Mathieu, Corretja and Monfils Thorugh the Quarterfinals
Mathieu, Corretja and Monfils Thorugh the Quarterfinals
OPEN DE MOSELLE
Metz, France
October 14, 2004
One day after earning his career-first ATP match over No. 2 seed Malisse,
wild card Gael Monfils claimed his second consecutive victory over fellow
countryman Olivier Patience 6-4, 6-4. With the win, Monfils moves into the
quarterfinals and will face former No.1 junior in the world Richard Gasquet.
Former No. 2 in the world and champion of the World Championships in 1998,
Alex Corretja overcame local-favorite Gregory Carraz 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in two
hours, 38 minutes. The Spaniard recovered from a one-set to none deficit
and saved a total of 10 out of 13 break points to come up with the victory.
With the win, the 30-year-old Spaniard improves to 10-17 and enters his first
quarterfinal of the year. He will face the winner of Julien Beneteau and Jeff
Morrison.
Paul-Henri Mathieu advanced to his third quarterfinal of the year by
defeating countryman qualifier Florent Serra 7-6(5), 6-1. After a very
close first set, Mathieu was able to impose his game and roll though the
second set. The win puts Mathieu at 8-8 with a chance to advance to the
semifinals of an ATP tournament for the first time in 2004.
In the last match of the day, Jim Morrison stopped the hopes of matching
the highest number of Frenchman in the quarterfinals (6 in Bourdeaux '91)
with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win over no. 6 seed Julien Benneteau.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Corretja: "A very tough match today, very intense. I had never played against
him, he is a tough player on these kind of surfaces as he serves and comes in
on every point . I saved a lot of break points and took my chance when I
could.”
"For my next match, it doesn't matter who I play, I am looking more at
myself, and try to feel as good as I've been feeling these days on the
court. I just won two very tight matches that gave me a lot of confidence,
and hopefully I can keep going."
Monfils: "I am happy about the result. I played well and was relaxed."
"I played against Richard [Gasquet] when we thirteen years old I think.
He defeated me. I'm not take this match as a special one. It is just
another match. The first one of a long serie maybe, but I don't know,
and I don't think about it."
Mathieu: "It is not easy to play against a friend. The first set was really
tight, but once I won it everything went rolling."
"Ivan Ljubicic is a difficult opponent. He is the No. 1 seed here, he serves
and plays very well. I am looking forward this next match, it should be
interesting."
FRIDAY PREVIEW
Defending champion Arnaud Clement will try to remain with a perfect record
in this tournament when he faces qualifier Jerome Haehnel for a spot in the
semifinals. Clement comes off straight-set victories over No. 8 seed Muller
and countryman Olivier Mutis. In 2004, Clement has reached the semifinals in
Marseille (l. to Soderling) and the quarterfinals in Sydney (l. to Hewitt);
Halle (l. to Federer), and 's-Hertogenbosch (l. to Coria). Currently at
17-21, Clement looks to end the year on a high note and close in his fourth
consecutive year with at least 30 wins.
After winning three matches in the qualifying, Haehnel comes off straight-set
wins over No. 3 seed Jose Acasuso and qualifier Marc Gicquel to reach his
first ATP quarterfinal. Haehnel has played mainly at the future and
challenger level with success by reaching the finals in Germany F2 and
France F3 futures as well as Lugano (l. to Calatrava). In one of his only
two appearances in tournaments other than futures and challengers, the
24-year-old Frenchman posted a big upset over No. 9 seed Andre Agassi
in the first round of Roland Garros.
In an excitement-promising battle of French hopes, the 2002 No.1 junior
in the world Richard Gasquet (18 years, 4 months) will play this year's
No. 1 junior Gael Monfils (18 years, 2 months) for a place in the semifinals.
Gasquet, who has never lost to a player younger than him, won their last
encounter in the quarterfinals of the 16-under French Championships in
2001.
Gasquet, who entered as a wild card, comes off an upset victory over
Dennis van Scheppingen in the first round and Antony Dupuis in the second
round and will try to reach the semifinals of an ATP event for the second
time this year. In the clay courts of Buenos Aires, Gasquet posted wins
over Verdasco, Calleri and Massu before losing to Coria in the semifinals.
Currently 109th in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race, Gasquet is 11-14 in 2004 (only
0-2 in 2003) and will look to improve his 2003 ranking (93rd). Gasquet lost
in the first round in this tournament last year.
Monfils looks to continue his impressive debut the ATP circuit after getting
through No. 2 seed Malisse in the first round (when the Belgian retired) and
Patience in the second round. Monfils has had one of the most accomplished
juniors careers in recent years with an impressive 31-2 record this season.
He is one of only four players to have won at least three junior Grand Slam
titles (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon) in a year and the first
since Stefan Edberg won all four in 1983. Standing at 6'4 (1.93 cms), he is
guaranteed the year-end No. 1 ranking and the title of ITF Junior Boys' World
Champion in 2004. He has also had success at the future level by winning
Great Britain F1 title and reaching the final at France F4 at the future
level. He recently started working with former ATP player Thierry
Champion.
No. 1 seed Ivan Ljubicic takes a 1-0 lead in his quarterfinal match against
Paul Henri Mathieu. In the first round of last year's US Open, Ljubicic won
6-4, 6-2, 7-5. R anked No.26 in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race, the 25-year-old
Croatian has a 30-20 record in 2004, having reached the final in Doha (l.
to Nicolas Escude) and semifinals in Newport (l. to Andy Roddick) and
Hamburg (l. Guillermo Coria). With Wednesday's win over Sluiter, Ljubicic
reached 30 wins in one season for the first time in his career after falling
short (29) for the past three consecutive years.
Bouncing back from an injury earlier this year, 22 year-old Mathieu will
try to advance to his first semifinal of the season. He has reached the
quarterfinals in Washington (l. Agassi) and Bucharest (l. to Acasuso).
He is currently 8-8 this year and ranks 130th in the INDESIT ATP 2004
RACE. Mathieu had played in only seven ATP events coming into Metz, due
to a wrist injury, which forced him out for seven months. He posted an
impressive five-set victory over Carlos Moya to give France a 1-0 lead
in the Davis Cup semifinals played two weeks ago in Alicante, Spain.
Alex Corretja will play Jim Morrison in the only match without a Frenchman
involved. It is the first time they meet in their carrer. Corretja is in
his first quarterfinal of the season and his best previous performance
this season came in Indian Wells (l. to Henman in 3 rd round). He is
ranked No. 96 in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race with a 10-17 record.
Morrison is in third quarterfinal of the year and will try to reach the
semifinals for the second time. He has reached the semifinals in Los
Angeles (l. to Kiefer) and the quarterfinals in Newport (l. to Rusedski).
Morrison is 12-11 this year and ranks No. 101 in the INDESIT ATP 2004
Race.
--
(脫)
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.112.234.152
FRA_hotties 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
