Haas Injured, Henin and Safin Upset, Martinez RetiresPosted on April 16, 2006 Safin Refuses Handshake After Loss at ValenciaTournament organizers were left without a Sunday marquee name after two shock upsets made for two first-time finalists on Saturday at the ATP claycourt stop in Valencia. Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro, who earlier in the week toppled former French Open champ and world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, did one better Saturday with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over in-form Russian wildcard Marat Safin. The contentious match between Safin and Almagro grew even more bad-tempered after the Russian twisted his ankle, with Safin refusing to shake hands following match point. The Russian also squandered a break lead in the final set. The lone remaining seed in the event fell in the other semifinal when Frenchman Gilles Simon ousted No. 7 Fernando Verdasco to also move into his first career final. It will be the first career meeting between Almagro and Simon. Schnyder Ousts Henin to Reach Charleston Final No. 3 seed Patty Schnyder finally found a chink in top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne's armor Saturday in the semifinals at the WTA claycourt stop in Charleston, beating the Belgian for the first time in seven career meetings 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final at the Family Circle Cup. "I had control of the match in the first set. I was playing pretty well and then I lost a bit of my concentration for a few games," Henin-Hardenne told reporters. "Then the match turned completely and she was having control of the points." In the final the Swiss will face No. 2 seed Nadia Petrova, who cruised past No. 6 Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-3, putting her one match win from a second consecutive title after Amelia Island. Fish, Melzer in ATP Houston Final Former No. 2-ranked Tommy Haas' run came to an end Saturday in the semifinals at the ATP claycourt stop in Houston when the German retired trailing 1-4 in the first set with a wrist injury against wildcard Mardy Fish. "I'm sorry I can't compete tonight," Haas told the crowd. "I was feeling pain every time I hit the ball and therefore you can't really compete at this level, so it's unfortunate for me." Fish will be playing in his first ATP final since June 2004 at Halle, and is himself making a comeback from two wrist surgeries. In the final Fish will face unseeded Jurgen Melzer, who ousted No. 7 seed Paul Goldstein 6-3, 6-4, ripping off six straight games after dropping the first three in the opening set. Melzer made frequent use of his big lefty forehand and the drop shot, making the touch-challenged American frequently play short balls. Melzer won 18 of his 26 net approaches, almost twice the trips forward compared to Goldstein who showed his eversion to the net. "I knew Paul is a tough man and he's grinding everything," said Goldstein, who has found success in Houston over the years. "I was thinking, 'Why isn't every week a tournament here in Houston?' I'm happy to be here in the finals and of course I want to get my first (career) title." DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER Who cares if you need it or not, show your love for Tennis-X, contribute to the fund, only eight bucks for one year of daily tennis news! Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get their heads around the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. A year's subscription costs less than a meal and a pint. 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 ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe speaking with The Desert Sun on Donald Young and his family taking offense at some of his comments: "He has a lot of potential and he seems like a nice kid, but I'm concerned. The last thing I want to do is rough up the kid. I don't think putting him in major tournaments is the right move right now. It's one thing to play here and there, but he's not competitive at that level. In my opinion, it's a mistake. I'd like nothing more than to see him do well and play small tournaments. If he qualifies for a Masters Series, that's great, but I think he's missing one of the steps along the way."...Aussie Fed Cup captain David Taylor on deciding whether to use Alicia Molik, who is returning from a 6-month absence due to illness, in next month's Fed Cup tie, speaking with The Australian: "I've had reports from her hitting partners and they all said that while she wasn't playing Top-10 tennis, she was playing well enough for this tie. When you have somebody of Alicia's calibre willing to put their hand up it's hard to overlook her. She is very keen, unbelievably keen, to get back. She understands it's going to take a while."...33-year-old Spaniard Conchita Martinez has announcer her retirement for the time being at least: "I have been away from the courts for some time now due to a serious injury to my Achilles tendon," she said in a statement. "I have had a lot of time to think and have decided the best thing for me is to retire from singles competition. I am leaving open the slight possibility of playing doubles at some point in the future, depending on the status of my injury following surgery."...Serena Williams is now ranked outside the Top 100 for the first time since 1997...Tim Henman speaking with the Monte Carlo website on facing Gaston Gaudio first round: "There's no doubting Gaston's claycourt pedigree. You've got to be a bit special to win the French Open and he's one of a handful of guys that is always going to be there or there about at the business end of most of the claycourt events he plays. I've always done well against him so I've got a pretty good idea as to what I will want to try and do once I get out there on court. I'm hitting the ball well in practice and I feel good physically so hopefully that will give me the best possible chance of playing well, which I'll need to do to win." |
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