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| June 24, 2005 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 16, 1426 |
French champion Nadal, local hero Henman flop
LONDON, June 23: French Open champion Rafael Nadal’s lack of familiarity with the slick Wimbledon grass caught up with him on Thursday in a demoralising second-round defeat by a debutant from Luxembourg.
Sixth seed Tim Henman had no such excuse.
The 30-year-old Briton, four-times a losing semifinalist, was beaten 3-6 6-2 3-6 6-3 8-6 by Russian Dmitry Tursunov on Centre Court to end his increasingly forlorn hope of becoming Britain’s first men’s champion since 1936.
Women’s defending champion Maria Sharapova overwhelmed Bulgarian 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva 6-0 6-1 while another teenager, France’s Richard Gasquet, also swept through to the third round.
Nadal’s claycourt expertise counted for little on a slick Court One against Gilles Muller, the world number 69, who only won his first round match after opponent Felix Mantilla retired injured.
Slipping and sliding on the unfamiliar grass, the flamboyant 19-year-old succumbed 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Henman had to recover from two sets down to win his first round match, an indication that he was nowhere near peak form for his biggest tournament of the year.
On Thursday 22-year-old Tursunov, ranked 152, proved a calm and resilient opponent who admirably kept his head after squandering several match points and despite having few supporters in a raucous Centre Court crowd.
White-hot Russian Sharapovaturned Karatantcheva’s day in the sun into a nightmare that she will want quickly to forget with a ruthless display of baselining.
The chastened Bulgarian’s sole consolation was that by winning the 10th game she avoided suffering the tournament’s first whitewash.
The two are not exactly the best of friends and Sharapova had little sympathy for her humiliated opponent.
“I just played great tennis today,” said the 18-year-old.
“It’s hard to feel sorry for your opponents. Unfortunately, this is an individual sport.”
Gasquet, who won the pre-Wimbledon grasscourt tournament in Nottingham, will face Nadal’s conqueror Muller in round three after beating Belgian qualifier Gilles Elseneer 7-6 7-6 6-7 6-2.
The Beziers-born slugger is loathe to raise any false hopes of winning his first grand slam, however.
An old-timer by comparison, 25-year-old twice former champion Venus Williams moved serenely through to third round with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Australian Nicole Pratt.
Venus, the 14th seed, is still on course for a fourth round showdown with younger sister Serena, who was playing Italian qualifier Mara Santangelo later on Thursday.
Men’s second seed Andy Roddick was due to play Daniele Bracciali of Italy in the last match on Centre Court.
Spain’s 1994 champion Conchita Martinez showed she is still going strong at 33 with a 6-2 6-3 win over Kristina Brandi of Puerto Rico.
Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou, the first-round conqueror of French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, made light work of American Laura Granville, winning 6-2 6-0.
However British interest in the women’s singles ended with the 6-2 6-1 defeat of Jane O’Donoghue by French 16th seed Nathalie Dechy.
Later Andrew Murray outclassed 14th seed Radek Stepanek, beating the Czech 6-4 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round.
The 18-year-old British wildcard is now the last home player standing after four-times semifinalist Tim Henman’s shock defeat by Russia’s Dmitry Tursonov.
Murray, ranked 312 in the world and taking part in his first grand slam tournament, played fearless tennis as he built a two-set lead in front of a partisan crowd on a sunlit Court One.
Results:
Men’s singles (second round): Thomas Johansson (Sweden) bt Andrei Pavel (Romania) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 7-6(4); Sebastien Grosjean (France) bt Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-3 6-4 6-2; Andrew Murray (Britain) bt Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-4 6-4; Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4; Alexander Popp (Germany) bt Wayne Arthurs (Australia) 6-3 6-7(4) 3-6 7-6(4) 14-12; Juergen Melzer (Austria) bt Alex Calatrava (Spain) 6-4 6-4 6-1; Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) bt Rafael Nadal (Spain) 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4; Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) bt Tim Henman (Britain) 3-6 6-2 3-6 6-3 8-6; Max Mirnyi (Belarus) bt Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 7-6(4) 6-2 7-6(3); Richard Gasquet (France) bt Gilles Elseneer (Belgium) 7-6(7) 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 6-2; Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) bt Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-1 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3; Igor Andreev (Russia) bt Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-3
WOMEN’S singles: Mary Pierce (France) bt Julia Vakulenko (Ukraine) 4-6 7-6(7) 9-7; Serena Williams (United States) bt Mara Santangelo (Italy) 2-6 6-3 6-2; 19-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia and Montenegro) bt Stephanie Foretz (France) 6-4 6-3; Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) bt Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 1-6 6-4 6-3; Nadia Petrova (Russia) bt Severine Beltrame (France) 6-1 6-2; Flavia Pennetta (Italy) bt Gisela Dulko (Argentina) 6-2 6-4; Conchita Martinez (Spain) bt Kristina Brandi (Puerto Rico) 6-2 6-3; Cara Black (Zimbabwe) bt Virginie Razzano (France) 6-4 7-6(5); Alyona Bondarenko (Ukraine) bt Tatiana Panova (Russia) 6-3 2-6 6-3; Venus Williams (United States) bt Nicole Pratt (Australia) 7-5 6-3; Jill Craybas (United States) bt Marion Bartoli (France) 6-1 6-4; Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Sesil Karatantcheva (Bulgaria) 6-0 6-1; Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) bt Shahar Peer (Israel) 6-2 2-6 6-3; Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) bt Yoon Jeong Cho (South Korea) 7-5 6-4; 16-Nathalie Dechy (France) bt Jane O’Donoghue (Britain) 6-2 6-1; Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) bt Laura Granville (United States) 6-2 6-0.—Reuters
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