ARAG ATP WORLD TEAM CUP, MAY 22, 2003
Czechs Advance to Final
The Czech Republic defeats the United States
The Czech Republic defeated the United States on Friday at the ARAG ATP World
Team Championship Thursday to advance to Saturday's final. Although unbeaten
this week coming into Friday's match-ups, the Czech Republic was initially put
on edge when American James Blake stunned Jiri Novak 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Radek
Stepanek, however, came back strong to keep the Czech team well in the
running by overcoming American Todd Martin 6-2, 7-5. Novak and Stepanek then
paired up and sealed the victory for their country when they stopped Blake and
Mardy Fish 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the doubles match.
The Czech team clinched all three of their ties this week by winning the
doubles rubber.
Also on Thursday, Spain salvaged its week with an impressive win over
Australia. Lleyton Hewitt began the day strong and snapped a four-match
losing streak against Spain's Carlos Moya. The Australian's three-set victory,
however, was dampened when Alex Corretja came back from a set down to defeat
Wayne Arthurs 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Corretja then hurried back on court with teammate
Fernando Vicente to defeat Mark Philippoussis and Todd Reid in doubles, giving
Spain the victory over the Australians.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Blake: "I felt great. I think that's a perfect match to get that rhythm,
because he makes you beat him. He makes tons of balls, he makes a lot of
first serves, puts a lot of returns into the court and so, you're not going
to win unless you play really well. It's a very good confidence boost."
"I can more effectively play with these top 10 guys. They make great shots
on big points. He made a lot of first serves on great points. I had to come
up with pretty good shots to beat him. There weren't a whole lot of times,
besides a few streaks, that he gave me a lot of free points."
"I stuck to my game plan. That was the best thing I did. I tried to keep
hitting my forehand, because that's obviously my favorite shot. His backhand
is one of the best on the Tour, so I tried to go for his forehand."
Moya: "I did not play very consistently and often lost my rhythm. My game had
too many ups and downs. Lleyton Hewitt deserved to win. Losing this match does
not have an impact on me, I am in very good shape. I have won many matches
this year, and I am a much better player than five years ago. I have overcome
many difficulties."
Hewitt: "It's a nice little confidence boost. I probably played one of my best
clay court matches out there today. I was aggressive the whole time. I played
my game and didn掐 let Carlos dictate too much on his turn. That was probably
the turning point."
"I sort of believed in myself. Even though I lost the second set, I felt I had
a lot of chances and kept playing that game plan and didn't change it."
About Moya's game
"He obviously hits the ball extremely well from the back of the court and I
think he has worked on his backhand over the last couple of years. Since he
came back from his injury and over the last couple of years, he is probably
playing as well as anyone in the world. And I think, he's more confident on
any surfaces these days as well."
Corretja: "After today's match, I would say I've taken 10 steps forward.
Beating Stepanek earlier this week was a clear boost, but to win a three-set
match like today against Arthurs was crucial for my confidence. I played a
doubles match immediately afterwards and I could hardly miss a ball."
"If I hadn't played the matches this week I would have arrived at Roland
Garros with a lot of doubts. All of those have vanished now. If last week I
was playing at 50 percent, now I am playing at 75 percent. With some hard
training over the weekend, my game should be set for Paris."
"The most important thing is that my morale has found a new level again,
giving me a great sense of tranquillity from within."
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說起來，20年，也差不多是法國人再度獲勝的好時機哪…
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※ 編輯: esnique 來自: 61.230.97.77 (05/23 09:22)