Gonzo Out of Masters Cup; Night Tennis at WTA Champs
Posted on November 2, 2006
Berdych Wins, Gonzo Out at Masters ParisBig Czech Tomas Berdych began his title defense at the Masters Series-Paris having to rally from a set down to defeat pesky Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 Wednesday in second-round play.
The eighth-seeded Berdych is seeking his first title of the year and next plays Robby Ginepri.
"It was a very tough match," the 13th-ranked Berdych told the AP. "I already lost twice to Olivier. I'm happy I made it."
Berdych, who still has a slight chance to make the Shanghai final eight at the year-end Masters Cup now meets Robby Ginepri.
Fernando Gonzalez blew his Shanghai hopes after squandering a first-set advantage. The fifth-seeded Chilean bowed out to France's Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
After reaching consecutive finals at Vienna, Basel, and Madrid, Gonzo is eliminated from Shangai barring player injuries.
No. 7 seed James Blake rallied from a break down in the third set to defeat Arnaud Clement 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 improve his Shanghai bid.
Clement jumped to a 2-0 lead in the third set before Blake won four straight games and never looked back. The win sets up a tasty showdown with Tommy Haas, a winner in two tiebreaks over Michael Llodra.
Also in the second round, No. 6 seed Tommy Robredo knocked out 2001 Paris champion Sebastien Grosjean 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Grosjean actually led 5-2 in the second set before Robredo turned on the jets to win five straight games for the set.
No. 9 seed Mario Ancic struggled to beat Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3; and 17th-seeded Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia downed Russian Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-3.
Brit hope and No. 13 seed Andy Murray posted a 7-5, 6-0 win over Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina. Jarkko Nieminen ousted Daniele Bracciali of Italy 6-3, 6-4, and Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia also advanced with a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 victory over Thomas Johansson.
The only other seed to fall Tuesday was Serb teen Novak Djokovic, a loser to Paul-Henri Matheiu in two tiebreaks.
Clijsters Wins in Comeback at WTA Hasselt
HASSELT, Belgium -- After two months away from the game, it was questionable how well top seed Kim Clijsters could handle the pressure of making a comeback in front of her home crowd. After all, the former world No.1's latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour win dated back to the San Diego semifinals in early August. Clijsters was in total control at the beginning, winning the first 12 points, but had more trouble later before posting a 63 62 win over Anne Kremer at the Gaz de France stars.
"It's good to have a tougher match," said Clijsters, who was sidelined due to a left wrist injury. "So you can find things you've got to work on and also be challenged mentally. This kind of match can only help me in this tournament, and next week at the Sony Ericsson Championships."
Clijsters won the first three games without losing a point, but struggled with unforced errors against a steady and quick Kremer. Clijsters is now trying to reach her third consecutive quarterfinal at this Tier III event. The Belgian made the semis two years ago and smoked all her competitors in straight sets last year to capture her ninth singles title of the year. The Belgian will try to do the same this year to collect match experience and confidence for the Sony Ericsson Championships next week. Her Thursday night opponent is Martina Muller, whom Clijsters beat in straight sets last year at the US Open.
The other two Belgians in the draw finished 1-1 on Wednesday. Caroline Maes, who received a wild card into the main draw, won her first Tour singles match by toughing out a 36 62 75 battle against Yuliana Fedak. Kirsten Flipkens, however, dropped her second round match against No.6 seed Vera Zvonareva, 63 64.
Zvonareva will meet French qualifier Aravane Rezai in the quarters. Rezai defeated Karolina Sprem, 57 76(7) 61, to enter her third quarterfinal of the season. No.7 Samantha Stosur ousted lucky loser Olga Savchuk, 64 61, and will face Sandra Kloesel for a spot in the quarters.
On Thursday, No.2 seed Francesca Schiavone returns to action against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska right after Ana Ivanovic takes on German qualifier Angelique Kerber.
-- WTA
Top-seeded Jankovic Wins Opener at Quebec City
Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic led the seeded winners Wednesday at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, defeating Venezuela's Milagros Sequera 6-1, 6-3.
Other seeded winners were (2) Marion Bartoli (d. Granville), (4) Severine Bremond (d. Craybas in three), and (6) Shenay Perry (d. American countrywoman (LL) Spears).
No. 5 Sybille Bammer was the lone seeded casualty, falling in straight sets to Slovak Martina Sucha.
Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak ended the run of Ashley Harkleroad, defeating the American 6-1, 6-4.
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