October 8, 2003	Wednesday	Sha’aban 11, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

FILDERSTADT (Germany), Oct 7: Daniela Hantuchova defeated American qualifier Lisa Raymond 6-3 6-4 at the Filderstadt Grand Prix on Tuesday to set up a second round showdown with top seed and defending champion Kim Clijsters.

The world number 13 from Slovakia managed to raise her level of play against the doubles specialist when it counted, including staving off two break points at 3-3 in the first set, and clinched victory with a single break of serve in each set.

Mary Pierce booked a meeting with fourth seed Jennifer Capriati in the next round after overwhelming Zimbabwean qualifier Cara Black 6-2 6-0.

LOPEZ UPSETS Novak

VIENNA: Third seed Jiri Novak was sent packing from the first round of the indoor CA Trophy on Tuesday with a 6-4 7-6 loss to unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

Czech Novak, a finalist here last year, failed to come to grips with the 22-year-old’s serve and let rip too many unforced errors.

Novak elbowed his way back into the match in the second set, breaking Lopez’s serve in the 10th game to even the score.

But the Spaniard refused to buckle, forced a tiebreak and relinquished only three points in the decider to seal victory over a wilting Novak.

Fifth seed Agustin Calleri enjoyed an easy passage into the second round, clinching a 6-4 6-2 win over Mariano Zabaleta in an all-Argentine battle.

The two have played each other three times this year and Calleri has emerged victorious on each occasion.

First round results: Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt David Ferrer (Spain) 6-2 6-2; Feliciano Lopez (Spain) b Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) 6-4 7-6 (7-3); Agustin Calleri (Argentina) bt Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) 6-4 6-2.—Agencies