Blake Beats Moya, McEnroe Nears Senior No. 1 Ranking
Posted on May 16, 2006
Blake Stuns Moya, Federer and Nadal Pull at HamburgJames Blake delivered a shocking rebuke to critics who charge the Americans are hapless on clay, Monday at the Masters Series-Hamburg defeating former No. 1-ranked French Open winner Carlos Moya 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to advance into the second round.
Blake's backhand is the usual target for foes looking to create opportunities and avoid the American's whip-crack forehand, but against Moya the American hit out heavily on the backhand side while keeping the Spaniard off-kilter with a mix of net approaches and drop shots. Blake rebounded from a break down early in the third set and a treatment for cramps.
"I think the cramps helped me a little at the end because I have had trouble closing matches out in the past and as I was just thinking about getting through the match rather than how to finish it," Blake told reporters. "I'm really excited about the prospect of adapting to claycourts, because in my opinion I've just beaten one of the best claycourt players in the world and feel pretty good about it."
The win was Blake's first in three Hamburg appearances, and broke a five-match losing streak.
World No. 1 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the top two seeds in the event, pulled out on Monday citing fatigue.
Other seeded winners Monday were (3) Ivan Ljubicic (d. (Q) Kohlschreiber from a set down), (8) Tommy Robredo (d. Novak), (12) Mario Ancic (d. (Q) Waske), (13) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Sanguinetti from a set down), (15) Radek Stepanek (d. Baghdatis who retired with breathing difficulties), and (16) David Ferrer (d. F.Lopez).
"I was sick in Rome but was feeling better lately," Baghdatis told reporters after retiring. "Today, though, I wasn't feeling well. I started to feel better after four or five games, but then there was a long rally and I felt I couldn't breathe, my heart was pumping really fast."
Unseeded winners of note were Spanish former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero who outlasted the hot-handed Belgian Olivier Rochus in three sets, Serb qualifier Novak Djokovic who bested the struggling No. 10 seed Guillermo Coria in three, Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu who ousted No. 11 Thomas Johansson in straights, Brazilian qualifier Flavio Saretta who showed former No. 1 Marat Safin the door from a set down (bagel in the second), and Belgian Kristof Vliegen who defeated last year's runner-up Richard Gasquet in straights.
Highlights Tuesday in Hamburg are (9) Kiefer vs. (Q) Melzer, (7) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. Tursunov, Haas vs. Soderling, Gael "Force" Monfils vs. Brit Andy Murray, (4) Davydenko vs. Massu, (6) Gaudio vs. A.Martin, and (14) Ginepri vs. Grosjean.
Slam Winners Venus, Hingis, Myskina Win at WTA Rome
Three former Slam winners advanced on the opening day of the Italian Open in Rome Monday at the hands of qualifiers in No. 9 seed Venus Williams (d. (Q) Ondraskova), No. 10 Anastasia Myskina (d. (Q) Azarenka 7-6 in the third), and unseeded Martina Hingis (d. (Q) Errani 0-and-1).
"My level dropped a bit in the close stages of the match, but I got it all back," Hingis told reporters after dropping one game. "I'm not yet looking for the final."
Williams will next face tour up-and-comer Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic who beat countrywoman Kveta Peschke in straight sets, while Hingis takes the challenge of No. 12 seed Nicole Vaidisova who needed to come from a set down to subdue Finland's Emma Laine.
Other winners of note Monday were Serb Jelena Jankovic ousting No. 14 Elena Likhovtseva in straight sets, and Russian Vera Dushevina steamrolling Czech Klara Koukalova 2-and-1 to set up a meeting with No. 6 Patty Schnyder.
Highlights of Tuesday play in Rome are Venus vs. Safarova, Vaidisova vs. Hingis, Hantuchova vs. Stosur, Kuznetsova vs. Smashnova, and Srebotnik vs. Molik.
McEnroe One Win from No. 1 Senior Ranking
John McEnroe kept his hopes alive for a berth in the final this week at the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions senior stop in Rome, on Monday defeating home-country favorite Renzo Furlan 6-2, 3-6, 10-3 (tiebreak) to raise his record to 1-1 in round-robin play.
"It was just tough to stay concentrated out there for the whole match," said the No. 3-ranked McEnroe, beating a player making his senior debut in 2006. "You know on this surface you have to be so mentally tough and I couldn't keep it up in the second set. My mind went wandering off to another court for a little bit but I managed to recover for the tiebreak."
In other matches Sergi Bruguera beat Carl-Uwe Steeb dropping only four games, and Cedric Pioline allowed only five games to opponent Pat Cash.
Entering the final day of round robin play, McEnroe, Pioline, Furlan and Cash all stand at a 1-1 win-loss in Group A, with the winner facing Bruguera, who has already clinched Group B, in the final.
Emerging from his round robin group on Tuesday would guarantee McEnroe the top spot come Monday on the Tennis-X.com World Senior Rankings, leapfrogging American-tour star Jim Courier and two-time 2006 title winner and current No. 1 Marcelo Rios.
On court Tuesday in Rome are McEnroe vs. Pioline, Cash vs. Furlan, and Henri Leconte vs. Claudio Mezzadri.
2006 TENNIS-X.COM WORLD SENIOR RANKINGS
(through May 7)
1. Marcelo Rios (800 pts.)
2. Jim Courier (600)
3. John McEnroe (575)
4. Sergi Bruguera (480)
5T. Pat Cash (450)
5T. Cedric Pioline (450)
7T. Richard Krajicek (400)
7T. Todd Martin (400)
9. Thomas Muster (375)
10. Carlos Costa (250)
The Tennis-X.com World Senior Rankings is a cumulative ranking for senior tour players combining results from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Europe, and the Outback Champions Series in the U.S.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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A win at the French would also break Bjorn Borg's record for titles as a teenager..In blowing three match points in the Rome final Sunday, Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi saw an 11-match winning streak come to an end...Stand-out names competing at the USA Futures event this week are Aussie Todd Reid, American Mashiska Washington and Holden "My Dad Was Good at Doubles" Seguso...When Hamburg ends this week, non-competitors Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer will have won 12 of the last 14 Masters Series events, but they are still 12-for-12 in the last 12 where they have both competed...Roger Federer has won the Hamburg title in three of the last four years, where the clay is even slower than the French with the damp atmosphere. Explanation? No Rafael Nadal meetings in Federer's three Hamburg wins. 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Also see:
Tennis-X Clay Notebook: Masters Series, Fed-Nadal, Americans
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-05-15/c.php