http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/news/marseille3.asp
OPEN 13 - MARSEILLE Feb. 12, 2003
Federer, Grosjean Only Seeded Survivors on Wild Wednesday
Novak, El Aynaoui, Kafelnikov, Santoro all go out.
After an upset-filled Wednesday at the OPEN 13 in Marseille
when all eight seeds were set to play first round matches,
top seed Roger Federer and No. 3 Sebastien Grosjean are the
only seeded players remaining in the draw. Swiss star Federer,
who won three titles in 2002 and qualified for his first Tennis
Masters Cup, advanced after taking the first set from Croatia's
Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6(3), when Ljubicic retired with a sore
shoulder. Ljubicic's shoulder worked overtime last weekend, as
he served up 59 aces in his two singles wins that proved
decisive in Croatia's 4-1 Davis Cup victory over the United
States.
Grosjean, France's No. 1 player with an Entry Ranking of
No. 12, had little trouble with Spanish qualifier Alex
Calatrava, winning 6-2, 6-1. The Marseille native improved
his record on the year to a sterling 6-1, including a
quarterfinal run at last month's Australian Open that ended
at the hands of eventual champion Andre Agassi. He plays the
Slovak Republic's Karol Kucera next.
Among the seeds that were upset in Marseille were No. 2 Jiri
Novak of the Czech Republic, No. 5 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco,
No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, No. 7 Fabrice Santoro of
France and No. 8 Tommy Robredo of Spain. French all-court talent(huh???^^b)
Nicolas Escude, finalist in Marseille last year (l. to Enqvist)
dominated Novak, 6-2, 6-1. All three of Escude's career titles
have come on indoor hard courts. Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman
ousted Australian Open quarterfinalist El Aynaoui, 6-2, 6-4,
while 2001 Marseille winner Kafelnikov, fell to diminutive
Belgian Olivier Rochus, 7-6(5), 6-4. Robredo, who has yet to
win an ATP match this year, was defeated by Belarus' Max Mirnyi.
Mirnyi won in dramatic fashion, running off the last four points
of the third-set tiebreak, recovering from a 3-5 deficit to close
out the match, 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-5.
In the final match of the evening, French qualifier Cyril Saulnier
ousted countryman Santoro, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Saulnier, who lives in
nearby Saint Cyr sur Mer and is commuting to the tournament from
his home, qualified for eight ATP events in 2002, second best on
the circuit. Saulnier next faces Dutchman Raemon Sluiter, who
ousted defending champion Thomas Enqvist on Tuesday.
Australian Open finalist and No. 4-seeded German Rainer Schuettler
was forced to withdraw with a right elbow injury. Schuettler said
he hopes to be ready to play in Rotterdam next week. His place in
the draw was taken by a lucky loser, countryman Christian Vinck,
who was beaten by Frenchman Olivier Mutis, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, in Mutis'
second career ATP match win.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Federer: "I was a little tired coming here from the Davis Cup. I
had some trouble finding my rhythm and my timing was a little off."
"It's great to be in Marseille this year, because I was injured
last year and couldn't play here. It's my second time being the
number one seed after I was in Doha earlier this year where I
reached the QF, so that is something to motivate me."
Grosjean: "I started quickly and really took advantage from the
start. I served well and really made sure that I put pressure on
with my return game."
(On playing in his hometown:)
"I feel no extra pressure here at all, but it does make me more
motivated to do well. I want to stand-out with my performance here."
Escude: "There aren't so many tournaments in France so this is a
special event for me. I'm playing well right now, but I haven't
won a lot of matches, which is strange. But I feel like I'm playing
strong and I just need to get some more matches under my belt to
get my confidence going."
Saulnier: "I was definitely ready for the battle tonight. I felt
great physically and mentally. Like any player in the draw at the
beginning of the week, I have as good a chance as anyone to win the
tournament."
"Fabrice really put pressure on my in the first set, but I wanted to
take better control with my game and I started doing that in the
second set. It's definitely one of my best wins ever."
Rochus: "I think it was a good win having just come from the Davis
Cup this weekend. It's a tough first round match but I played well."
(About playing Richard Gasquet in the next round:)
"I've seen him play before on television. I was impressed by his game.
It will be a hard match just like this one today. The public will no
doubt be behind him."
El Aynaoui: "I played in Milan to weeks ago and I don't think I was
quite recoved from the Australian Open match, but then I had a week
off to regroup and I came here expecting some good results."
"Jonas has a game that doesn't really suit me and even if the crowd
was behind me here in Marseille, I just didn't play my best tennis."
THURSDAY PREVIEW
All eight second-round matches will be played in Marseille on Thursday,
with the only two remaining seeds in featured matches. Top-seeded Swiss
Roger Federer battles Finland's Jarkko Nieminen for a spot in the
quarterfinals. Federer has amassed an 8-3 record in 2003, including a
quarterfinal showing in Doha (l. to Gambill) and the 4th round at the
Australian Open (l. to Nalbandian). He won two singles matches in
Switzerland's 3-2 Davis Cup win over The Netherlands' last weekend.
Nieminen is 7-3 this year, including a semifinal showing in Milan two
weeks ago (l. to Kafelnikov).
No. 3 seed Sebastian Grosjean, the French favorite and 2003 Australian
Open quarterfinalist, takes on the Slovak Republic's Karol Kucera, who
began the year by reaching his first final in more than three years at
Chennai, where he fell to Paradorn Srichaphan. Grosjean has not lost a
set to Kucera in their two previous meetings, including the 2001 Marseille
quarterfinal.
Two other Thursday matches feature popular Frenchmen. Nicolas Escude,
the only player to take a set from Andre Agassi at the Australian Open
this year (3rd RD), battles 18-year-old Croatian rising star Mario Ancic,
while 16-year-old wildcard Richard Gasquet squares off against Belgian
Olivier Rochus. At last year's Tennis Masters Monte Carlo, Gasquet became
the youngest player to win an ATP-level match in 15 years.
--
Well he writes the line wrote down my spine
It says "Oh do you believe in love there?"
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