[ATP的好標題] Russian Rises in Rome

看板ALL-RUSSIANS作者esnique (小鱷)時間22年前 (2003/05/09 06:48)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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TELECOM ITALIA MASTERS ROMA, MAY 8, 2003 Kafelnikov Chases Elusive Title Russian closes on first Tennis Masters Series crown Unseeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov produced one of the biggest upsets of the clay court season when he stunned third seed Carlos Moya 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Telecom Italia Masters in Rome Thursday. Kafelnikov has reached five Tennis Masters Series finals (most recently in Paris, 2001) but is yet to claim a singles title at this level. The Russian, who last year endured a horror 4-12 record on clay, is now 9-5 on the surface this season and 19-13 on the year. Kafelnikov has only once reached a clay court Tennis Masters Series final - at Hamburg in 1994. This is Kafelnikov's first sortie beyond the third round in 10 appearances in Rome. He has not reached a clay court Tennis Masters Series quarterfinal since Hamburg in 1997. Kafelnikov and the other three top-half quarterfinalists are all unseeded, ensuring that at least one finalist on Sunday will be unseeded. No unseeded player has won the tournament in the Open era (since 1968).th, is now 20-1 on the clay season. The other top-half seeds to fall Thursday were Roland Garros champion Albert Costa (7) and Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo finalist Guillermo Coria (15). Costa, who lost in the second round of Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo, was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 by fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla. Mantilla, who has not topped 26 match wins a season for the past three years, is now 18-10 on the year. Coria, who is now 21-9 on the year, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who has not dropped a set in three matches this week. Ljubicic is attempting to win through to his first Tennis Masters Series semifinal and next plays Mantilla. Fourth seed Roger Federer improved to 8-0 on the clay court season with a ruthless 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Spaniard Tommy Robredo. Federer is on a 10-match winning streak and is an ATP-best 34-6 on the season. The Swiss is within reach of a second Tennis Masters Series clay court title, having won in Hamburg last yet Gaston Gaudio 5-7, 6-0, 6-2. Ferrero, who won his third Tennis Masters Series clay court title in Monte-Carlo last monar. Federer next meets Italian wild card Filippo Volandri, who defeated Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4. Volandri, the 100th-ranked Italian, also reached the quarterfinals of Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo and will now replace No. 87 Davide Sanguinetti as the top-ranked Italian next week. Volandri also reached the round of 16 in Barcelona and now has an 8-5 record on the season (all on clay). Prior to the 2003 season, he had a career record of 2-5 in ATP tournaments with a career-high ranking of No. 120 on July 23, 2001. Rainer Schuettler, who went a modest 6-7 on clay last year, advanced to his first clay court Tennis Masters Series quarterfinal with a 6-4, 7-6(2) win over Jiri Novak. Schuettler also reached the quarterfinals in Munich last week. Schuettler will now meet second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, won rallied strongly to beat Gaston Gaudio 5-7, 6-0, 6-2. Ferrero, who won his third Tennis Masters Series clay court title in Monte-Carlo last month, is now 20-1 on the clay season. WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID Kafelnikov: "Sometimes I even impress myself. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know that I was gonna come out and beat Moya today. That was unexpected. It's been a long time since I felt that excited. I'm as happy as I was once in '96 when I won the French Open, to be honest. I'm 29 years old. It feels like one chapter of my career is behind me and perhaps there is a new one near to come." Volandri: "It was the biggest emotion I have felt since I've been playing tennis. I had already reached the quarterfinals in Monte?Carlo, but it's better being in a quarterfinal here in Rome, in front of your public. It's something very special." Ljubicic: "My father's three brothers and their families live in Rome, so there are always a lot of people cheering for me here." Federer: "Who expected this, to beat Tommy Robredo 1 and 1 on clay? Yeah, I'm very, very pleased. The match went well from the start. I felt good on the returns, tried to keep the rallies short on my own service games. It worked perfectly so I didn't have to change anything. I had the perfect game plan and I'm very happy. Since Miami, I haven't lost a set in Davis Cup, Munich and here now. I'm surprising myself every time I win so easy. It's really strange to me." Schuettler (who is battling the 'flu): "On the court I feel okay, but now when I stop playing I feel very tired, and I think I'll go straight to bed again. So, hopefully, tomorrow I feel better. But on the court it's okay. I feel weak, but what can I do? The only chance is that I keep fighting줠so far it works. It looks like a 'flu I hope it's not SARS." 應該不會是SARS吧！（若是就慘了哩！@.@|||）祝早日康復，要多保重身體啊各位。 Moya: "I don't know what's wrong with me when I play here in Rome because I like the conditions, I like the tournament; I really like everything here. For whatever reason, I haven't been able to play my best. This is my eighth year and I just got to the quarters once. So I think it is not normal." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 61.230.97.78