http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/2004/doha_wednesday.asp
DOHA-QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN
JANUARY 7, 2004
Bjorkman Stuns Roddick; Koubek Loses Crown
Jonas Bjorkman caused the biggest of the year so far with a straight sets
victory over top seed and 2003 World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the second round
of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Bjorkman's 6-3, 6-4 victory over the American sealed his place in the
quarterfinals in Doha for the first time in five attempts. The Swede served
eight aces to Roddick's six and broke the American once in each set before
serving out to love to clinch victory in 1 hour, 10 minutes.
Bjorkman now meets eighth seed Agustin Calleri, the Argentine who came back
from a set down to defeat Hicham Arazi 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals.
Defending champion Stefan Koubek also went out on day three, going down 6-4,
6-4 at the hands of an inspired Hyung-Taik Lee. The South Korean, who captured
his first ATP title in Sydney in January 2003, now meets Frenchman Nicolas
Escude, who continued his return to action after injury with a 6-3, 6-2
victory over Switzerland's Ivo Heuberger.
Escude's countryman Sebastien Grosjean, the No. 4 seed, also progressed to the
quarterfinals with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 victory over Czech qualifier Bohdan
Ulihrach and now meets Ivan Ljubicic, a straight sets winner against Swedish
teenager Robin Soderling.
Meanwhile, two-time finalist Tim Henman stretched his winning streak to eight
with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Juan Ignacio Chela to level their head-to-head
series at 2-2. The Briton, who won the BNP Paribas Masters in his last
tournament outing in Paris in October 2003, now meets Armenian Sargis
Sargsian for a place in his third Doha semifinal.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Grosjean: "I played very well in the beginning. I felt really comfortable after
breaking him in the second game. I'm happy with my game during the whole match
."
Escude: "Now [after the second match] I feel more relaxed. I was a little bit
nervous in the beginning, I didn't move that well. I know I can serve like I
want now, I won my serve easily today."
Bjorkman: "I think I played very good today. It's always nice to beat the No. 1
in the world, that gives me a lot of confidence. I woke up feeling I could
beat him. This is one of my biggest wins, especially after what Roddick
accomplished last year.
"It's always tough to play the No. 1 in the world. I played him twice last year
and lost. I think I learned how to play him. I've been struggling with his
serve, today I stayed a bit further back. I was a little bit more patient and
I tried to work his backhand. I think the key was that I served very well and
got many free points. You need that against the No. 1 in the world."
Roddick: "Everybody is going to have off days, it's going to happen. He played
well and I don't think I served that well today. I was also missing a lot of
forehands. I wasn't seeing the ball that well."
Henman: "To win 6-3, 6-4 without dropping my serve is great. It's much harder
to play in these types of conditions.
"I have good memories from previous years here. I would obviously love to win
this tournament."
Ljubicic: "I was surprised to win the first set very quickly. I broke him in
the first game of the second set and I then focused on holding my serve. It
looked like he was coming back into the match. I'm happy to finish the match
in two sets."
Koubek: "I think I played good but he played sensational. I don't think he can
play like that every day. I'm not happy to lose in the second round being the
defending champion but at least I played well."
QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW
Quarterfinal action begins on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, wi
th fourth seed Sebastien Grosjean and two-time finalist Tim Henman among those
taking to Centre Court.
Opening proceedings will be Frenchman Nicolas Escude and Hyung-Taik Lee of Sout
h Korea. Escude, playing in his first tournament since retiring from his second
round match at Wimbledon against Juan Carlos Ferrero, is yet to drop a set thi
s week with victories over sixth seed Younes El Aynaoui and Swiss qualifier Ivo
Heuberger. Lee, a winner in Sydney last year, defeated defending champion Stef
an Koubek to reach his first quarterfinal since Tokyo in October 2003. Escude w
on their only previous meeting in the 2001 US Open.
Grosjean will follow his countryman Escude onto Centre Court where he faces Iva
n Ljubicic for a place in the semifinals. Grosjean, a finalist at Queen's and T
okyo in 2003, is making his first appearance in Doha. He has won both of his pr
evious meetings against Ljubicic, although this is their first encounter since
Marseille three years ago.
Henman, the No. 7 seed making his fourth appearance in Doha, will be hoping to
extend his winning streak to nine with a third win over Sargis Sargsian in four
meetings. Henman, a finalist in Doha in 1997 and '99, defeated the Armenian tw
o years running on the grass courts at Queen's Club in London in 1998 and '99,
although Sargsian won their first meeting at Roland Garros in '98 when Henman r
etired in the first set. Sargsian is making his second appearance in Doha, havi
ng lost in the first round 12 months ago to Franco Squillari.
In the remaining quarterfinal match, Jonas Bjorkman will be hoping to continue
the form that helped him defeat top seed Andy Roddick in the second round as he
takes on eighth seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina. Bjorkman is playing in his
first Doha quarterfinal since making his first appearance in 1994, while Caller
i is making his debut in the tournament this week.
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這邊好像更緊張刺激@_@
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◆ From: 61.62.37.31
※ 編輯: JCFerrero 來自: 61.62.37.31 (01/08 16:26)
※ 編輯: JCFerrero 來自: 61.62.37.31 (01/08 16:27)