Thursday, Sep 05, 2002
Thursday, Sep 05, 2002 |
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Tennis
In the men's section, there will be a marquee match-up with Pete Sampras facing fellow American Andy Roddick. Four-time champion Sampras won on Tuesday night's last match when German No. 3 Tommy Haas double-faulted on the final point to give the American a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory. Roddick beat Juan Ignacio Chela 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Top-seeded Serena, the 1999 Open champion, had 29 winners to six for the 11th-seeded Hantuchova, and whipped 12 aces at up to 185 kph (115 mph). When Hantuchova arrived at the National Tennis Center hours before the match, she was wearing heavy wrapping on her right thumb, injured Sunday night during her fourth-round match against Justine Henin of Belgium. ``I feel I have nothing to lose. I don't know why,'' Serena said. ``I feel so free and floating, so carefree.'' Serena, who is bidding to become the first woman since Steffi Graf to win three straight majors, next faces Lindsay Davenport, a hard hitter many think has the best chance of coming between the Williams sisters and a longer string of major titles. ``We're the same style of players. I actually like playing Lindsay. I can't wait,'' Serena said. ``Win, lose or draw, I'm going to have fun.'' Serena has lost a total of 14 games through her five matches so far, spending an average of 51 minutes on court. She certainly seems on pace for another all-in-the-family championship match, having lost to Venus in last year's U.S. Open final and beaten her at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2002. Davenport, the 1998 champion, moved into the semifinals by eliminating unseeded Elena Bovina of Russia 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. Davenport, playing just her fifth tournament since right knee surgery performed by the same doctor who rebuilt Rubin's left knee, capitalized on Bovina's 36 unforced errors. Playing on a bruised left foot, the 11th-seeded Roddick balanced 37 errors with 46 winners against Chela. The match featured one particularly exciting point: Roddick ran to get to a drop shot, switched directions to get to a lob, and eventually smacked a backhand winner down the line. He celebrated by dropping his racket, climbing past a sign to get to the stands, and slapping high-fives with fans. Roddick broke Chela in that second-set game. ``I think it helped turn things around,'' Roddick said. ``That was just totally spontaneous. There's not really an explanation for it.'' Sampras is looking for his first title since July 2000. Roddick's ``got a great game. He's the future of this game,'' Sampras said. Elsewhere, three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil was undone by his 55 unforced errors and lost in the fourth round to No. 24 Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4). Schalken next plays No. 28 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who beat Arnaud Clement of France in straight sets. Either Schalken or Gonzalez will be a Grand Slam semifinalist for the first time. Earlier, Serena's elder sister Venus Williams, seeded two, beat 11th-seeded Chanda Rubin of the United States 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the fourth round of the women's singles. She hit 41 winners and seven aces, snapping one at 121 mph (195 kph). But she also made 41 errors, had six double faults, had her serve broken five times, and allowed her 25-set winning streak at the Open to end. Watching from the stands while snapping pictures through a 2 1/2-foot lens, the Williams sisters' father, Richard, wasn't pleased. ``It looks like all her techniques are breaking down,'' he said. Mahesh-Mirnyi in last eight In men's doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi made it to the quarterfinals without much fuss. The Indo-Belarussian pair beat Wayne Ferreira of South Africa and Rick Leach of the U.S. 6-3, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals after downing Peter Luczak and David Macpherson of Australia 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) in the rain-affected second round. The third-seeded Mahesh and Mirnyi will meet the fifth-seeded Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe in the quarterfinals. In the girl's singles, the Indian challenge could not be sustained beyond the first round. Sania Mirza went down fighting 6-1, 2-6, 4-6 to Shadisha Robinson of the U.S. and Isha Lakhani lost to the Asian junior champion Chin-Wei Chan of Chinese Taipei 3-6, 2-6. Leander-Navratilova loses Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova lost their mixed doubles second round encounter to Els Callens and Robbie Koenig. The Belgian-South African pair won 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. The results: Men: Fourth round: 28-Fernando Gonzalez (Chl) bt Arnaud Clement (Fra) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3; 24-Sjeng Schalken (Ned) bt Gustavo Kuerten (Bra) 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4); 17-Pete Sampras (U.S.) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5; 11-Andy Roddick (U.S.) bt 26-Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Men's doubles: Third round: 3-Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind)/Max Mirnyi (Bela) bt Wayne Ferreira (S.A.)/Rick Leach (U.S.) 6-3, 6-2. Second round: Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi bt Peter Luczak/David Macpherson (Aus) 6-1, 7-6 (2). Women: Quarterfinals: 4-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) bt Elena Bovina (Rus) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2; 1-Serena Williams (U.S.) bt 11-Daniela Hantuchova (Slk) 6-2, 6-2. Fourth round: 2-Venus Williams (U.S.) bt 14-Chanda Rubin (U.S.) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5; 6-Monica Seles (U.S.) bt 9-Martina Hingis (Sui) 6-4, 6-2.
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