Former No 1s Hingis, Safin Bounced at Wimbledon
Posted on June 30, 2007
Federer Silences Safin, Roddick Wins at Wimbledon
World No. 1 Roger Federer and former No. 1 Andy Roddick marched on toward a potential semifinal meeting Friday at Wimbledon, both advancing into the round of 16 with efficient straight-set wins.
Federer overwhelmed former No. 1 Marat Safin who had given him problems on grass in their last meeting in 2005 in the Halle final, while Roddick handled Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, wrapping up the match in a third-set tiebreak. Roddick's career confidence can be measured at any time by his tiebreak record, and the American has now won 18 in a row.
Roddick will next face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat No. 15-seeded Ivan Ljubicic in four sets.
"It's the fourth round of a Grand Slam," Roddick said. "I don't think he's ever been to the quarters. Mentally I feel like I have a bit of an edge going in. He's beaten some quality players in the first three rounds and they've all been pretty comfortable. That's quite a statement. I'm aware he's playing well."
Federer said he didn't know which Marat would show up for the match.
"I was very pleased with the performance because I knew the danger against Marat," Federer said. "I don't know if I played phenomenally, I just think I played the right way today. I kept the balls in play, served well when I had to, moved well and returned well, so I just did what I really had to."
Safin, who hasn't seen the latter rounds of many events since experiencing a knee injury, says he was overwhelmed by the occasion.
"It was my first time playing on Centre Court in years -- it was a strange feeling for me so it took me about two sets to get used to it," Safin said. "The ball was sliding a little more than other courts, and the space around the courts was much bigger. And the wind. I'm not taking any credit away from Roger, but still it was a difficult sensation to get used to. It was tough for me to be in my game."
Upsets on the day were orchestrated by Serb Janko Tipsarevic who defeated No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez 8-6 in the fifth, and No. 20 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero who stopped No. 9 James Blake in four sets. Blake, leading 4-2 in the fourth-set tiebreak, apparently decided against testing fate and his 0-9 career five-set record and meekly slid to defeat against the Spaniard.
Also moving ahead Friday was (13) Tommy Haas (d. (21) Tursunov in four), and hot-handed Frenchmen (12) Richard Gasquet (d. Roger-Vasselin), and Muhammad Ali look-alike Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (d. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez).
Federer and Haas will next square off.
"We had some good battles the last couple times we've played," Haas said. "I feel if my game is going well, if I can serve well and use my chances when I get some, I definitely have a chance."
Highlights of Saturday play are (2) Rafael Nadal vs. (28) Robin Soderling, (16) Lleyton Hewitt vs. (22) Guillermo Canas, (23) David Nalbandian vs. (10) Marcos Baghdatis, Nicolas Kiefer vs. (4) Novak Djokovic, (6) Nikolay Davydenko vs. Gael "Force" Monfils, (14) Mikhail Youzhny vs. (18) Jarkko Nieminen, (19) Jonas Bjorkman vs. Aussie serving machine Wayne Arthurs, and (7) Tomas Berdych vs. Hyung-Taik Lee.
Hingis Exits, Serena Humbles at Wimbledon
Crying Russians, escape-artist Serbs and fading Swiss were the orders of the day Friday at Wimbledon, where an injured Martina Hingis made a meek 6-4, 6-2 exit against unseeded American Laura Granville at the tournament she once called her own as a teenager.
"I said I wouldn't come back 'til I am super percent healthy but it gets tiring watching others," said Hingis who is suffering from a hip injury. "I had to miss the French Open and I didn't want to miss Wimbledon. It wasn't the smartest thing but I gave myself a chance. The US Open is a long way ahead and hopefully by then I will be able to do what I want to do."
Top-seeded Justine Henin easily handled Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3, but Russian No. 8 seed Anna Chakvetadze was not so fortunate, collapsing in a tear-filled 6-2 third set under the pressure of big-serving No. 31-seeded opponent Michaella Krajicek.
Serena Williams blew by Milagros Sequera 6-1, 6-0, and humbly let the media know she didn't play even near the top of her game.
"I am at about a 6 or a 7 today," Williams said of her 1-10 scale. "I'm peaking at the right times and playing the big points well. I'm feeling really good. I'm feeling really positive. I'm feeling like I'm going to get there."
No. 3-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic battled against No. 25 Lucie Safarova, escaping with a 6-2 in the third victory.
"At some point I was thinking, 'My God, is there any way out?'" Jankovic said. "My opponent played really well. She had nothing to lose so she was just swinging at the ball and making some unbelievable shots. But I was fighting. I was staying strong and that was the difference. Even though I was not on the top of my game, I still found a way, and I'm happy."
Other winners Friday were (10) Daniela Hantuchova (d. (19) Srebotnik, next facing Serena), (15) Patty Schnyder (d. (24) A.Bondarenko 8-6 in the third), and (18) Marion Bartoli (d. (16) Peer).
Saturday's highlights are (28) Mara Santangelo vs. (4) Amelie Mauresmo, (26) Ai Sugiyama vs. (2) Maria Sharapova, Akiko Morigami vs. (23) Venus Williams, (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska, Tamira Paszek vs. (12) Elena Dementieva, Virginia Ruano Pascual vs. (11) Nadia Petrova, and (14) Nicole Vaidisova vs. Victoria Azarenka.
Saturday Wimbledon Womens Preview
LONDON, Great Britain -- The final eight places in the round of 16 at Wimbledon are up for grabs on Saturday and the past three champions at the All-England Club will be among the players competing for them. Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova will grace Centre Court and Court 1 respectively, while over on Court 2 Venus Williams will try to ensure her campaign does not end before the start of the second week for the second successive year.
Centre Court
(4) Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. (28) Mara Santangelo (ITA) -- Mauresmo leads, 2-0
Little more than a week has passed since Mauresmo and Santangelo last clashed on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, but despite running out a comfortable winner in Eastbourne nine days ago, the Frenchwoman will not be taking Saturday's match on Centre Court lightly. Santangelo has an attacking style tailor-made for grass court tennis and with the 26-year-old Italian currently sitting at her highest ever world ranking of No.29, she will certainly not be short on confidence when she comes up against the No.4 seed. Mauresmo has made premature exits from the year's first two majors, but this fact has not stopped the 27-year-old from playing some mercurial tennis in her opening two matches at The Championships and Santangelo will need to conjure up a truly special performance of she is to end the world No.4's reign as champion.
Court 1
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. (26) Ai Sugiyama (JPN) -- Sharapova leads, 2-0
Since her return to the Tour -- after a seven week lay-off due to shoulder and hamstring injuries -- at the end of May Sharapova has been in tremendous form, making her first ever semifinal appearance at Roland Garros before achieving a runner-up finish at the Wimbledon tune-up event in Birmingham. The 20-year-old Russian has carried this form into The Championships, racing through her first two matches and producing the type of tennis which helped her capture the Venus Rosewater Dish back in 2004. Sharapova has never failed to make the fourth round at the All-England Club and if she is to maintain this record she will need to see off experienced campaigner Ai Sugiyama. The 31-year-old from Japan was Sharapova's quarterfinal victim en route to the title three years ago and although Sugiyama has struggled for consistency on Tour this season, she has pushed the Russian to three sets in both their previous meetings and will provide a stern test out on Court 1.
Court 2
(23) Venus Williams (USA) vs. Akiko Morigami (JPN) -- Williams leads, 1-0
Three-time Wimbledon champion, Williams, has struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2007, but her second-round destruction of Czech qualifier Hana Sromova suggested the world No.31 is returning to the form which has brought her so much success on the lawns of south-west London. Williams' start to the season was marred by a left wrist injury and although the American marked her return to the Tour in February by capturing the Tier III title in Memphis, she has made it beyond the quarterfinals on just one occasion in the subsequent four months. Japanese No.2 Morigami has had a similarly inconsistent year, capturing her maiden Tour title during the clay court swing in Fes, but also falling to eight first-round losses -- including a three-set defeat to Williams in Memphis. However, the world No.71 has yet to drop a set at this year's tournament and will hope to continue this form when she takes on her fellow 27-year-old out on Court 2.
(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) -- First Meeting
Polish teenage sensation, Radwanska, was one of the surprise packages of Wimbledon 2006, reaching the fourth round on her senior debut at the All-England Club. The 18-year-old from Krakow certainly seems to enjoy playing at the prestigious grass court tournament; she picked up the junior title two years ago and has dropped just four games en route to the third round this year. Standing in between her and second consecutive fourth-round berth is the imposing figure of world No.5 Kuznetsova. The 21-year-old from St. Petersburg has enjoyed an impressive season to date, achieving runner-up finishes in four events, but she looked out of sorts in the first two rounds and she will need to improve on those performances if she is to avoid becoming the third Top 10 seed to exit the tournament.
Court 13
(6) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) vs. Aravane Rezai (FRA) -- First Meeting
Two of the purest strikers of a tennis ball on Tour will go head to head in Saturday's first match on Court 13, as the ever-improving Serbian Ivanovic faces the gifted Frenchwoman Rezai. Ivanovic will be bidding to make it through to the fourth round for the second year in succession and few would bet against her after the first half of the year the world No.6 has enjoyed. After a quietly impressive opening few months of 2007, Ivanovic's season really sparked into life during the European clay court swing. The 19-year-old captured her second ever Tier I title in Berlin, before storming through to her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros -- eventually falling to Justine Henin. Prior to this week Rezai had never won a Tour match on grass, but the 20-year old from St. Etienne's confidence will have been boosted by her fine second-round win over No.29 seed Francesca Schiavone and she undoubtedly has the ability to cause an upset - as she demonstrated when she defeated Sharapova and Williams on her way to her first career final last month in Strasbourg.
More to watch...
Saturday's play at SW19 will be a showcase for the young talent on the Tour, with no less than five teenagers in action. Court 18 will play host to the round's only exclusive teenage affair as the Czech Republic's two-time Grand Slam semifinalist and No.14 seed Nicole Vaidisova takes on emerging Belarusian talent Victoria Azarenka. Over on Court 3, No.12 seed and last year's quarterfinalist Elena Dementieva will do battle with the youngest player left in the draw, Austrian 16-year-old, Tamira Paszek. The final third-round match of the day will see Dementieva's fellow Russian and the tournament's No.11 seed, Nadia Petrova, go head to head with experienced Spanish campaigner Virginia Ruano Pascual.
-- Courtesy WTA Tour
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer has now won 51 straight on grass, 31 straight at Wimbledon...Justine Henin has won her last 14 matches...The last time Ivan Ljubicic reached the second week at Wimbledon was -- never...Andy Roddick has not dropped a set, neither has Richard Gasquet or Jo Tsongo, who Roddick might play next should he get past Paul-Henri Mathieu...Wayne Arthurs, 36, and Jonas Bjorkman, 35, are the oldest pairing at Wimbledon in 25 years...Tommy Haas has reached his first Wimbledon fourth round...Just a reminder, former runner-up David Nalbandian is still in the draw...Janko Tipsarevic saved a match point securing a third straight five-set win...Weather forecasters in the UK call for heavy rain Saturday. Then again they've been basically wrong all week...What is up with Anna Chakvetadze crying during her match when things got tight? There's no crying in tennis, unless freaking Rod Laver is handing you a trophy...The WTA Tour announced that Doha, Qatar, host of the 2006 Asian Games, will host the 2008-2010 Sony Ericsson Championships. Under terms of the $42 million, three-year agreement, the event will feature record prize money of $4.45 million, equal to that of the ATP's season-ending championships, the Tennis Masters Cup. "The awarding of our Sony Ericsson Championships to Qatar represents an exciting continuation of our strategy to showcase the very best of women's tennis in different regions and markets throughout the world," said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott. "Actually, they just put up more bank than any of the other bidders -- like Bangalore is going to outbid Doha? They have bank, baby! Tennis is up to the highest bidder, so just hand over the $42 billion in juicy oil money and let's play some tennis!" -- Actually we just made up the latter half of that quote...or did we? Yes, we did. The event will take place in the Khalifa International Tennis Complex, the facility that has been the home of the Qatar Total Open event on the WTA Tour since 2001. As part of the deal, the Qatar Tennis Federation plans to expand and enhance the existing facility...debuting those particle transporters you see in Star Trek, and building a stadium floating on an anti-gravity island in the sky. The WTA Tour also announced that Istanbul will host 2011-2013 Sony Ericsson Championships...From ESPN's Greg "The Lawnmowing American" Garber: "From the loftier verandas overflowing with flowers at the All England Club, central London seems very close, indeed. It's actually about eight miles as the crow flies, but seeing the distinct outline of the Millennium Wheel, you'd never know it. Just before 2 a.m. on Friday, a bomb containing 50 gallons of fuel, gas cylinders and nails was discovered in a car in Haymarket, the lively theater district. The device was disabled, but police say an explosion would probably have resulted in significant injuries and the loss of life. Hours later, another "suspicious" vehicle was discovered near Buckingham Palace."...From the solid Doug Robson of USA Today: "Victoria Azarenka of Belarus has been living with the family of Russian NHL goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the last two years. Khabibulin's wife is Belarusian and used to play tennis with Azarenka's mother. When the Chicago Blackhawk's netminder visited Belarus with his wife, the two families reconnected, and they ended up assisting with Azarenka's career. Khabibulin's wife, in fact, is with her at Wimbledon."...Pete Sampras on Wimbledon 2007: "I have a hard time watching how these guys play today. It's just amazing that everyone stays back and hits with so much spin. When you put spin on the ball on grass, it doesn't really do anything. Slice does, topspin doesn't. I was watching [Igor] Andreev playing [James] Blake in the first round and Andreev hits that big topspin backhand and it just sits up there, waiting to be hit. Granted, the guy is a claycourt player who isn't real comfortable on grass. But still...The bottom line is that nobody comes with heat and can back it up."...From Owen Slot of The Times: "Before we forget the contribution of Werner Eschauer to this tournament, there is the matter of his dirty laundry to tidy up. The Austrian was beaten on Thursday evening by Rafael Nadal, a contest that Eschauer's coach likened to a match-up between an ant and an elephant. But the burning question before he checked out of his B-and-B in Wandsworth yesterday was whether the two white tennis shirts he had borrowed from Andrei Pavel, the Romanian, would have to be returned or if he could keep them."...From tennis writer Matt Cronin: "This is also the first time that the [WTA] championships will be held in countries that don't a respectable record when it comes to women's rights. Given that the one of the tour's primary founders, Billie Jean King, is a notable feminist who has long championed women's rights in the workplace, it's an odd move for the tour. However, those tour officials who care (and some of them don't and are concerned about money) are hoping that the existence of the championships might inspire women in the countries to believe that they can control their own destinies."