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| July 16, 2003 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424 |
Mirnyi ‘The Beast’ crushes Lopez
STUTTGART (Germany), July 15: Max “The Beast” Mirnyi eased past Spanish qualifier Marc Lopez 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday to book the first spot in the third round of the 765,000-euros Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
The 13th-seeded Mirnyi ensured Spain of two defeats on the day as Lopez joined compatriot David Sanchez as a loser at the Weissenhof club.
Italy’s fast-rising Filippo Volandri, 60th in the world, nudged his season mark into positive territory as he took his 11th win against ten defeats, doing it with a 6-0, 3-0 result when Sanchez retired hurt.
Sanchez had not been able to play his quarter-final last week in Gstaad, handing Wimbledon champion Roger Federer a trip into the semis at the Swiss Open.
Volandri next faces France’s fourth-seeded Wimbledon semi-finalist Sebastien Grosjean.
“I could tell he wasn’t moving well,” said the winner. “He was trying, but he just couldn’t run.”
Swiss Michel Kratochvil suffered with a knee as well, winning the first set, but failing to hold as Belgian Olivier Rochus defeated the world number 149 with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 result.
Kratochvil underwent April knee surgery and said he felt twinges as he played two matches last Thursday in Gstaad. He will now have an x-ray in Stuttgart as doctors suspect he may have inflamed scar tissue.
Last week’s champion in Bastad, Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, crashed at the first hurdle as he went out in the first round to Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Teenager Rafael Nadal from Mallorca joined the Iberian party, putting out a 16-year old to advance.
Nadal, only recently turned 17, defeated local qualifier Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 6-1 and likes his chances in Germany.
“I reached the final of a Challenger in Hamburg in February and had a great masters in Hamburg,” said the world number 58. For the moment, Germany is fine, I like playing here.”
Nadal achieved the first ATP semi-final of his career last week in Sweden after announcing himself with a win over former then-reigning French Open champion Albert Costa at Monte Carlo.
Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti beat Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-2.
Results: (Second round): Feliciano Lopez (Spain) b Felix Mantilla (Spain) 1-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7); Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) 7-5 6-3; Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt Olivier Mutis (France) 6-0 7-6 (7-3); Max Mirnyi (Belarus) bt Marc Lopez (Spain) 6-4 6-3
First round: Lars Burgsmueller (Germany) bt Magnus Norman (Sweden) 6-4 7-5; David Ferrer (Spain) bt Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4; Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt Philipp Petzschner (Germany) 7-5 6-1; Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador) bt Stefan Koubek (Austria) 6-4 6-2; Olivier Rochus (Belgium) bt Michel Kratochvil (Switzerland) 3-6 6-2 6-3; Filippo Volandri (Italy) bt David Sanchez (Spain) 6-0 3-0 (Sanchez withdrew due to injury).—dpa/Reuters
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