ATP Wednesday: Results, OOP, news, quotes, previews . . . .

[sseemiller]

Dubai is out so far:

RESULTS - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004
Singles - First Round
(7)P Srichaphan (THA) d D Hrbaty (SVK) 43 ret.

Singles - Second Round
(8)S Schalken (NED) d F Santoro (FRA) 57 64 64
J Nieminen (FIN) d G Carraz (FRA) 76(3) 63
R Nadal (ESP) d O Rochus (BEL) 63 75 :mrgreen:
M Youzhny (RUS) d (Q)D Van Scheppingen (NED) 64 75

Doubles - First Round
(2)Bjorkman/Paes d Black/Ullyett 63 64
Nadal-Parera/Robredo d (3)Knowles/Nestor 57 76(4) 61 :mrgreen:
Pala/Vizner d (4)Damm/Suk 76(5) 62
Davydenko/Lopez d Rochus/Safin 64 62
Hanley/Zimonjic d Hrbaty/Knowle 63 36 75

DRAWS
For the Dubai singles draw, go to: http://www.atptennis.com/posting/2004/495/MDS.pdf
For the Dubai doubles draw, go to: http://www.atptennis.com/posting/2004/495/MDD.pdf



ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
Centre Court start 2:00 PM
(7)P Srichaphan (THA) vs I Ljubicic (CRO)
F Lopez (ESP) vs (Q)P Kohlschreiber (GER)
Starting at 7:30 PM
(1)R Federer (SUI) vs T Robredo (ESP)
A Pavel (ROM) vs (Q)T Zib (CZE)

Court 1 starts not before 4:00 PM
after suitable rest
Ljubicic/Schalken vs Cibulec/Friedl
after suitable rest
(1)Bhupathi/Santoro vs Davydenko/Lopez
Hanley/Zimonjic vs (2)Bjorkman/Paes



ATP MEDIA NOTES - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004

SCHALKEN COMES FROM BEHIND TO DEFEAT SANTORO

Eighth seed Sjeng Schalken rallied from a set down to defeat Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday. Schalken advanced to the quarters for the first time since the first week of the year when he reached the Chennai semifinals (l. to eventual champion Moya).

Schalken next meets Finn Jarkko Nieminen, who advanced to his third quarterfinal of the season with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Frenchman Gregory Carraz.

Thai shotmaker Paradorn Srichaphan ended his run of two first-round losses when he defeated Dominik Hrbaty to advance to the second round. The seventh seed was leading 4-3 in the first set when Hrbaty retired due to the ‘flu, which he had battled since last week's Marseille final, where he claimed an ATP-best third title of the season.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal improved to 10-5 on the year and advanced to his second quarterfinal of the season when he defeated Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-5.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Hrbaty: "I was sick last week and had a temperature before the final. I had a hard match there, was very tired and came here hoping I would feel better. But today, when I was running I was coughing too much and it took me a while to catch my breath. I didn't feel like I could finish the match and am very disappointed I had to retire. This is the first time I've retired because of a sickness."

On the reason for his great start to the year: "It was due to hard practice during the off-season. I concentrated very hard even during my practice sessions, to make no mistakes. I played pretty well at the end of last year but lost in close matches. I've been more relaxed since the new year which has helped me a lot and made a difference."

Srichaphan: "I was ready to play him. It was great for him to win the tournament last week. At least he gave it a try but unfortunately he got sick. It's very tough conditions out there and it's good to win after only playing seven games. If he was a 100% I would expect a much tougher and longer match."

Schalken: On his tactics: "Normally I play from the baseline but Fabrice was better from the baseline up until 7-5, 4-2. And then I realised I was going to lose so I went to plan B which was to attack the net at every opportunity."

On the difficulties of facing Santoro: "The problem is he doesn't give you a lot of pace and plays very soft, and then all of a sudden he is at the net. And the other thing is that he runs everything back so it is like playing against a wall. It was very tough. I am just happy that I came through."

THURSDAY MATCHES

Top seed and 2003 Dubai champion, Roger Federer, takes on Spaniard Tommy Robredo in second round action on Thursday. Federer looks to improve his Dubai record to 7-1 in his third consecutive appearance in Dubai, as well as improve his 2004 singles record to 13-1. Robredo, after two quarterfinals (Sydney, Milan) and one semifinal appearance (Chennai), looks to take his first victory against the Swiss (0-4).

Thai Paradorn Srichaphan advanced to the second round for the first time in his last three attempts (Rotterdam, Marseille) and will play Ivan Ljubicic Thursday. Thailand’s No. 1 is 10-5 on the year and he looks to reach his first final since loosing to Carlos Moya, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), in Chennai in January. Srichaphan holds the edge over Ljubicic, 2-1, but Ljubicic won the pair’s most recent meeting 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, on Srichaphan’s home court in Bangkok.

Feliciano Lopez had not won a match in three tournament appearances before this week but now has the chance to reach the Dubai quarterfinals when he plays German qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber, whose lone ATP quarterfinal of 2003 came in the second week of the year in Auckland (l. to eventual champion Hrbaty).

Romanian Andrei Pavel began 2004 by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open but is still searching for his first ATP quarterfinal of the season. Pavel next meets Czech qualifier Tomas Zib who

 

[sseemiller]

Here's the Scottsdale info:

RESULTS - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004
Singles - First Round
(1)A Roddick (USA) d J Van Lottum (NED) 63 75
R Soderling (SWE) d X Malisse (BEL) 63 76(3)

Singles - Second Round
(4)V Spadea (USA) d W Arthurs (AUS) 63 62
(3)R Ginepri (USA) d W Moodie (RSA) 26 76(2) 64 - saved 2 MP
(7)N Kiefer (GER) d D Tursunov (RUS) 64 64
(6)J Blake (USA) d I Andreev (RUS) 63 62

Doubles - First Round
Burgsmuller/Karlovic d (alt)Bogomolov/Vassallo-Arguello 60 63
(WC)Tursunov/Vahaly d Gambill/Parrott 36 75 61

Doubles - Quarterfinals
Coetzee/Haggard d Van Lottum/Verkerk 64 64

ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
Stadium Court -12:00 NOON
V Hanescu (ROM) vs R Soderling (SWE)
(Q)C Mamiit (USA) vs (2)M Verkerk (NED)
J.M Gambill (USA) vs L Burgsmuller (GER)
Starting at 6:30 PM
(1)A Roddick (USA) vs (WC)A Bogomolov Jr. (USA)
(4)Leach/MacPhie vs Gambill/Parrottor(WC)Tursunov/Vahaly

Clubhouse Court - 2:30 PM
Ancic/DupuisorBowen/Fisher vs Kiefer/Moodie



ATP MEDIA NOTES - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004

RODDICK COMPLETES TASK; GINEPRI SAVES MATCH POINTS

Top seed Andy Roddick needed less than one minute to finish off his first round win over John van Lottum at the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic on Wednesday afternoon as he defeated the Dutchman 6-3, 7-5. Roddick was serving for the match at 6-5, 30-all when rain halted play Tuesday night. Roddick fired 10 aces in the match and he now takes on countryman Alex Bogomolov Jr. in the second round.
In the only other remaining first round match, Swedish teenager Robin Soderling continued his impressive form by defeating Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6(3). Soderling, who arrived in Scottsdale on the back of his run to the final in Marseille last week (l. to Hrbaty), will now meet Romanian Victor Hanescu for a place in the quarterfinals.
In second round action, No. 4 seed Vincent Spadea overcame Wayne Arthurs 6-3, 6-2, to reach his third ATP quarterfinal of the season. It was also the second time this year that Spadea has defeated the Aussie (Adelaide).
Spadea’s fellow American Robby Ginepri, the No. 3 seed, needed to save two match points before defeating big-serving South African Wesley Moddie. Ginepri eventually moved through to his first quarterfinal of the year with a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory to set up a meeting with No. 7 seed Nicolas Kiefer, who recorded a 6-4, 6-4 win over Dmitry Tursunov.
In the night session, James Blake advanced to his first quarterfinal of the season with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian Igor Andreev. He now takes on Spadea (head-to-head series tied 1-1).

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Roddick: "It was a very tricky situation. I wasn’t up 30 love, it was not a new game, literally, say you have a double fault and you are automatically down break point and you are fending for your life. It was definitely a different dynamic then I have ever been a part of in a tennis match. It was interesting.

"I just warmed up right next to center court and I walked straight from warming-up onto the court. That was kind of weird. Normally I like to have about an hour and a half to two hours in the middle. I literally went from warming-up to the court. I didn’t hit on center court. I was literally on the court right next to it while the other match was going on. I just told the official to come get me as soon as they were ready so that I could walk on center court and play."

Spadea: "I played [Arthurs] a month or two ago [in Adelaide] and I was able to win there in three sets. I just needed to keep my serve and buckle down. I wanted to serve aggressively and play my game and not worry about his game as much. I made some careless errors because I was distracted from what I was trying to do. I was just going to play aggressive and when my shots went well I would have a shot to beat anybody, including him."

Blake: “It felt really good. [Andreev] hits the ball great. He was standing pretty far back behind the baseline, which gave me the chance to get into my rhythm. Once I did that, I was hitting the ball really well. I can’t really complain. I closed out games when I needed to, I fought for games when I needed to and it was a good match. He’s young, he’s got a lot of talent and I think you can look for good things from him in the future.”

Ginepri: “[Moodie] was so tough at the beginning, I didn’t really know what to do. I just told myself to keep trying harder and harder and good things can happen. He hit a couple of shanked forehands at the end, which helped a little, and didn’t ace me on the two match points. But there wasn’t much I could do at the beginning. He was serving so well and I wasn’t making many first serves, until near the end when it picked up a little.

“I can take away a decent bit of confidence. It’s always good to come back from match points down and get the win.”


THURSDAY’S MATCHES

Four second round matches are scheduled for Thursday at the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic, with top seeds Andy Roddick and Martin Verkerk among those in action.
The first match of the day on Stadium Court pits Swedish teenager Robin Soderling against Romanian Victor Hanescu. Soderling, who reached his second career ATP final last week at the Open 13 in Marseille (l. to Hrbaty), is 7-5 so far this year and reached the second round with a straight sets victory over Xavier Malisse on Wednesday. Soderling, the 19-year-old who also reached the final in Stockholm at the end of last year (l. to Fish), currently stands in 25th position in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race. Hanescu, the 22-year-old from Romania, is attempting to reach his first quarterfinal of the season. He defeated 1996 Scottsdale champion Wayne Ferreira, the No. 7 seed, in the first round.
Second seed Martin Verkerk will be hoping to maintain his perfect record against Cecil Mamiit on Thursday as the two meet for the fourth time. Verkerk has won all three of their previous encounters on the Challenger circuit, although this will be their first meeting in an ATP main draw. Verkerk, a semifinalist in Sydney and quarterfinalist in Milan, is 8-4 overall this year, while Mamiit qualified into the main draw and won his first ATP match of the year against Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard in the opening round.
Former champion Jan-Michael Gambill will be looking to continue his winning streak in Scottsdale when he faces German Lars Burgsmuller. Gambill, who won the title on his last visit to the tournament in 1999 (d. Hewitt), extended his record in the tournament to 8-1 after defeating American wild card Brendan Evans in the first round. Gambill also is looking to reach his third consecutive quarterfinal (San Jose, Memphis) while Burgsmuller claimed his first win of the season (1-4) against lucky loser Alex Kim, who replaced Taylor Dent in the main draw.
In the final match of the day, top seed Andy Roddick meets fellow American Alex Bogomolov Jr. for the first time. Roddick, who is 15-3 overall this year, is attempting to reach his fourth quarterfinal of the season. The 21-year-old, who currently stands in seventh position in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race, claimed his 12th career title in San Jose (d. Fish) and reached the last eight at the Australian Open (l. to Safin) and Memphis (l. to Enqvist). Bogomolov Jr, who received a wild card into his first Scottsdale main draw, claimed his first ATP match win of the season after defeating Argentine qualifier Gustavo Marcaccio in the opening round.

 

[sseemiller]

Moya vs. Gasquet tomorrow.


RESULTS - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004
Singles - First Round
L Horna (PER) d (3)A Calleri (ARG) 76(5) 64

Singles - Second Round
(2)N Massu (CHI) d (Q)J Salzenstein (USA) 61 63
R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) d (4)M Zabaleta (ARG) 75 63
F Verdasco (ESP) d (5)F Mantilla (ESP) 46 64 60
(WC)G Canas (ARG) d (6)G Gaudio (ARG) 64 63

Doubles - First Round
Fyrstenberg/Matkowski d (4)Garcia/Prieto 61 64
Blanco/Sanchez d Levy/Volandri 76(4) 63
Carrasco/Mantilla d Hernandez/Horna 76(3) 60

ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
Center Court – 1:00 PM
M Diaz-Oliva (ARG) vs (3)M Sanchez Lorenzo (ESP)
Not before 3:00 PM
(4)E Loit (FRA) vs (LL)M Washington (USA)
D Ferrer (ESP) vs (7)J Chela (ARG)
Fyrstenberg/Matkowski vs (WC)Echagaray/Gallardo Valles
Not before 8:00 PM
(1)C Moya (ESP) vs R Gasquet (FRA)

Court 2 – 1:00 PM
(Q)S Stosur (AUS) vs (5)(LL)J Schruff (GER)
Not before 3:00 PM
S Koubek (AUT) vs (8)F Volandri (ITA)
L Horna (PER) vs O Hernandez (ESP)
Arnold/Calleri vs (2)Hood/Rodriguez
(1)Bryan/BryanorFerrer/Ramirez Hidalgo vs Blanco/Sanchez

Court 3 – 1:00 PM
T Garbin (ITA) vs J Vakulenko (UKR)
(Q)Blahotova/Navratilova vs Benesova/Voracova
Pennetta/TarabiniorStewart/Stosur vs (4)McShea/Sequera
(1)Bartoli/LoitorEmbry/Washington vs Martinez Granados/Martinez

Court 4 – 4:00 PM
Gaudio/Lapentti vs Lopez Moron/Portas
Dragomir Ilie/Perebiynis vs (Q)Marrero/Serra
Zanettior(2)Gagliardi/Wartusch



ATP MEDIA NOTES - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004
Horna Upsets Defending Champion Calleri

Agustin Calleri’s reign as champion of the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica MoviStar was brought to an abrupt end when he was upset 7-6(5), 6-4 in the first round by Peru’s Luis Horna on Wednesday.
It was sweet revenge for Horna, who lost to Calleri in the semifinals of the Brasil Open in Costa do Sauipe last week. Calleri, the No. 3 seed who eventually lost to Gustavo Kuerten in Brasil, had won all four of his previous meetings against Horna (two on the Challenger circuit). It was Calleri’s first loss in Acapulco, having captured his first ATP title on his debut there 12 months ago.
The upsets continued on day three when Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo defeated last year’s runner-up Mariano Zabaleta in straight sets. Ramirez Hidalgo, who was 2-6 this year before arriving in Acapulco, booked his place in the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the Argentine, who lost to Calleri in last year’s final.
Elsewhere in second round action, No. 2 seed Nicolas Massu of Chile overcame American qualifier Jeff Salzenstein 6-1, 6-3 to reach his third quarterfinal of the year (Vina del Mar, Buenos Aires). He will now take on Fernando Verdasco, who defeated fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla – the No. 5 seed – 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Guillermo Canas, who is still on the comeback trail after missing almost the entire 2003 season with a right hand injury, upset No. 6 seed Gaston Gaudio in the late match. Canas reached the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, but was 0-2 on the clay this year prior to Acapulco.

WHAT THE PLAYER'S SAID
Massu: "I had never played against him. He is more a hard court player, lefty and difficult but since I have more experience on clay, I think I played better at the important moments. Still it is always difficult to play against players of his kind. I am achieving to be among the Top players and right now I can saw I have made it"


Calleri: "I knew it was going to be a difficult match since I played against him 2 weeks ago. I was a bit tired because the trip over here was too long due to airline problems. I was not 100% either since I have a bit of a cold, but in any case I think that Horna played well with very precise shots. I played well at certain points but he also played very good"


Verdasco: "I played very aggressive today and after winning the second set I was feeling very good. Even when I lost the first set, I knew I could beat him since I felt great today on court. "

"It does not matter that the seeded players have lost since the ones who beat them are very much with confidence. There are a few Spaniards winning and I would like to be fighting with one of them the title on Sunday. "

Canas: "I have improved a lot since the 1st round match. I am not at the level I know I can play but I am very happy since I managed to win a very difficult match. I am still along way from my tennis but I know I am doing things right and I am a step further. To beat Gaston is great. He is a great player a fellow country man is always difficult."

"The crowd here is great with me. I feel almost at home and it has always been like this for me here."

THURSDAY PREVIEW

Thursday in Acapulco features four second round singles matches including an interesting match-up between former champion Carlos Moya of Spain and teenage talent from France, Richard Gasquet, who recorded his best ATP result two weeks ago in Buenos Aires. Moya is an impressive 14-3 on the year with a title in Chennai to start the season.
Juan Ignacio Chela and David Ferrer played one week ago in Brazil with Chela winning in straight sets. The two will match-up again in the same round in Acapulco in the opening ATP match on Center Court.
Peru's Luis Horna is looking for his second consecutive quarterfinal during the Latin American clay court swing when he faces Oscar Hernandez. The two have played twice with Horna winning both times in three sets.