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| June 9, 2005 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 1, 1426 |
Nadal crashes out in first round
BERLIN, June 8: Newly-crowned French Open champion Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of the Halle Open to Germany’s Alexander Waske on Wednesday as the Spanish teenager made an unhappy transition from clay to grass. Nadal, who arrived in Germany on Monday evening and had only one day to prepare for the match, fell to the local favourite 4-6 7-5 6-3.
It was the 19-year-old’s first defeat in 26 matches and he said the contest had been a vastly different experience to his triumph on the clay at Roland Garros.
Nadal decided not to play doubles at Halle where he would have faced Waske again later on Wednesday and said he was heading home for a rest.
Results:
Men’s singles (second round)
Marat Safin (Russia) bt Fabrice Santoro (France) 3-6 7-6(7) 3-2 RET; Olivier Rochus (Belgium) bt 8-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6(2) 6-3
First round: Alexander Waske (Germany) bt 3-Rafael Nadal (Spain) 4-6 7-5 6-3
Roddick wins
LONDON: Andy Roddick began his quest to win a hat trick of Stella Artois titles by outclassing Australian wildcard Mark Philippoussis 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round on Wednesday.
The match was expected to be a fierce battle of wills between the two men who have finished runner-up to Swiss Roger Federer at Wimbledon over the past two years.
But Roddick, whose only two defeats on the fast surface since 2003 have been by Federer, proved to be in a different league.
Philippoussis kept pace with the American until 2-2 when second seed Roddick left him flat-footed behind the baseline with a series of scorching serves and stinging returns to win four games on the trot and the first set in 24 minutes.
The Australian, winner here in 1997 but needing an invite to play this year because his ranking has slipped to 189th in the world, tried to make it a contest in the second set by toning down his erratic range of shots.
The move only delayed the inevitable. Roddick followed up a break that gave him a 4-3 lead by unleashing a 151 mph delivery, his eighth ace, in the next game.
Philippoussis, clearly lacking match practice after three months on the sidelines with an ankle injury, bowed out after 57 minutes when he tamely stroked a backhand wide on the American’s second match point.
Results Men’s singles (second round): Andy Roddick (United States) bt Mark Philippoussis (Australia) 6-2 6-4; Mario Ancic (Croatia) bt Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-4; Richard Gasquet (France) bt Jamie Delgado (Britain) 6-4 6-1; James Blake (United States) bt Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-2 6-4; Max Mirnyi (Belarus) bt Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) 6-4 6-3; Chris Guccione (Australia) bt 13-Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-4 6-4; Thomas Johansson (Sweden) bt Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5
Golovin through
BIRMINGHAM: Australian second seed Alicia Molik stumbled to a 6-4 6-2 defeat by Laura Granville of the United States in the second round of the pre-Wimbledon Edgbaston grasscourt tournament on Wednesday.
Molik, who has missed the last eight weeks on the WTA tour with an ear infection, failed to impose herself against an opponent ranked 100th in the world.
Fifth seed Tatiana Golovin of France remains on course for a semi-final meeting with top seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova after coming through her second round match unscathed.
Women’s singles (second round): Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) bt 10-Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-2; Rika Fujiwara (Japan) bt 17-Maria Vento-Kabchi (Venezuela) 6-2 6-2; Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt Evie Dominikovic (Australia) 6-1 1-6 7-6(2); Ai Sugiyama (Japan) bt Nicole Pratt (Australia) 7-5 6-4; Laura Granville (United States) bt Alicia Molik (Australia) 6-4 6-2; Tatiana Golovin (France) bt Natalie Grandin (South Africa) 6-4 7-5; Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) bt Meilen Tu (United States) 6-1 4-6 6-1; Stephanie Foretz (France) bt Akiko Morigami (Japan) 7-5 6-3; Jamea Jackson (United States) bt Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 6-2 6-3.—Agencies
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