PRIORITY TELECOM DUTCH OPEN
AMERSFOORT July 16, 2003
Massu Dominates Sa
Dutch wild card Dennis van Scheppingen reaches first quarterfinal
in five years.
Wednesday at the Priority Telecom Dutch Open in Amersfoort No. 7 seed
Nicolas Massu advanced to the quarterfinals by scoring a 6-2, 6-2 win over
Brazil's Andre Sa. This will be the Chilean's third appearance among the
last eight this season and his second at the Dutch Open.
Dutch wild card Dennis van Scheppingen beat No. 9 seed Franco Squillari
4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP event for the first time
since 's-Hertogenbosch in June 1998, when he lost to Patrick Rafter in the
semifinals. The 28-year-old plays in the Dutch Open draw for the sixth time
and now holds an 8-5 record here including a semifinal effort in 1996. That
year he defeated Carlos Moya in the quarterfinals before losing to Morocco's
Younes El Aynaoui. Earlier this season the Dutchman captured the title at the
Belgrade challenger.
Luis Horna defeated Christophe Rochus 6-4, 6-4 to find himself in the
quarterfinals of an ATP event for the second time this year following
Buenos Aires in February. Last year 22-year-old Horna had his most successful
year on the circuit and was the first Peruvian player to finish the season in
the Top 100 since Jaime Yzaga in 1994. Horna's quarterfinal opponent is
Spanish qualifier Oscar Hernandez, who defeated Jean-Rene Lisnard of France
7-6(7), 1-6, 7-6(4).
In Wednesday's only first round match Spain's Albert Montanes advanced to
round two by defeating Jurgen Melzer 5-1, when the 22-year-old Austrian had
to retire with a hamstring injury.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Verkerk: "I have a right shoulder injury, so I have to retire
(from the doubles). The bone and the muscle are fine, but it hurts a lot
when I stretch or when I am serving."
"I will have to take medication for two weeks. It is the first time I have
this injury and I do not think it is something I will have for the rest of my
career. I'm just so relieved that I do not need any surgery."
"I still need to retire from the doubles. Raemon (Sluiter) understands
completely, but it is a shame for the tournament. I think I started too hard
after my holiday. I felt something was wrong Wednesday last week. There was
a little pain on the front of my shoulder. Now I'm feeling it more from the
back."
"It has nothing to do with the way I am serving. I have been serving the same
way for years. It is just a little bit of hard luck I think. I can play every
shot: forehand, backhand, volley. Everything above the shoulder hurts and I
have to be careful with that."
"Only when the pain gets heavier will I consider taking an injection, but
that's the last thing I'll do. I just hope I can win some matches again soon.
I have always been a player with good and bad results through the season. I
have to make sure I am going to play more consistent with some good results.
I know I can beat the world's best players, but I can also lose to the little
guys."
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Horna: "I was playing at a high level at Roland Garros this year when I beat
Federer and took Verkerk to five sets. It was hard today. I was really aware
of the temperatures out there, it was very hot."
"We both started out well and created chances to break each other, but I was
serving big when I needed to. It was very tight in the second set."
"This is my third ATP quarterfinal. The first was in Palermo last year, when
I lost to Acasuso in a close match. Then this year I also reached the
quarterfinals of Buenos Aires but lost to Carlos Moya in another tough match."
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van Scheppingen: "I played very well today. In the first set my serve was not
that good, but from the second set, it came together a lot better. From that
moment, I thought he had more problems with my game than I had with his."
"I really like playing here. I feel comfortable at this tournament. That
helps a lot during my matches here. I feel I am growing every match. I feel
very good and I think I can get very far here."
"I'm very pleased I won. I had the feeling it would be my match during the
third set. It was just a matter of one good return game so I could win. My
serve was very strong that set."
"Next round Massu, so another South-American. I have a good chance against him.
I'm just looking match by match now. We'll see what it will bring."
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