※ [本文轉錄自 Spain_PL 看板]
作者: esnique (小鱷) 看板: Spain_PL
標題: [情報] Kuerten, Henman Advance on Day One
時間: Tue May 13 19:44:10 2003
TENNIS MASTERS HAMBURG, MAY 12, 2003
Kuerten, Henman Advance on Day One
Teenage sensation Rafael Nadal also was among the winners on day one at the
Rothenbaum.
Former champion Gustavo Kuerten passed a difficult test in the opening round
of the Tennis Masters Hamburg when the Brazilian overcame Juan Ignacio Chela
on Monday. The No. 11 seed, who won the title at the Rothenbaum in 2000 (d.
Safin) and who now has a 14-5 record in the tournament, booked his place in
the second round with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Argentine, and
will now meet Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, the Estoril champion who defeated
Adrian Voinea 6-0, 6-2.
Also progressing on day one was Tim Henman, who recorded his third win of the
year and his third successive victory over Jan-Michael Gambill to reach the
second round. The Briton, who has been plagued with shoulder injuries for most
of the year, is playing in just his seventh tournament of the season, but came
through 7-5, 6-4 against the American.
Henman, who defeated Gambill to register his first win of the season back in
March at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, is now 3-6 for the year. The
28-year-old from Oxford, who reached the quarterfinals in Hamburg in 1999,
will meet either No. 10 seed Sebastien Grosjean or Italian qualifier Filippo
Volandri in the second round.
Former finalist Mariano Zabaleta also moved through to the second round with
a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Karol Kucera. Zabaleta, who reached the final in 1999
before losing to Marcelo Rios, has an impressive 11-3 record at the Rothenbaum
and he now meets No. 14 seed Tommy Robredo, who recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory
over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Spain's latest sensation Rafael Nadal continued to impress with a
7-5, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu on what is his first
appearance at Tennis Masters Hamburg. The 16-year-old qualifier from Mallorca,
who reached the third round at the Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo last month, has
reached five Challenger finals this year, winning the title in Barletta in
March with a victory over former Hamburg champion Albert Portas in the final.
Elsewhere on day one, Feliciano Lopez upset No. 7 seed Paradorn Srichaphan
6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round on his first appearance in Hamburg, while
Monte-Carlo finalist Guillermo Coria defeated Vincent Spadea 6-2, 6-2 to set
up a meeting with Jarkko Nieminen, who recovered from the loss of the second
set to defeat Stefan Koubek 6-4, 0-6, 6-1.
Acapulco winner Agustin Calleri needed to draw on all of his winning clay
court experience from this season after a 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 victory over Sydney
champion Hyung-Taik Lee. The Argentine, who also reached the final in Estoril
in April, now meets either fourth seed Andy Roddick of Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic
for a place in round three.
Local favorite Lars Burgsmuller took advantage of his wild card to defeat
American qualifier Hugo Armando in straight sets, although Alexander Waske
went down 6-3, 6-2 to Wayne Ferreira.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Henman: "I think clay is the ideal surface to work on your game, to rebuild
your confidence in tournaments like this, is probably another thing. The
standard is so high. It's always going to be the toughest test for me. You
take Monte-Carlo last year, I struggled then and I was playing probably the
best tennis in my career. So, that's why I very much have the attitude that
I'm going to work hard on the practice court and obviously on the match
courts."
"I think I've got to be aggressive on my serve and I think at times before I
was perhaps a little too conservative on my serves. I feel now that the way I
am serving I can be a lot more aggressive and still serve consistently. That
was evident today. And the conditions can't get much heavier and slower. So,
when things pick up, I hope to continue that."
"I cannot stress more honestly and openly that I feel 100 percent about my
shoulder right now. And, I'm certainly concentrating on my tennis. Today, was
a good example: I had absolutely no problems physically. I'm happy with the
way I played."
Nadal: "It was a difficult match, he's lacking in confidence and that's why I
could come back from 4-2 down in the first set. I am not playing as well as
Monte-Carlo so I can't be as aggressive as I would like to be. I have to play
more from the baseline."
About possibly playing Moya in the second round: "I would love to play against
him in a match. We practice together almost always and here I am together with
him and his coach Jofre Portas. It will be almost impossible to beat him but
it will be a great experience."
Coria: "It was not as easy as the score indicated. I am very happy with the
way I played, especially on the tactical side. I also played well every time
I had an opportunity like the breakpoints."
About playing Nieminen in the second round and his chances in Hamburg: "It's
going to be a hard match. I beat him in Australia in three sets but it was
tough, I think he has one of the best double-handed backhands in the game. I
hope I can go as far as Monte-Carlo and be around for the finals' day. I have
a lot of confidence right now, I like the courts here, the club and the
atmosphere."
Burgsmuller: About possibly playing German No. 1 and practice partner Rainer
Schuettler in the second round: "I think [coach] Dirk [Hordorff] will probably
watch from the hotel so he doesn't have to cheer either one of us on."
Srichaphan: "It's the clay season and I think it helps me a lot before going
to the hard courts in the U.S. It's always tough to play on this surface,
because there are a lot of good players, plus I was not growing up on clay
courts. That is why I have a tough time, but I feel happy if I can go out
there and play well and hit the ball well, I feel happy enough. Compared to
last year I already won two matches this year. Last year I didn't win a match
until [Roland Garros]."
Six of the Best Play Fours
Who says top singles players don't play doubles? The line-up for day two of
the Tennis Masters Hamburg sees six players who have had lengthy spells in
the singles top ten take to the doubles court.
Former world No 1 and 2000 Hamburg champion Gustavo Kuerten teamed up with
Tim Henman in Rome last week, and having won one and lost one, they resume
their partnership against Jan-Michael Gambill and Graydon Oliver - Gambill
looking for revenge for his singles defeat Monday against the Briton.
Andy Roddick heads a new generation of Americans which also includes Mardy
Fish and James Blake. Roddick has hooked the Fish, and they take on Frantisek
Cermak and Leos Friedl, while Blake partners the veteran doubles Grand Slam
champion Donald Johnson against Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek - Blake may have
to drag Johnson down from the television commentary box where he's been
preparing for life after tennis.
And as the late afternoon sun sets on the Rothenbaum, the standard bearers of
the current French generation Sebastien Grosjean and Arnaud Clement take on
Gaston Gaudio and the Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian.
All this is further evidence that the changes introduced to the ATP's entry
criteria allowing players to get into doubles on the basis of their singles
ranking are bringing the top names back to the foursomes.
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