Serena Wins, Roddick, Ginepri Into Indy Quarters

Posted on July 21, 2006

Serena Powers Past Mattek Into Quarters at Cincy

CINCINNATI, OH, USA -- Having made her much-anticipated return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour two days prior with a resonant straight set victory over Anastasia Myskina, Serena Williams continued to impress the Cincinnati crowds in her second round match on Thursday evening, breezing past fellow American Bethanie Mattek, 63 61, to reach the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open quarterfinals.

After holding serve easily and building double break point in the second game, Williams hit a bit of a rough patch, dropping that game and then being broken to go down 2-1. But the former No.1 turned things around immediately, blasting numerous down-the-line and crosscourt passing shots against the net-rushing Mattek, eventually cruising to victory in just over an hour.

"Bethanie was playing really well," said Williams, who was playing Mattek for the first time. "Both players I've played so far have been competitive and tough."

Williams is playing just her second event of the year, having fallen third round at the Australian Open before being forced out for six months with a knee injury. In her comeback match Tuesday, she crushed current world No.11 Anastasia Myskina, 62 62, and seems to be in top form, a surprise to many who would have expected the seven-time major titlist to show some rust early in her comeback.

"I've been doing a lot of off-court work; hopefully it'll pay off, because I hate it," Williams joked. "I feel fine. I'm moving faster, but I can still get quicker. Obviously, winning these matches is one of the right steps in my comeback."

Aside from the dazzling display of aggressive tennis from Williams, the Cincinnati crowd was treated to somewhat of a fashion spectacle, particularly from Mattek, who donned lime green, knee-high socks and a matching outfit, similar to the white-colored outfit she wore at Wimbledon and in her first round here.

"I thought it was cute," said Williams of her opponent's attire. "I've worn knee-high socks before, at the French Open. I've always been for people who are different, and who use different motifs. I liked the socks and the skirt too."

Earlier in the day, three more players reached the final eight, namely Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli and Vera Zvonareva. Jankovic, seeded No.5 this week, nearly blew a 5-2 second set lead but managed to close out feisty Italian Maria Elena Camerin, 64 64; No.6 seed Bartoli dropped the second set but finished strongly, winning six of the last seven games during a 62 26 63 victory over Russian qualifier Vasilisa Bardina; and Zvonareva continued her solid form of late during a 60 62 rout of Uzbek Varvara Lepchenko.

Thursday's victors join top seed Patty Schnyder, No.4 seed Katarina Srebotnik, No.9-seeded Sania Mirza and unseeded American veteran Amy Frazier in the last eight. All four quarterfinals will take the court on Friday. In the day session, beginning at 3pm, Zvonareva plays Jankovic before Srebotnik faces Bartoli. The night session, beginning at 7pm, features a double-header, with Schnyder taking on Mirza before Williams battles Frazier.

Williams gave compliments to Frazier in her post-match press conference when asked about her thoughts on the upcoming battle.

"I tell you what, she's no pushover," Williams stated. "She's been playing since I was really young, and she still looks and plays like she's really young. She's so steady. It's gonna be a tough match."
-- WTA

Defending Champ Ginepri into Quarters at ATP Indy
 
Defending champion Robby Ginepri fired 11 aces in a 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-1 win over Russian Igor Kunitsyn to reach the quarterfinals of the RCA Championships in Indianapolis Thursday. Ginepri, who broke serve four times in the match, has now won eight consecutive matches in Indianapolis and has reached the quarterfinals in three of the past four years.

The World No. 17 claimed just his eighth match win of the year by reaching the quarterfinals. And it was just the second time this season that he has won consecutive matches. He next meets former finalist Paradorn Srichaphan.

Srichaphan saved three match points against American Paul Goldstein to advance to the quarterfinals 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) after 2 hrs., 20 mins. of play. Srichaphan, who also toiled for more than two hours in hot conditions to win his opening match Wednesday, saved all three match points when serving to stay in the match at 5/6 in the third set. He recovered from 15/40 and then saved a third match point at ad out.

Goldstein, who slipped to 0-4 in career meetings with the Thai, broke to go up 4-2 in the third set, was broken back immediately but then broke Srichaphan again to go ahead 5-3. But he was unable to serve out the match, eventually losing in a tie-break.

Two-time champion Andy Roddick needed eight break points before he was finally able to capture Jeff Morrison's serve late in the second set of his tough 7-6(4), 7-5 win in the feature night match. Morrison fired 12 aces but was unable to make an impact on the Roddick serve, failing to earn a break point chance and winning just 22 percent of points on the former World No.1's serve.

Roddick next meets dangerous left-hander Gilles Muller, who stunned the American in the first round of last year's US Open. Muller today crushed Kenneth Carlsen 6-1, 6-2.

Roddick said: "I felt I played well all night, but on every window of opportunity I had, he came up with a huge serve or a great volley. I played some of my best stuff this year, but I barely got the win. I was fortunate. I feel great, but I want to start stringing three, four and five matches together, getting deep into tournaments."

Top seed James Blake made it hard for himself before finally closing out his match against South African qualifier Wesley Whitehouse. Blake, the No. 1 ranked American, raced to a 5-1 lead in the third set. But he was broken at 5-2 and ultimately had to wait until 5-4 to serve out the match, winning 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Blake next meets 10th-seeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who upset fifth seed Tommy Haas 6-4, 7-5.

Third seed Fernando Gonzalez dropped just four points on his first serve during a 6-4, 7-6(7) win over Vince Spadea to reach the quarterfinals. Gonzalez notched his 25th win of the year for the fourth consecutive season.

Belgian Xavier Malisse upset seventh seed Dmitry Tursunov 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3. Malisse, who reached his first quarterfinal since Las Vegas in early March, meets Gonzalez in the quarterfinals.
-- ATP

Berdych Highest Seed Remaining at ATP Stuttgart

Second-seeded Tomas Berdych, the highest-ranked player left in the draw, set up a quarterfinal meeting with Nicolas Lapentti at the Mercedes Cup on Thursday.

Berdych knocked out Argentine qualifier Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-4 in 77 minutes.

Halle finalist Berdych, ranked No. 15 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings, converted four of six break point opportunities, while Junqueira went 1-10.

Former World No. 6 Lapentti edged out fellow qualifier Diego Hatfield 7-6(5), 6-2 in two hours and seven minutes.

Lapentti and Hartfield had previously only met on the ATP Challenger circuit, three years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lapentti won the semifinal in straight sets.

Third-seeded David Ferrer recorded his 130 ATP-level match win, booking his place in a fifth quarterfinal of the year with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Stanislas Wawrinka in their fourth career meeting.

Local favorite Florian Mayer will meet Ferrer next, following a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Argentine qualifier Juan Martin Del Potro in 49 minutes. Mayer has lost in each of his three previous quarterfinals this year (Auckland, Delray Beach, Halle).

Mariano Zabaleta was unable to build on his second round victory over top seed Gaston Gaudio, as the Argentine lost to No. 13 seed Luis Horna 6-3, 6-7(6) 6-4 in two hours and 42 minutes.

Horna now challenges Juan Monaco.

Five places in the INDESIT ATP Rankings separate Monaco (No. 88) from his opponent, Houston finalist, Jurgen Melzer (No. 83), but it was this season?s Costa Do Sauipe semifinalist who advanced with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 win.

Meanwhile Vina del Mar champion Jose Acasuso made it two wins out of two against Simon Greul, backing up his ATP Masters Series Hamburg win in May, with a 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 win in two hours and 23 minutes.

Acasuso will take on Austrian Oliver Marach, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over lucky loser Stefan Koubek.
-- ATP

Struggling Coria Stays Alive at ATP Amersfoort

Guillermo Coria won back-to-back matches for the first time since ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Thursday, reaching the Amersfoort quarterfinals with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over Argentine compatriot Sergio Roitman.

The pair had never previously met at ATP-level, yet the pair had played six times on the ATP Challenger and ITF Futures circuit between 1998 and 2000. Coria led 5-1, with their last meeting coming in Guadalajara, Mexico.

At one point Coria led 7-5, 4-2 but had to bide his time as Argentine compatriot Roitman fought back.

While Coria won just 17 of 42 points on return of serve, the 24-year-old enjoyed a 70% success rate on first serve points won.

Currently No. 28 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings, Coria now holds a 10-10-match record this season. Roitman, ranked No. 128, was playing just his 11th ATP-level match.
Coria will now play another countryman, Agustin Calleri, looking to extend his 2-1 career advantage that includes a final win at 2005 ATP Masters Series Hamburg.

Calleri, a semifinalist at Buenos Aires and in Bastad last week, will contest his fifth ATP-level quarterfinal of the season following a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-0 win over seventh-seeded Daniele Bracciali.

The 29-year-old beat Casablanca champion Bracciali in one hour and 42 minutes, hitting 12 aces and winning 36 of 45 points on first serve.

Up-and-coming Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked No. 36 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings and No. 3 seed this week, swept into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic.

The Zagreb semifinalist and Roland Garros quarterfinalist, who holds a 2006 match record of 21-11, will play Marc Gicquel.

Gicquel advanced to the second quarterfinal of his seven-year professional career in beating Dutch wild card Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and eight minutes.

The Frenchman lost to compatriot Gael Monfils in the Metz quarterfinals last year.
-- ATP

Italians Run Into Palermo Quarterfinals

PALERMO, Italy -- For the first time in three years, two-time defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues dropped a set at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo. The No.2 seed experienced a lull in the second set but still prevailed against Anastasiya Yakimova, 61 26 60, on Thursday.

World No.23 Medina Garrigues has ruled this red clay court event in her eight-year career. The Spaniard won her first title here five years ago, made the semifinals in 2003 and added two more crowns in 2004 and 2005. Since losing her semifinal match to Katarina Srebotnik in 2003, she has managed to win 11 consecutive matches here without dropping a set. Her quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Italian qualifier Karin Knapp, a 64 64 victor over No.7 seed Iveta Benesova.

In addition to Tathiana Garbin and Roberta Vinci, Knapp is the third Italian quarterfinalist here at the $145,000, red clay event. The 19-year-old will be playing in her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour quarterfinal. She qualified for her first Tour singles event at Strasbourg earlier this year and fell in the first round (76 in the third).

No.4 seed Lucie Safarova also booked a spot in the quarterfinals by toughing out a 75 46 75 battle with Eleni Daniilidou. The Czech teenager has not played a quarterfinal since April, when she made the semis at Amelia Island. On Friday, she will play lucky loser Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who upset countrywoman and No.8 seed Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 67(0) 61 62.

Martinez Sanchez' best Tour singles result is a 2001 semifinal appearance at Madrid. The 23-year-old Barcelona resident reached the quarters at Acapulco earlier this year and pushed eventual runner-up Flavia Pennetta to three sets. Three years ago, she made the doubles finals here with Aranxta Parra Santonja.

Julia Schruff will play Garbin on Friday. Her second round opponent, Romina Oprandi, withdrew due to tendonitis in her left wrist. French qualifier Aravane Rezai will face Vinci.
-- WTA
 
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From the ATP LA event: "Four-time and defending champion Andre Agassi; twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the world's No. 1 doubles team two out of the last three years; and tennis great Pam Shriver (joining in as chair umpire) will be part of the Gibson/Baldwin Night at the Net, a star-studded event along with celebrity players actor/comedian Jon Lovitz and Entourage star Jeremy Piven. Additional participants include host comedian Fred Willard and Jack and Stench from the "Jamie, Jack and Stench Show" on STAR 98.7 FM as ball boys for the tournament. This event is especially significant because Agassi has recently announced his retirement from professional tennis after the 2006 U.S. Open. Performers include multi-GRAMMY Award nominee Brian McKnight, and Verve recording artist Mindi Abair."...From Peter Bodo blogging for TennisWorld: "I've been thinking about this on-court coaching experiment the WTA is about to embark upon, and I flat out think it stinks. I'm pretty much march in lock-step with L. Jon on this one. No amount of spin or hype about "growing the game" (does it every occur to Larry Scott that he may be growing the game right out of its identity, which has served it pretty well so far?) or tangential buzz about a new cast of characters and new set of intrigues can overcome the fact that with on-court coaching, the rich will get richer while the absolute grandeur of individual performance will be diluted -- if not altogether lost. Contemplate this scenario. Anastasia Myskina is serving Serena Williams off the court in the final of the Kool-Aid Classic; she's just won the first set 6-4. On the next changeover, Serena asks her courtside coach (Nick Bollettieri?) what to do. (Myskina, meanwhile, takes a sip of water, nudges Jens Gerlach awake, and they start making out). Bollettieri, miked for ESPN, whispers: "Serena darling. Stop trying to attack that second serve. Play from two steps behind the baseline and go crosscourt with the return to set up your forehand." Okay, Serena does it. She storms back to take the next two sets, 7-6, 7-5. So play television producer for a moment. Who is it that you want for your first post-match sound bite (hint: who do the sideline reporters jog along with at the end of the first half in a football game, the offensive tackle or the head coach?). This idea absolutely undermines the one truly great thing tennis has going for it: the integrity of the individual, and the way he or she is able to respond to the challenge of a rival, as well as the inherent stress of competition. 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I had really no clue what I was waiting for but then he came over and said "Sorry there are no seats left...I'll have to bump you up a class!" Really nice. Better food, better sleep. Flight left at 6 in the evening and arrived at 5 in the morning. Spent Monday chilling then went to Eastbourne to join the team on Tuesday. Staying in the Grand Hotel -- really nice, right next to the sea. Only problem is it's been about 49 degrees since we got here and there's no air conditioning in the rooms. Room is pretty big and they've given me one of those portable fan things, but it's still hotter than it is outside. Compared to Newport the courts at Devonshire Park are much flatter and better bounce but they're very fast. Practiced with Bog for about 3 hours today. Played a bit of football as well but had to stop the game early because a few of the players got a bit heated. One match ended with Alan Mackin wrestling with Ron, the stringer. 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We'll never know, just as we will never know if a true winning-ugly philosophy could have lifted the England football team to coherent performances in Germany. But certainly, as we look around English sport, we find a certain deference, a certain sense of apology and bluster, a readiness to hide behind present hardship, a readiness to accept second-best, a reluctance to seize an occasion. Gilbert is a man of mystique, most of it self-created. He is always photographed in his wraparound shades, a cheap if effective gimmick. Indeed, the whole concept of winning ugly, as Gilbert sells it, is cheap but effective. Don't be squeamish. Destroy an opponent's rhythm. Prepare properly. Remember that the warm-up begins with your brain. Not rocket science, no. Every professional athlete knows these things."...Serena Williams, with her low ranking, will receive a wildcard for the US Open...Wayne Arthurs, dropping 29 aces in a losing effort at Indy...From Reuters: "World No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne will play for Belgium in the final of the Fed Cup against Italy in September despite an initial threat from her coach that she would boycott the squad. The French Open champion's coach, Carlos Rodriguez, told a news conference on Thursday that the player would be available for the match on home soil on Sept. 16-17. "Coach Carlos Rodriguez was happy to announce that a restoration for Justine to the national Fed Cup squad has occurred. Justine will be honored to help Belgium gain their first Fed Cup title since 2001," said a message on Henin-Hardenne's Web site. 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