 percent for James Blake.

Meanwhile 28% of those who voted said no American would win. Two percent of voters believed Lindsay Davenport would take home a dirt trophy, with the former No. 1 recently announcing she would play the Istanbul Open prior to Roland Garros.

"The American men in particular have been slack over the last few years in really dedicating themselves to the clay, treating the dirt season more like a respite before the grass and U.S. summer hardcourt seasons," said Tennis-X.com Senior Writer Richard Vach. "Like Roger Federer is planning this year, I think American fans would like to see the U.S. men put in a full claycourt season -- play all three Masters Series events on clay, and win or lose just commit themselves to the grind."

A hopeful three percent of voters polled think the Williams sisters, Serena or Venus, have a chance to return to form and capture a claycourt title in 2006.

Among other categories, eighteen percent of the heavily North American-flavored pollsters responded with "Who cares?"

Kuznetsova Krushes Kompetition at WTA Charleston

Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova answered questions regarding her fitness after sustaining an injury last week at Amelia Island, on Wednesday at Charleston steamrolling American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-0, 6-1 to advance into the third round.

"What do I have to do now?" Kuznetsova told reporters after revealing she was also bothered by a sore elbow, wondering aloud when her troubles would end. "But the hip is much better."

Kuznetsova retired in the Amelia Island semifinals after sustaining a groin injury against Francesca Schiavone.

Other seeded winners Wednesday were (2) Nadia Petrova (d. A.Bondarenko in three, losing a bagel set), (6) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Ruano Pascual), (8) Nathalie Dechy (d. Tatishvili), (9) Anabel Medina Garrigues (d. N.Uberoi), (11) Katarina Srebotnik (d. Sucha), (12) Mario Bartoli (d. Fedak), (14) Lucie Safarova (d. Schruff, bagel in the second) and (16) Mara Santangelo (d. Craybas).

"The first match is never an easy one," said Petrova, who committed 49 unforced errors, losing the second set 0-6 before recovering for the win. "You really need to go through it, fight mentally, and that also helps a little bit to release yourself in more matches in the tournament."

Scheduled for Thursday in Charleston are Schnyder vs. Santangelo, Henin-Hardenne vs. Sprem, Dominguez Lino vs. Kuznetsova, Safarova vs. Petrova, Vakulenko vs. Safina, Srebotnik vs. Dechy, and Castano vs. Bartoli.

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Also see:
Time for Roddick, U.S. Men to Act Like They Belong
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