Tennis - US Open Update

[wilheim]

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Andy Roddick and No. 4 seed Lleyton Hewitt each advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open, while seventh-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero was ousted from the tournament on Friday.

Roddick straight-setted 18-year-old Rafael Nadal, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. Roddick needed just 19 minutes to take the first set. He rifled one serve 152 miles per hour, tying his Open record, and took 23 of 27 points at one point.

"I played really well for the first two sets; kind of had a concentration lapse in the third. But I was able to come through in the end," said Roddick.

"I don't feel unbeatable, but I feel like I'm playing pretty good tennis."

Roddick was broken just once, in the third set, and converted 7-of-11 break points himself in the match. He had 28 winners and had 10 aces, while the Spaniard was ace-less. Roddick is one of just two Americans left in the field, a record low.

In earlier action, the Australian Hewitt, who titled here in 2001, posted a 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, 6-2 victory over Moroccan Hicham Arazi in a second-round encounter. Hewitt has won 12 straight and 17 of his last 18 matches on the tour, including a runner-up finish to Andre Agassi in Cincinnati last month and back-to-back hardcourt titles over the past two weeks.

The former world No. 1 Hewitt now boasts a stellar 25-4 lifetime record at the U.S. Open.

Meanwhile, the Spaniard Ferrero struggled all afternoon against Stefan Koubek, finally succumbing to the Austrian in five sets. Koubek, who earned a 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3 victory, will be making his first-ever appearance in the third round of the Open.

Elsewhere, eighth-seeded David Nalbandian and No. 12 seed Sebastian Grosjean were both upset. Germany's Tommy Haas upset the Frenchman Grosjean, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, while Mikhail Youzhny topped Nalbandian, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

In other Day 5 action, 18th-seeded Tommy Robredo topped Arnaud Clement, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Jurgen Melzer got past No. 23 Vincent Spadea, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; No. 28 seed Joachim Johansson straight-setted Jan-Michael Gambill, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5; 28th-seeded Guillermo Canas cruised past Filippo Volandri, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1; and 30th-seeded Feliciano Lopez survived a scare against Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 1-6, 6-2.

Other winners included Tomas Berdych, Richardo Mello, Nikolay Davydenko, Karol Beck, Alexander Peya and Michael Llodra.

In other Open news, Olympic champion Nicolas Massu of Chile was assessed two $500 fines for throwing his racket during a second-round setback to Sargis Sargsian on Thursday. The equipment abuse led to Massu having to forfeit the opening game of the fifth set.


=== Serena, Mauresmo, Capriati advance at U.S. Open ===

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Serena Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Jennifer Capriati were among the winners Friday in third-round play at the 2004 U.S. Open.

Williams, a two-time Open champ and this year's third seed, bounced back from a slow start to earn a 7-5, 6-4 victory over France's Tatiana Golovin.

The second-seeded Mauresmo cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over 31st-seeded Maria Vento-Kabchi, while the eighth-seeded Capriati needed three sets to eliminate Russia's Vera Douchevina, 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3.

Williams wasn't at her best to start the match, losing four of the first five games. She bounced back to win eight of the next nine to take control.

A break of serve in the 11th game of the first set put Williams ahead 6-5 and she held to capture the set. Another break in the opening game of the second set was all Williams needed.

Next up for the 1999 and 2002 champ will be Patty Schnyder of Switzerland. The 15th-seeded Schnyder rallied for a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Hantuchova appeared primed to pull the mild upset, leading 6-4 in the third- set tiebreak, but Schnyder roared back to win the next four points to capture the match.

"I tried to be aggressive until the end," said Hantuchova. "She hit some great shots."

Mauresmo, a 2002 U.S. Open semifinalist, needed just 57 minutes to dispose of her Venezuelan opponent. The Frenchwoman recorded eight aces in the match and broke Vento-Kabchi's serve five times.

Capriati breezed through the first set in a mere 17 minutes, but the 88th- ranked player in the world would not go quietly and won the second set in a tiebreaker. A pair of breaks in the third set helped Capriati finally move on.

"It was a combination of me coming out and pouncing on her, and she made quite a few mistakes -- probably nerves," said Capriati. "In the second set, she came up with some very good shots, and I let up a little. In the third, I took it up a notch and played more aggressive."

Next up for Capriati will be 12th-seeded Ai Sugiyama, who crushed Jelena Kostanic, 6-1, 6-3.

A pair of Russians, sixth-seeded Elena Dementieva and 10th-seeded Vera Zvonareva, also advanced and will meet in the fourth round. Dementieva won in a walkover after 28th-seeded Nathalie Dechy couldn't play because of a leg injury, while Zvonareva posted a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over 23rd-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga.

Francesca Schiavone, the 16th seed, also moved on with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) triumph over American Angela Haynes. The victory earned the 16th seed a fourth-round match with Mauresmo.

Saturday's schedule includes Americans Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The fifth-seeded Davenport, who has won her last four tournaments, will play Russia's Elena Bovina, while the 11th-seeded Williams will face fellow American Chanda Rubin.

Should Davenport and Williams both win, they will meet in the fourth round.

Top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne is also scheduled for action and will play American Lisa Raymond.

 

[wilheim]

Federer, Agassi reach fourth round; Moya dismissed in Flushing ===

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - World No. 1 star Roger Federer and two-time champion Andre Agassi were a pair of straight-set winners on Saturday, but third-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya was not as fortunate, bowing out against diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus in five sets at the U.S. Open.

The top-seeded Federer improved to 27-2 in his last 29 matches by besting the 31st-seeded Santoro 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) in 2 hours, 3 minutes at Ashe Stadium. The "Fed" closed out the pesky Santoro when the Frenchman poked a backhand wide on the Swiss' fifth match point of the afternoon.

Federer compiled 56 winners, compared to only 16 for Santoro, who was aced 10 times on Day 6 and failed to break the dominant Swiss' formidable serve.

The 23-year-old Federer is trying to become the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to capture three Grand Slam titles in one year. He already owns the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns this season, to go along with his other Wimbledon title from a year ago. Wilander won the Aussie, French and U.S. Opens 16 years ago.

Federer, who has never advanced past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, including fourth-round losses here in each of the past three years, will encounter dangerous Romanian Andrei Pavel in his next outing.

The sixth-seeded Agassi looked strong in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 pasting of 25th- seeded Czech Jiri Novak at Ashe. The American superstar got off the court in a brisk 1 hour, 32 minutes.

The 34-year-old former world No. 1 Agassi broke Novak's serve six times in three sets and swatted 11 aces past the helpless Czech. Agassi only committed 20 unforced errors, compared to 41 for the loser.

Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, including U.S. Open titles in 1994 and 1999 and runner-up finishes here in 1990, 1995 and 2002, is on a collision course to meet Federer in a blockbuster quarterfinal.

He will meet his good friend Sargis Sargsian first though. The veteran Sargsian, who has stayed in Agassi's home and is a regular practice partner with the legendary American, rallied to defeat France's Paul-Henri Mathieu in an epic five-set match that lasted just over 4 1/2 hours. Sargsian overcame a two-set deficit to post a 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win.

Sargsian has now been on the court for nearly 10 hours in his last two matches after also posting a five-set win in his third-round encounter over Athens gold medalist Nicolas Massu. That match lasted slightly over five hours.

The 5-foot-5 Rochus dismissed the 6-foot-3 Moya 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in 3 hours, 38 minutes, as the big Spaniard double-faulted to send the elated Belgian into the round of 16.

Moya fell despite launching 18 aces among his 52 winners (52-46), while Rochus piled up 10 double faults. But the tiny Belgian broke Moya's big serve eight times, compared to six breaks for the athletic Spaniard.

The former world No. 1 Moya was the 1998 French Open champion and 1997 Australian Open runner-up, but has not gone past the quarterfinals in a Slam event since '98.

Fifth-seeded Brit Tim Henman survived a major scare from Czech Michal Tabara before winning the final two sets to prevail in five. The serve-and-volley specialist Henman, who surprisingly reached the French Open semis earlier this year, posted a 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win to move into the fourth round.

The popular Henman will meet German Nicolas Kiefer in the round of 16.

A mild third-round upset occurred when 22nd-seeded Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty humbled 15th-seeded Thai Paradorn Srichaphan 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, 6-3 on the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center. Hrbaty will meet Rochus in his next outing.

In other third-round action, the 16th-seeded Pavel held off Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 1-6, 6-4 and the 19th-seeded Kiefer continued his hot summer with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 shellacking of hard-serving Swede Thomas Johansson, the 2002 Aussie Open champ.


=== Henin-Hardenne, Davenport, Venus all advance; Sharapova ousted ===

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Defending U.S. Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, red-hot American Lindsay Davenport and two-time champion Venus Williams all reached the fourth round, but Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova was not as fortunate Saturday in Flushing Meadows.

The top-seeded/world No. 1 Henin-Hardenne handled veteran American Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour, 25 minutes at Armstrong Stadium. The gritty Belgian took advantage of 27 unforced errors by Raymond, who also had her serve broken on five occasions in the setback.

Henin-Hardenne is the reigning U.S. Open, Australian Open and Olympic champion, having captured the gold medal in Athens two weeks ago. She humbled fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in last year's final at the USTA National Tennis Center.

Up next for Henin-Hardenne will be 14th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova, a hard- fought 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3) victor over 19th-seeded Italian Silvia Farina Elia.

The fifth-seeded Davenport moved into the fourth round with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 win over 26th-seeded Russian Elena Bovina. The sizzling Davenport, who won her 20th straight match, had 30 winners and 20 unforced errors in the one hour, 23 minute contest.

The 21-year-old Bovina, who was coming off her title in New Haven, committed 22 errors and 20 winners, but did not break Davenport's serve once in the match. Davenport won two games off of Bovina's powerful serve.

Davenport, the 1998 U.S. Open champion and 2000 runner-up is seeking her fifth straight title on the WTA Tour, having won her last four events before heading to Flushing for her 14th Open.

Davenport, who leads the WTA with six championships this season, also owns one Australian Open crown (2000), one Wimbledon title (1999) and an Olympic gold medal (1996).

Williams, seeded 11th, defeated 20th-seeded Chanda Rubin 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to advance to her much-anticipated showdown with Davenport.

The former world No. 1 Williams struggled much of the match, but won the final five games to pull it out in straight sets. Williams had 37 winners, but committed 46 errors in the match that lasted one hour and 50 minutes.

Rubin proved to be a game opponent for her fellow American, but was done in by 32 errors and only 17 winners. Rubin was also broken five times, while Williams lost her serve on four occasions.

The seventh-seeded Sharapova took the first set against Pierce before the 27th seed charged back for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision. A mistake-prone Sharapova piled up 14 double faults in the upset at Ashe Stadium.

The two-time Grand Slam champion Pierce, of France, punished Sharapova with powerful groundstrokes and her overall court savvy on Day 6.

The 17-year-old Sharapova is a disappointing 5-4 since stunning Serena Williams in straight sets in the Wimbledon final in July.

In other third-round play, ninth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated 21st-seeded American Amy Frazier 7-6 (7-3), 7-5; Japan's Shinobu Asagoe erased 13th-seeded Argentine Paola Suarez 6-4, 6-4 and 29th-seeded Greek Eleni Daniilidou drubbed upstart Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-2. Daniilidou and Asagoe will do battle in the round of 16, while Kuznetsova squares off against Pierce. The 17-year-old Chakvetadze shocked fourth-seeded French Open champion and fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina in the second round on Thursday.

 

[wilheim]

NEW YORK (AP) Highlights of Sunday's play at the $17.75 million U.S. Open tennis championships:

RESULTS: Men, third round: No. 2 Andy Roddick, No. 18 Tommy Robredo and No. 28 Joachim Johansson won. Also advancing to the fourth round were Tomas Berdych, Tommy Haas and Michael Llodra. No. 29 Guillermo Canas lost.

Women, fourth round: No. 3 Serena Williams topped No. 15 Patty Schnyder, No. 6 Elena Dementieva beat No. 10 Vera Zvonareva and No. 8 Jennifer Capriati stopped No. 12 Ai Sugiyama.

STAT OF THE DAY: Andy Roddick served 21 aces without a double fault.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: ''None of them did. I became a doctor just recently. I took my own doctor's advice.'' Serena Williams, when asked if any doctors said her injured knee was OK to play on.

 

[wilheim]

NEW YORK (AP) Highlights of Monday's play at the $17.75 million U.S. Open tennis championships:

RESULTS: Men, fourth round: No. 1 Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals when No. 16 Andrei Pavel withdrew with a back injury, No. 5 Tim Henman won on a fifth-set retirement by Nicolas Kiefer, No. 6 Andre Agassi beat Sargis Sargsian in straight sets, and No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty came from two sets down to beat Olivier Rochus.

Women, fourth round: No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne lost to No. 14 Nadia Petrova in straight sets, No. 5 Lindsay Davenport and No. 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced in straight sets. Davenport topped No. 11 Venus Williams while Kuznetsova defeated No. 27 Mary Pierce. No. 29 Eleni Daniilidou lost to Shinobu Asagoe.

STAT OF THE DAY: Shinobu Asagoe (ranked 62nd) is the lowest ranked women's quarterfinalist since Venus Williams (66) in 1997.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: ''It works and I'm happy to play this game. Ivan Lendl played the same way and he was No. 1 in the world.'' Dominik Hrbaty, when asked whether he feels insulted when he's told his game is boring

ON TV (All Times EDT): USA, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (live), 7-11 p.m. (live), 2-4 a.m. (match of the day); CBS, 12:37-1:07 a.m. (highlights).

ON THIS DATE: Sept. 7, 1953: Maureen Connolly became the first woman to complete a Grand Slam when she beat Doris Hart 6-2, 6-4 for the women's singles title. Connolly also beat Hart for the titles at the French Open and Wimbledon and beat Julia Sampson for the Australian Open title.

 

[wilheim]

Rain wreaks havoc on men's dream quarterfinal in Flushing ===

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - After a lengthy rain delay halted play for much of the day, world No. 1 Roger Federer and two-time champion Andre Agassi finally got on the court for their U.S. Open quarterfinal showdown. However, play was suspended Wednesday evening after three sets due to more wet weather.

The Swiss Federer held a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 lead over the legendary Agassi before play was finally called for the night.

Also on Wednesday, fifth-seeded Englishman Tim Henman led 22nd-seeded Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 7-5, 4-5 in a match that will also be completed on Thursday. Henman, a French Open semifinalist, lost the first point of his serve in the 10th game of the third set before the match was stopped.

Rain washed out all of the afternoon play, but appeared to have subsided for the night session. However, after three sets of tennis, the skies opened up again, forcing the matches to be suspended.

The 23-year-old Federer, who boasts an ATP-best eight titles this year, is the reigning two-time Wimbledon champion and also currently holds the Australian Open and Masters Cup crowns. He is trying to become the first man to win three Grand Slam events in one year since Sweden's Mats Wilander captured the Australian, French and U.S. Opens back in 1988.

Federer, who reached this round via walkover after Romanian Andrei Pavel pulled out of their fourth-round match, has never advanced to the U.S. Open semis.

Agassi owns eight career Grand Slam titles, including U.S. Open crowns in 1994 and 1999. He also posted runner-up finishes here in 1990, 1995 and 2002.

Federer and the former world No. 1 Agassi are meeting for the seventh time in their careers, having split the first six battles. Federer has won the last three matchups, including a semifinal victory at Indian Wells earlier this season. Agassi beat the "Fed" in the fourth round of the 2001 U.S. Open.

In the first set, Federer broke in the sixth game to seize a 4-2 lead as Agassi sent a forehand just wide. Federer was then able to win his final two service games and claim the set.

Agassi earned a quick break in the second set and jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Federer hit a backhand stab into the net. Agassi then closed out the set with another service break when he whipped a forehand crosscourt for a winner.

The third set saw both players hold serve for the first 10 games, but Agassi slipped up in the 11th game. After Federer put pressure on his serve, Agassi's forehand hit the top of the net on break point to give the game to Federer.

Federer then closed out the set in the following game.

The rain then fell at deuce in the first game of the fourth set and after a delay of over two hours, the match was finally called for the evening.

More weather problems are in the forecast for Thursday after the first nine days of the fortnight were rain-free.


=== Davenport storms into Open semis; Kuznetsova advances ===

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Red-hot American Lindsay Davenport was not affected by a lengthy rain delay as she powered her way into the semifinals at the 2004 U.S. Open with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over Japan's Shinobu Asagoe on Wednesday.

Davenport was scheduled to begin her quarterfinal match at 11:00 a.m. (et), but did not take the court until shortly before 7:30 p.m. (et) after rain washed out all of the afternoon play.

The over eight-hour rain delay was no problem, though, as the fifth-seeded Davenport needed only 45 minutes to dispose of the overmatched Asagoe at Armstrong Stadium.

Davenport, who reached the Wimbledon semis earlier this year, had 16 winners, compared to only three from her counterpart.

The 28-year-old Davenport, who has now reached the final four at the Open in each of the last three years and in seven of the last eight, also fired up five aces and broke Asagoe's serve four times in seven chances.

The unseeded Asagoe did not have one break chance in the match on Davenport's powerful serve.

Davenport is a three-time Grand Slam champion, with her last major title coming at the 2000 Australian Open. She also titled in Flushing Meadows in 1998 and was the 2000 runner-up here to Venus, who she defeated here in straight sets on Monday.

Davenport is in the midst of a perfect summer as she recently wrapped up the inaugural U.S. Open Series title. She won four straight tournaments, including three in her native California, and is seeking a fifth consecutive title this week, having won her last 22 matches on the circuit.

If Davenport wins the title here, she will become the first woman to go six years between championships at the same major and will also overtake Justine Henin-Hardenne as the new No. 1 player in the world.

Asagoe was making her first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

In the other quarterfinal match on Wednesday, ninth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated 14th-seeded Nadia Petrova in an all-Russian affair on Court 11. Kuznetsova downed her good friend 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to move into her first-ever Grand slam semifinal, where she will face Davenport for the first time in her career.

Petrova had upset the top-seeded and defending champion Henin-Hardenne in the fourth round.

The other semifinal pits sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva against eighth- seeded American Jennifer Capriati, who is looking to reach the U.S. Open final for the first time in her career.

There are more showers in the forecast for Thursday after the first nine days of the fortnight were rain-free.