Blake Falls in First Round
Blake Falls in First Round
The American, who reached the final last year, fell in three sets.
American seeds James Blake, Mardy Fish and Brian Vahaly were all victims
of upsets Tuesday at the Miller Lite Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in
Newport. The top seeded Blake fell to Gregory Carraz of France 7-6(4), 5-7,
6-4. Blake reached the final last year, and had hoped to go one victory
further this year. No. 3 seed Fish's defeat at the hands of
Serbia's Dusan Vemic, a qualifier, also was surprising, considering the
American reached the final of Nottingham and the third round of Wimbledon, both
on grass. Vahaly, the No. 6 seed, didn't fare any better against Ivan Miranda
of Peru, falling 7-6(6), 6-3.
Defending champion Taylor Dent another young American hopeful withdrew
from the tournament due to a pinched nerve in his right hand. Dent was replaced
by Lucky Loser Jeff Salzenstein, a fellow American. "I won my first ATP title
here last year so it is very disappointing not to be able to play in the
tournament," Dent said. "The fans here in Newport are always very supportive.
After winning last year, I'm really going to miss it."
Salzenstein seized the opportunity by rolling over George Bastl of
Switzerland 6-1, 6-3. Bastl who has plenty of grass court credibility because
of his five set victory over Sampras at last year's Wimbledon never came close
against Salzenstein, a former NCAA singles champion.
Australian journeyman Scott Draper got a break when his opponent No. 5
seed, Raemon Sluiter of The Netherlands retired due to illness as Draper was
leading 6-3, 3-2. He will face frenchman Cyril Saulnier who was an easy winner
over Switzerland's Ivo Heuberger 6-3, 6-1. Three other Americans were able to
survive the first round. Wild card American Bob Bryan continued to show that
he can be as much of a threat in singles as he poses in doubles with his twin
brother Mike. He defeated the Jamaican qualifier Dustin Brown in three sets
6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4. Alex Kim cruised past Japan's Thomas Shimada in straight
sets 7-5, 6-3, and Zack Fleishman bested Sweden's Joachim Johansson 6-3, 6-4.
In the doubles draw, top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan have withdrawn due to
an injury. Mike Bryan pulled his oblique muscle.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Fish:
About running into the net post with his knee at the end of the first set
"I was lucky not to injure it any worse than I did. I thought I was done...
I just laid there and it started to feel better. I've been lucky not to have
too many injuries throughout my career."
On the match:
"It was not one of the best matches I've played. I was fighting as hard as I
could. He was hitting the right shots at the right time. I've never seen him
play and he played very well."
Vemic:"I didn't have as much pressure as him, I gave it my best.
He was up5-3, the next thing I knew, I broke him, then we're even. I played
more aggressive in the tie-break."
"I've been working with Dennis Ralston for three months, I have to thank him.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning. This match gives me more confidence.
I'll just keep playing hard."
Blake:
"It was tough to get into a rhythm. He has a pretty big serve. He put balls
in the court when he needed to, on the big points."
"This is very disappointing. I fought the whole match. I gave it my all out
there. It's frustrating when you're close to home and the number one seed,
you want to do well."
Carraz:"It was very good to win. It's not the first time I've
been in that position, playing a big match. I don't know how it happened,
but it's good."
"It's the first time I've beaten a top seed It's easy to make it a good match
when you're the underdog, but it's not always easy to win. This time, I won."
--
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※ 編輯: andalucia 來自: 218.162.51.193 (07/09 20:25)
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