Friday, May 30, 2003
Friday, May 30, 2003 |
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Tennis
Lleyton Hewitt celebrates after beating Nikolay Davydenko.
Among the women, ninth-seeded Lindsay Davenport overcame three consecutive set points and beat Iroda Tulyaganova 7-5, 6-1, while second-seeded Kim Clijsters raced past Marlene Weingartner 6-2, 6-2. Hewitt failed to convert two match points on serve in the fourth set before winning it in a tiebreaker. Davydenko committed 112 unforced errors to 72 for Hewitt, who was also on the court for more than three hours in the opening round. Davenport, seeded sixth, is playing in her first tournament since being married April 25 in Hawaii. Serving at 4-5 in the opening set, she fell behind 0-40 and then won five consecutive points. She saved two set points on return errors by Tulyaganova. Davenport struggled with her serve and faced 10 break points. But she won nine of the final 10 games and closed the center-court match in 66 minutes. ``It wasn't a very high, high level of play out there,'' Davenport said. ``It was one of those days where you're lucky your opponent doesn't play great and you're lucky to get through. I just kind of did what I had to do.'' In other second-round action, Frenchman Nicolas Coutelot delighted home fans at Roland Garros by upsetting 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1. Coutelot, a qualifier, hadn't won a tour-level match all year until this week. ``Today is the best memory of my life,'' he said. A frustrated Nalbandian, who was seeded eighth, smashed his racket several times en route to the defeat. He had a long, heated discussion afterward with Coutelot, who was unhappy Nalbandian didn't receive a warning for his tantrums. ``It's not against him, and he understood that,'' Coutelot said. ``David is a good friend of mine.'' Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten, seeded 15th, routed Morocco's Hicham Arazi 6-1, 6-0, 6-1. No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, the 2002 runner-up, advanced when Nicolas Massu retired trailing 6-2, 3-0. The Chilean came into the match with a sprained left ankle. On remote court 17, No. 24 James Blake lost to big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. The match was concluded on Thursday after being suspended the previous night at the start of the fourth set because of darkness. No. 30 Jarkko Nieminen outlasted Julien Varlet 1-6, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4. It was the first time the Finn has won after losing the first two sets. Also advancing were No. 12 Sjeng Schalken, No. 19 Fernando Gonzalez and No. 32 Arnaud Clement. Schalken swept Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. Gonzalez eliminated Albert Portas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Frenchman Clement beat Lars Burgsmuller 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Davenport, a three-time Grand Slam champion, missed Roland Garros the past two years because of knee injuries and lost in the opening round in 2000. But she said she's more comfortable on clay now. ``All around I'm a little bit more athletic,'' Davenport said. ``As far as being a true clay-court mover, there's no way I'm ever going to be able to do it. ``I try, believe me. It's tough to get your balance and your footing on clay because it's so slippery. But there's no question I'm better than the last time I was here in 2000 and before that.'' Her next opponent will be No. 25-seeded Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy, who beat Gala Leon Garcia 6-3, 6-4.
Dokic upset
No. 10 Jelena Dokic was upset by Slovenia's Tina Pisnik 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. No. 24 Conchita Martinez, playing in her 16th French Open, reached the third round for the 15th time by beating Emmanuelle Gagliardi 7-5, 6-2. No. 15 Magdalena Maleeva eliminated Evgenia Koulikovskaya 6-3, 6-2. American Corina Morariu, playing her first tournament since being sidelined late last year by a torn rotator cuff, lost to No. 30-seeded Paola Suarez 6-1, 6-1.
Agassi extended
On Wednesday, Andre Agassi was stretched to five sets against 19-year-old Mario Ancic of Croatia, a compatriot and longtime practice partner of former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic. Ancic won the first two sets and was twice up a service break in the third before he wavered only slightly. Ever the opportunist, Agassi seized the opening and rallied to win 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in the second round. The 3-hour, 13-minute drama thrilled the crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen and served as a tribute to Agassi's remarkable fitness at age 33. Five times he has won after losing the first two sets, including against Andrei Medvedev in the 1999 French Open final. ``He just earned it. It wasn't that I gave it,'' Ancic said. ``That's why he won so many Grand Slams.'' The match also underscored the potential of Ancic, who reached the fourth round in the Australian Open in January, beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon last summer and has been touted as an emerging star. In his appearance, mannerisms and shotmaking, Ancic draws comparisons to Ivanisevic, whose droll wit and high-wire tennis, especially at Wimbledon, made him one of the most popular players on the men's tour. By improving to 9-0 this year in Grand Slam events, Agassi advanced to the third round against 26th-seeded Xavier Malisse. The Belgian survived his own five-setter, beating Stefan Koubek 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6. Other second-round winners included No. 4 Carlos Moya, No. 7 Guillermo Coria and No. 11 Rainer Schuettler, the Australian Open runner-up to Agassi. On the women's side, defending champion Serena Williams extended her Grand Slam winning streak to 30 matches, beating Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian 6-3, 6-2. Also advancing were No. 4 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 8 Chanda Rubin. The results: Men's singles (second round): 3-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) bt Nicolas Massu (Chi) 6-2, 3-0 (retd.); Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) bt 24-James Blake (U.S.) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4; 32-Arnaud Clement (Fra) bt Lars Burgsmuller (Ger) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Victor Hanescu (Rom) bt Sargis Sargsian (Arm) 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; 1-Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Women's singles (second round): 30-Paola Suarez (Arg) bt Corina Morariu (U.S.) 6-1, 6-1; 6-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) bt Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzb) 7-5, 6-1; 25-Nathalie Dechy (Fra) bt Gala Leon Garcia (Spa) 6-3, 6-4; Nadia Petrova (Rus) bt Silvija Talaja (Cro) 6-1, 6-1; 24-Conchita Martinez (Esp) bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Swi) 7-5, 6-2; Marissa Irvin (U.S.) bt Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-4, 7-5; Tina Pisnik (Slo) bt 10-Jelena Dokic (Yug) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Rita Grande (Ita) bt 20-Elena Bovina (Rus) 7-5, 6-3. Wednesday's results: Men's singles (second round): 4-Carlos Moya (Esp) bt Mark Philippoussis (Aus) 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7); 13-Jiri Novak (Cze) bt Marc Lopez (Esp) 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-1, 6-3; 29-Vincent Spadea (U.S.) bt John van Lottum (Ned) 7-5, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1; 2-Andre Agassi (U.S.) bt Mario Ancic (Cro) 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5; 7-Guillermo Coria (Arg) bt Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1; Martin Verkerk (Ned) bt Luis Horna (Peru) 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; 31-Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg) bt Giorgio Galimberti (Ita) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1; 26-Xavier Malisse (Bel) bt Stefan Koubek (Aus) 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6. Women's singles (second round): Petra Mandula (Hun) bt 11-Anastasia Myskina (Rus) 6-3, 6-4; 5-Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Lina Krasnoroutskaya (Rus) 6-1, 6-2; 1-Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian (Sui) 6-3, 6-2; Magui Serna (Esp) bt 23-Anna Pistolesi (Isr) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Barbara Schett (Aut) bt 28-Clarisa Fernandez (Arg) 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
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