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| October 6, 2001 | Saturday | Rajab 18, 1422 |
Kafelnikov advances into quarterfinal
MOSCOW, Oct 5: Top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia was made to fight for his quarter final spot in the one-million-dollar Kremlin Cup ATP tournament during a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) eventual win over David Nalbandian Thursday.
The 27-year-old Russian, the defending champion here, looked in command in the opening set breaking the 19-year-old Argentine’s serve to take the first set in 26 minutes.
Nalbandian broke early in the second, earning a 2-0 lead but Kafelnikov levelled immediately, winning the set and the match in a tie-breaker.
Marat Safin, who was seeded second here, failed to join his compatriot in the quarters after 23-year-old Slovak Dominik Hrbaty grabbed a 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory.
Hrbaty ousted the home crowd’s favourite in the opening set in 22 minutes.
In the second set Safin, US Open semi-finalist this year, tightened his grip on the game to win 6-4.
The rivals exchanged breaks throughout the deciding set, forcing a tie break. There, Hrbaty imposed near-flawless precision in decisive moments to force his rival out.
Fourth seed Tommy Haas of Germany earned his quarter-final ticket winning his sixth match in eight head-to-head meetings with Swede Thomas Enquist in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Marc Rosset of Switzerland, the only player to have participated in all 12 Kremlin Cups, beat French sixth seed Fabrice Santoro in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
France was left rueing another early exit when women’s second seed Amelie Mauresmo led Thurday’s exodus of seeded players in the 1,185,000-dollar WTA section of the event after going down to Daja Bedanova 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4.
Mauresmo, who is ranked sixth in the world, started the match with an immediate break earning a 2-0 lead. But her 18-year-old Czech rival pulled her game together to win six straight games and take the opening set 6-2 in 31 minutes.
In the second set Bedanova took the initiative, breaking her opponent’s serve in the seventh game. But Mauresmo, 22, broke back level to force a tie-break, which she won to pull level at 1-1.
Belgian 19-year-old Justine Henin, seeded three, also failed to escape an early exit on her debut appearance, suffering her first defeat in her third head-to-head meeting with Austria’s Barbara Schett 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.
Thursday’s results (x denotes seed):
Men:
Second round: Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt Marat Safin (Rus x2) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5); Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus x1) bt David Nalbandian (Arg) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Marc Rosset (Swi) bt Fabrice Santoro (Fra x6) 6-2, 6-4; Jiri Novak (Cze) bt Guillermo Canas (Arg x7) 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/1); Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Jerome Golmard (Fra) 6-4, 6-3; Tommy Haas (Ger x4) bt Thomas Enqvist (Swe) 7-5, 6-2
Women:
Second round: Elena Dementieva (Rus x8) bt Alexandra Stevenson (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; Daja Bedanova (Cze) bt Amelie Mauresmo (Fra x2) 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4; Jelena Dokic (Yug x5) bt Galina Fokina (Rus) 6-4, 6-3; Anastasia Myskina (Rus) bt Magdalena Maleeva (Bul x7) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Barbara Schett (Aut) bt Justine Henin (Bel x3) 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-2; Silvia Farina Elia (Ita x6) bt Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzb) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5).
TOKYO: Reigning US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt continued his winning streak since Flushing Meadow by beating Francisco Clavet to secure a semi-final berth at the Japan Open on Friday.
The world number three will take on the American James Blake — surprise conqueror of former world number one Marcelo Rios — while Michel Kratochvil is to play Slovakian Karel Kucera after his victory over reigning champion Sjeng Schalken.
Hewitt, who also helped Australia qualify for the Davis Cup finals two weeks ago, overcame the loss of the first set to record a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over the eighth-seeded Spaniard.
After squandering a 2-0 lead to go one set down, the world number three survived a tight second set. The crucial point came in the ninth game when the Spaniard was forced into a backhand error at 30-40.
Friday’s results (x denotes seeds):
Men’s singles
Quarterfinals: James Blake (USA) bt Marcelo Rios (Chi x7) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Lleyton Hewitt (Aus x1) bt Francisco Clavet (Spa x8) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Karol Kucera (Svk) bt Takao Suzuki (Jpn) 6-3, 6-3; Sjeng Schalken (Ned x2) vs Michel Kratochvil (Swi x5)
Women’s singles
Quarterfinals: Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha x2) bt Saori Obata (Jpn) 6-0, 6-2; Joannette Kruger (Rsa x8) bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Swi) 0-6, 6-4, 6-1
Women’s singles
Semifinals: Monica Seles (USA x1) bt Ai Sugiyama (Jpn x3) 7-5, 6-4.—AFP
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