Mauresmo Upset; Roddick + Sharapova Back in the News

Posted on January 21, 2007

Roddick Beats Baby Goran in Five at Aussie Open

Andy Roddick is one match away from a semifinal meeting with world No. 1 Roger Federer, Sunday at the Australian Open outlasting No. 9 seed Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic in a five-set thriller 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4.

"I felt like at the end of fourth set he had the momentum and was really being offensive in the points," Roddick said. "I knew that in fifth set, win or lose, I had to turn the tables on the aggression. I was lucky to get through."

Ancic said he felt Roddick's fire in the fifth when the American turned up the heat on serve, getting an early break then riding out the win.

"In the fifth set, he really picked up," Ancic said. "A lot of first serves, a lot of aces. Didn't give me too many chances to come back after the break."


In the quarterfinals Roddick will face former housemate Mardy Fish, with the unseeded American topping No. 16-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-1, 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-5. 

"I think it's always a little bit weird when we play each other just cause of our history," said Roddick of Fish. "In high school, he was four steps from the door of my room, the door of his room. It's always a little weird. But I think we're both professional enough to know that when we get out there, we both want to win real bad."

Also into the quarters Sunday was Federer, sending a straight-set message against No. 14 seed Novak Djokovic; No. 7 Tommy Robredo with an impressive four-set win over No. 18 Richard "Baby Fed" Gasquet; No. 12 Tommy Haas who straight-setted Gerrman countryman Florian Mayer; and No. 13-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych who easily dismissed the injured No. 21 seed Dmitry Tursunov.

Scheduled for Monday are (5) Blake vs. (10) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, (2) Nadal vs. (15) Murray, (8) Nalbandian vs. (12) Haas, and (3) Davydenko vs. (13) Berdych.

Mauresmo Out, Serena Rolls on at Aussie Open

It was upsets aplenty Sunday at the Australian Open in fourth-round play where No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo, No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 7 Elena Dementieva, No. 11 Jelena Jankovic and No. 9 Dinara Safina were all toppled by lower or unseeded players.

The shocked Mauresmo was ushered out in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 by unseeded Czech Lucie Safarova.

"It's amazing. I still can't believe it," Safarova said. "I'm so happy. It's incredible. I came out this morning and said, 'Wow this is a big court.' But I felt really comfortable here."

Mauresmo says she needs to get back to court to reestablish her confidence.

"I'm not completely down or whatever, I'm just disappointed," Mauresmo said. "It's always disappointing to go out of any tournament, even more in a Grand Slam. There was not a moment I felt my form was coming back. It was pretty frustrating. But I am going to go back on the court, go back to work, that's obviously what I need."

Mauresmo's loss means Maria Sharapova will take over the No. 1 ranking from Justine Henin-Hardenne, who skipped the Australian Open as she is reportedly going through divorce proceedings.

Safarova next faces fellow Czech and No. 10 seed Nicole Vaidisova, who upended Dementieva 6-3, 6-3.

The No. 16-seeded Shahar Peer had a surprisingly easy time with Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2, while unseeded American Serena Williams continued her run with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Jankovic, and No. 19 seed Na Li upset Safina 6-2, 6-2 for a quarterfinal berth.

"I think it's mental," said the fragile Kuznetsova. "I was thinking about different stuff -- not like, 'What am I going to eat for dinner' -- but about what's going on on the court. I wasn't 100 percent there in my mind."

Williams said everything is falling into place for her unseeded run to a championship.

"It was absolutely sensational...I just play some of my best tennis here," Williams said. "I'm on the right track -- I like being a dangerous floatie."

Other winners Sunday were No. 12 Anna Chakvetadze who defeated Jelena Kostanic 6-4, 6-4, and No. 15 Daniela Hantuchova who came from a set down to stop unseeded American Ashley Harkleroad 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-3.

"I'm very disappointed," said Harkleroad, who blew a break lead in the second and third sets, speaking to reporters. "That's a match I should have won. It hurts more than any loss I've ever had."

Scheduled for Monday play are (6) Hingis vs. (19) Li, (4) Clijsters vs. (15) Hantuchova, (1) Sharapova vs. (22) Zvonareva in an all-Russian, and (8) Schnyder vs. (12) Chakvetadze.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Darren Cahill has been named Australian Davis Cup coach...Radek Stepanek on the Martina Hingis "Black Widow Syndrome," where every man she dates sees his career go down the tube: "I'm not paying much attention to those comments because everybody is different. For me, this relationship so far is great. For the last year-and-a-half, I'm playing my best tennis. So these comments don't (relate to) our relationship."...The Serena Ego after beating Jelena Jankovic: "I know she has a great backhand down the line. I know she prefers it. But when I go out to play I like to go to the person's stronger side. I guess it makes me feel macho or something that if I beat them going to their backhand or whatever, their stronger side, it makes me feel extra awesome."...Brad Gilbert speaking to the BBC on his charge Andy Murray's chances against Rafael Nadal: "If Andy is having to do all the running, then it's going to be a tough night for him. The key is how well Andy serves, and how aggressively he can play. But he has an opportunity -- and it's a good way to gauge how you're playing against the number two in the world."...From The Times' Barry Flatman: "Amelie Mauresmo was insistent when the obvious question was posed to her. Is it more difficult to defend a Grand Slam title than it is to win one for the first time? "No," maintained the vanquished Australian Open champion. "Definitely not." Yet the ineptitude of Mauresmo, not only the defender here at Melbourne Park but also the reigning queen of Wimbledon and world No 1 for much of last year, was embarrassing to watch as she was totally outplayed by 19 year-old Lucie Safarova, who had failed to win a solitary match in all but one of her previous six Grand Slam tournaments. The scoreline read 6-4,6-3 but the gulf between the two contestants was far wider as Mauresmo showed little evidence of her undoubted quality. So just why was such an accomplished performer so inferior against an opponent who had never previously played under such scrutiny as placed upon her in Rod Laver Arena and is ranked 67 places lower? The answer must rest with Mauresmo's brittle temperament."...Andy Murray on first seeing Rafael Nadal in the juniors: "He had kind of like a bowl cut. He was bouncing around, like he used to pick his shorts, like he still does. He was saying 'vamos' after every point. It's nice to see he hasn't really changed that much."...Nikolay Davydenko says he won't be going to Chile in the next round to represent Russia in Davis Cup play, and wouldn't tell reporters why at the Australian Open. Davydenko, the media opposite of fellow Russian Maria Sharapova, is also the only Top 10 player without a clothing sponsor, wearing a plain red shirt in his most recent match in Melbourne...From News.com.au: "Andy Roddick dismisses talk of a blossoming relationship with Russian starlet Maria Sharapova with the same ferocity he blasts a forehand from mid-court: 15-love. But Sharapova, the glamour girl of the women's circuit, likes to tease. At the US Open last year, as she practised alongside Roddick, she wore a none-too-subtle shirt which said "love is in the air": 15-all. It's the tennis love affair that everyone wants to talk about off the record - even people close to Roddick -- but no one will officially confirm. US magazines reported in July that the two stars had been in a relationship for more than 12 months, pre-dating their 2006 Australian Open visit when a Melbourne newspaper chronicled Sharapova's three trips to the Crown Casino to watch Roddick play poker. Since then there have been denials -- "we are just friends" -- but also a sense the two stars have been playing their own private game with the media. Sharapova, 19, and Roddick, 24, denied at the US Open late last year that doubles had become a more attractive game than singles. Yet they were reported spending time together in Los Angeles last July at Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion on the eve of the ESPY sports awards function. There were other nights at bars in Hollywood and Manhattan Beach."