Race to Masters Cup Begins; Sampras Exo Tour Continues

Posted on September 26, 2006

Ancic Advances in Style at ATP Mumbai

Croat Mario Ancic had little trouble advancing to the second round at the inaugural ATP stop in Mumbai on Monday.

The second-seeded Ancic crushed Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-2. He will next meet the winner of Czech Robin Vik and Italian Stefano Galvani.

Ancic missed more than two months this summer due to a back injury.

"It was not an easy outing in Beijing [last week] after coming back from injury but the good part was I got a lot of matches to play," Ancic said. "Now in Mumbai I will continue my rehabilitation and I hope I can go far. It is very hot and humid here and these are tough conditions to play in. I may have won in straight sets but it was not an easy match."

Also posting wins on the first day was No. 6 seed Bjorn Phau who defeated India native Karan Rastogi of India 6-0, 6-3. Phau was a semifinalist in Casablanca and was a quarterfinalist in Chennai, Dubai and San Jose.

British 26-year-old James Auckland earned his first career tour singles match win over fellow qualifier Frank Moser of Germany 6-1, 6-4. Also, Japanese veteran Gouichi Motomura defeated Jasper Smit of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(5).

Montanes, Fognini Win Openers at ATP Palermo

On the red clay in Palermo, Albert Montanes advanced to the second round when Peruvian Luis Horna retired Monday with a right shoulder injury.

Montanes was leading 5-2 in the first set when Horna retired.

In other results Italian wildcard Fabio Fognini upended qualifier Juan Antonio Marin 7-6 (3), 6-3; Martin Vassallo Arguello defeated Juan Pablo Guzman 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, and Potito Starace cruised past Federico Luzzi 6-1, 6-2.

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo took care of Alessio Di Mauro 7-6 (7), 6-3, and Sergio Roitman smashed Francesco Aldi 6-0, 6-1.

Ljubicic, Ferrero, Safin Feature at ATP Bangkok

Top seed Ivan Ljubicic, former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, American Robby Ginepri and former No. 1 Marat Safin in doubles kick off play on opening day Tuesday at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, where last week the government was overthrown in a military coup but officials have reassured players they are safe.

Going head-to-head Tuesday in singles are (Q) Ryderstedt vs. (WC) Ledovskikh, Carlsen vs. (7) Ginepri, (6) Ferrero vs. (Q) Zverev, (1) Ljubicic vs. Vicente, Bogdanovic vs. Wang, Dancevic vs. (Q) Burgsmuller, and Daniel vs. Becker.

Hantuchova, Stosur Win at Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg -- A trio of unseeded players posted straight set victories Monday at the Fortis Championships. Daniela Hantuchova, Samantha Stosur and Kveta Peschke advanced to the second round of the Tier II hardcourt indoors event.

Hantuchova hammered eight aces in her 76(1) 63 win over Tatiana Golovin and will next face No.4 seed Dinara Safina. Hantuchova had a mediocre summer on American hardcourts and is looking to continue the season on a high note. The 2002 Indian Wells champion made the quarterfinals here in 2000 and last year.

Stosur eliminated wild card Anne Kremer, 61 64, and is now up against top seed Elena Dementieva. The Australian, who won the doubles title with Lisa Raymond here last year, posted several outstanding results during the American hardcourt swing. She reached the quarters at Stanford this year and scored her career-first Top 10 victory at Los Angeles against Lindsay Davenport.

Peschke defeated Julia Schruff, 75 61, to set up a second round encounter with either Anna-Lena Groenefeld or qualifier Karin Knapp. Tatjana Malek, Roberta Vinci, Agnieszka Radwanska and Knapp won their qualifying matches Monday to enter the main draw.

On Tuesday, 1998 champion and No.8 seed Mary Pierce takes on Alona Bondarenko, before No.5-seeded Francesca Schiavone faces Michaella Krajicek.
-- WTA

Sun, Dominguez Lino Shine in Guangzhou Openers

GUANGZHOU, China -- No.5 seed Lourdes Dominguez Lino was one of three Guangzhou International Women's Open winners Monday, as first round action kicked off at the Tier III hardcourt event.

The Spaniard was the only seeded player in action. She defeated Anne Keothavong, 63 64, to set up a second round meeting with either Alicia Molik or Vania King. Dominguez Lino had an impressive showing at Forest Hills last month when she reached her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour semifinal and broke into the Top 40 for the first time.

Tzipora Obziler also won her first round match, 62 60, against Hungary's Aniko Kapros. The Israeli veteran, who spent most of her career on the ITF circuit, led Top 20 star Daniela Hantuchova 5-1 in first set and 5-3 in the third this year but fell, 75 36 75, in the Auckland quarterfinals.

Sun Tiantian beat countrywoman Li Ting, 60 63, on Monday and will next face either No.2 seed Li Na or Galina Voskoboeva. Elisa Tamaela, Ren Jing, Hao Jie and Sun Shengnan won their qualifying matches to save a spot in the main draw.
-- WTA

Daniilidou, Bremond Winners at WTA Seoul

SEOUL, Korea -- The Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships began on Monday with a quintet of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players advancing through to the second round of the main draw. With the exception of one duel, all matches saw the higher-ranked player earning the win.

In the only such reversal of fortune, Greece's Eleni Daniilidou edged American youngster Jamea Jackson in two sets, 75 64. Daniilidou, a former Top 15 player now ranked No.55 in the world, and Jackson, currently ranked No.52, were both playing their first matches in the South Korean capital. Although from their rankings it looked like Jackson would have the edge, Daniilidou was the winner in their only prior meeting, in New Haven qualifying just over a month ago, emerging victorious again in straights, 64 62. A potential second round encounter with No.2-seeded Maria Kirilenko looms for the tenacious Daniilidou.

The other four main draw matches went true to form: Catalina Castano beat Croatian teen Sanja Ancic, 63 62; Severine Bremond fought past Meilen Tu, 64 67(5) 61; Emma Laine beat local wild card Kim So-Jung, 63 62; and Aiko Nakamura beat Mariana Diaz-Oliva, 76(3) 63.

The top seed at the Tier IV event is comeback queen Martina Hingis, who comes here fresh off her second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles triumph of the season at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata. Other than the Swiss Miss, all seeds take the court for first round matches Tuesday, including Kirilenko and No.4-seeded Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama of Japan, both of whom spoke to the press on Monday commenting on their excitement on coming to Seoul.

"It's my first time in Korea and I'm glad to be here," Kirilenko said. "It's always nice to play in a new country. I have a tough draw so I'm not looking too far; if I happen to meet Hingis in the finals, that would be good but I am not looking that far ahead."

"This is the second time that I've played the Hansol Korea Open," said Sugiyama, who was a quarterfinalist here in 2005, losing to French teenager Tatiana Golovin. "I hope to do better this year. I hope to play my best tennis."

This is the third staging of the Tier IV Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships. Russian icon Maria Sharapova claimed the title in its inaugural year in 2004, while another teen sensation, Nicole Vaidisova, hoisted the trophy in the tournament's second year in 2005.
-- WTA

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From MSNBC: "In-match coaching has been barred from ATP, WTA and Grand Slam tournaments, but the women's tour did try it at two events this summer. Now tournaments in Stuttgart, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland; and Linz, Austria, next month will allow coaching between sets and during medical timeouts or bathroom breaks. TV can air live video and audio of the coaching. The instant replay system, which made its Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open, will be used at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Oct. 9-15, and the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Madrid on Nov. 6-12."...The Tennis Channel's Open Access, hosted by Murphy Jensen, is counting down the "10 Tennis Hotties" in their next episode to premiere Oct. 15th. Fans can vote for the men and women at TheTennisChannel.com, and Jensen will reveal the winning hotties on the next show...From the New York Daily News: "Lowdown hears that Sean McEnroe, the 19-year-old son of retired tennis bad boy John McEnroe and ex-wife Tatum O'Neal, had a fit the other night when his date was denied entry to the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party at L.A.'s Sunset Tower Hotel. The teenagers were on the guest list, but their female dates were not. A Lowdown spy reports Sean, a college freshman, began fuming and "cursing obscenities" at the doorman. "He was saying things like 'Who are you, standing on a street corner at 10 p.m.?' to the doorman, who explained that they wouldn't tolerate the attitude," says the spy. Sean then warned hotel security staffers: "Don't touch me. Don't lay your hands on me." Moments later, Johnny Mac's kid was seen leaving in a police cruiser -- in tears. Tatum O'Neal's spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, told Lowdown: "That sounds very unlike Sean. We do know that the police took him home."...Mahesh Bhupathi on his former full-time partnership with Leander Paes: "Leander has won the US Open now, I won it with Max Mirnyi. On hindsight, maybe we could have won 500 Grand Slams. We were a great doubles team but we split five years ago and you guys need to get over it."...Carlos Moya on the video replay technology: "I play more relaxed with the TV umpire around. With Hawkeye and the other devices being used at matches, I know that I can go back and refer to line calls. It helps your focus on court. I wish we had TV umpires in all tournaments, despite the cost factor."...Pete Sampras and Robby Ginepri will renew their exhibition rivalry in December in Boise, Idaho...From tennis writer Matt Cronin: "Where the hell was Jimmy Connors when Roddick needed him the most? Roddick really trusts captain Pat McEnroe, but he did receive a huge boost for having Connors look over his shoulder at the USO and had Connors bothered to make the trip to Russia, I'm sure McEnroe would have let him offer a few words of encouragement during the weekend. But I guess not enough TV cameras were turned on to encourage Connors to don another elder statesman's blazer and show up. Or maybe the kiosks in Red Square were closed for the weekend and there was no sense in hawking his instructional DVD." -- Ouch. Connors said at the US Open he wouldn't be leaving the U.S. to coach Roddick (unless he qualifies for the Masters Cup), but point taken that Roddick definitely could have benefited from the emotional boost, eh?...Robin Soderling put Sweden back into the Davis Cup World Group on Monday with a rain-delayed win over Flavio Saretta and Brazil...The Australian reports that Lleyton Hewitt is unlikely to play again this season because of patella tendinitis in his knee...Something to fix in tennis: Davis Cup dead rubbers. What other major sport keeps playing after the result has been determined?

Also see:
What's Not on Live TV: Tursunov Beats Roddick to Clinch Russian Davis Cup Win
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2006-09-24/94.php