※ [本文轉錄自 Tennis 看板]
作者: establish (Est) 看板: Tennis
標題: [情報] Escude Keeps French Spirits High
時間: Sat Feb 15 13:49:55 2003
http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/news/marseille5.asp
Nicolas Escude defeated French qualifer Rodolphe Cadart in Friday's play.
Nicolas Escude eased into the semifinals of the OPEN 13 in Marseille on
Friday, defeating French qualifier Rodolphe Cadart in straight sets.
Escude, now the lone Frenchman in the draw, attributed his victory to
strong serving and his ability to seize on Cadart's mistakes in the
second set. He now meets veteran Jonas Bjorkman, who overcame Dominik
Hrbaty also in straight sets.
Top seed Roger Federer, the only remaining seed in the draw, was
challenged all the way by Dutchman Raemon Sluiter, but proceeded
to the semifinals with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Last week, Federer
likewise defeated Sluiter in Davis Cup play. The Swiss is eyeing an
opportunity to pick up his first title of 2003. He now meets Karol
Kucera of the Slovak Republic, who had little trouble getting into
the final four with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Olivier Rochus. Kucera ousted
No. 3 seed Sebastien Grosjean earlier this week.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Escude: "I had some problems with my right hamstring. It was getting
worse over the course of the match. I've played a lot of matches,
spent alot of hours on the court, and my muscles have been a little
tight. I don't want to risk making the injury any worse."
"I won today because of the quality of my serves and Cadart didn't
play quite as well in that second set."
Hrbaty: 浅e played some unbelievable points, balls that hit the lines,
some incredible shots.?
戦 didn急 play bad at all. I think it was just those two points (at set
point in the tiebreak) that made the difference in the match, and he
just played too well.?
Bjorkman: 荘his is the best I挙e felt from the backcourt in a long time.
I felt really comfortable out there. I hit the ball the way I wanted, I
served well, which I really needed against Dominik Hrbaty.?
About having set point against him in the first set
戦 have so much confidence right now, that I観 really taking risks. So
I served and volleyed on that set point against me and I forced an error
from him.?
On playing a Frenchmen in the next round
禅laying against Nicola Escude - it will be an open match. We play similar
games. We both return well. No matter which Frenchmen I play, the French
will be behind him, but I挙e been there before. I挙e played Davis Cup. My
uncle is hopefully driving down from Lyon (where he lives) tomorrow to
watch, so I should have a few extra people supporting me.?
Federer: 戦 had some trouble on my serve, but I was able to find my
rhythm. It was a tough match, I made a few double faults and that
caused me some problems. And I had to save a few break points. I
made some errors in that second set, but he definitely deserved it.?
戦 think I played better last weekend in the Davis Cup [where he
defeated Sluiter in straight sets], I had some difficulties tonight.
I観 still a little tired from Davis Cup.?
遷y physical condition is not as great as it could be. I観 a little
fatigued but I really love this tournament. You know it was my choice
to play last week all three matches and now this week, so I can急
complain. I was injured last year during Marseille, so I really wanted
to play and it旧 great that I can play this year.?
Kucera: On his eighth win in a row (won Wroclaw Challenger last week):
"I'm feeling better and better with each match I think. Like with my win
over Sebastien Grosjean yesterday. It definitely gave me alot of confidence."
How he will play Federer
"I'll have to think about it because he played a good game tonight against
Sluiter. But I know that I am playing well."
SATURDAY SEMIFINAL PREVIEW
Top seed Roger Federer is now two matches away from collecting his first
title of 2003 and fifth of his career. The 21-year-old Swiss now meets
Karol Kucera in Saturday's semifinal. Federer leads their series 2-1,
but Kucera is on an eight-match win streak, having captured the Wroclaw
Challenger last week.
Should Federer come out the victor in Saturday's encounter, he would be
playing his second final here in Marseille. (He reached his first career
ATP final in Marseille 2000 (l. to Rosset).) Last year, Federer ended up
No. 6 in the ATP Champions Race, having qualified for the Tennis Masters
Cup Shanghai and picking up three titles (Sydney, TMS Hamburg, Vienna).
As the lone Frenchman remaining in the draw, Nicolas Escude has kept French
spirits high by advancing to his first semifinal of 2003 in his home country.
Escude, who won both of his singles matches last week in Davis Cup action
against Romania, now meets Jonas Bjorkman, who reached the quarterfinals in
Milan two weeks ago (l. to Kafelnikov). Escude and Bjorkman have met three
times in their career, and the Frenchman has won two of those meetings.
Escude is seeking his fourth career title. Last year, he won the title
in Rotterdam. Bjorkman is aiming for his sixth career title, having
captured the trophy in Nottingham last year.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.64.102.144
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 218.187.40.119