Date:27/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/27/stories/2007102756152100.htm

Sport - Tennis

Schnyder stuns Chakvetadze

— Photo: AFP

Nikolay Davydenko.

Linz (Austria): Patty Schnyder needed just 39 minutes to beat top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-0 on Friday and reach the semifinals of the Generali Ladies.

Earlier, second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova beat Alona Bondarenko 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 despite making 44 unforced errors.

At Basel, Roger Federer beat Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals at his home tournament, the Swiss Indoors.

“I came out of the blocks really fast today, and he missed some shots at the start,” Federer said. “It’s a little bit difficult with so many family and friends here, but I am beginning to get comfortable.”

Fined

At St. Petersburg, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, already interviewed over a suspicious match earlier in the year, was fined $2,000 by the ATP for not trying hard enough in his three-set loss to Marian Cilic .

He was warned for not playing hard enough by the chair umpire.

Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but drew a rebuke from chair umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq in the third set before succumbing 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

“When I made a double fault, he gave me a notice for a wrong behaviour on the court as if I was throwing the match,” Davydenko said. “I was surprised. I’ve never heard anything like this before. No matter how I’d played, no matter what had happen to me, I was never given such a notice.”

Davydenko said that during the exchange, Dercq asked him about his condition, but Davydenko first said there was nothing wrong and later said the problem was in his legs.

“I was simply shocked to hear him say that. This is just outrageous. How does he know what I was trying to do? I was so upset with the whole thing I started crying,” Davydenko said.

The results: At Linz: WTA Generali Ladies Open: Quarterfinals: Daniela Hantuchova bt Alona Bondarenko 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Patty Schnyder bt Anna Chakvetadse 6-1, 6-0. Second round: Marion Bartoli bt Tamira Paszek 6-2, 6-1; Patty Schnyder bt Alicia Molik 6-4, 6-4; Nicole Vaidisova bt Yvonne Meusburger 6-3, 6-1; Daniela Hantuchova bt Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-1; Julia Vakulenko bt Ai Sugiyama 6-0, 6-2.

At Lyon: ATP Lyon Grand Prix: Second round: Sebastien Grosjean bt Fabrice Santoro 4-6, 6-1, 6-2; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4; Julien Benneteau bt Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-4; Ivan Ljubicic bt Thierry Ascione 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).

At Basel: ATP Swiss Open: Quarterfinals: Jarkko Nieminen bt Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-5. Second round: Ivo Karlovic bt James Blake 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen bt Guillermo Canas 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; Tomas Berdych bt Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4; Nicolas Kiefer bt Stefan Koubek 6-3, 6-2; Roger Federer bt Juan del Potro 6-1, 6-4; Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Andrey Golubev 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-1; Marcos Baghdatis bt Agustin Calleri 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-3.

At St. Petersburg: ATP St. Petersburg Open: Quarterfinals: Fernando Verdasco bt Potito Starace 6 -3, 6-4; Mikhail Youzhny bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, retd. Second round: Andy Murray bt Lukas Dlouhy 6-2, 6-4; Marin Cilic bt Nikolay Davydenko 1-6, 7-5, 6-1; Mikhail Youzhny bt Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-2. — Agencies