Теннис

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31 мая 2005

Турнир серии «Большого шлема»

ТЕННИС

ОТКРЫТЫЙ ЧЕМПИОНАТ ФРАНЦИИ «РОЛАН ГАРРОС»

Париж (Франция)

Открытые корты. Покрытие – грунт. Общий призовой фонд 13 549 125 евро. Прошлогодние победители: у мужчин в одиночном разряде – Гаудио (Аргентина), в парном – Малисс/О.Рохус (оба – Бельгия); у женщин в одиночном разряде – Мыскина (Россия), в парном – Руано-Паскуаль/Суарес (Испания/Аргентина).

Мужчины

Одиночный разряд

Четвертьфинал

Федерер (Швейцария, 1) – Ханеску (Румыния) – 6:2, 7:6, (7:3), 6:3. Надаль (4) – Феррер (20, оба – Испания) – 7:5, 6:2, 6:0.

Парный разряд

Четвертьфинал

Ноулз/Нестор (Багамы/Канада, 1) – Дамм/Худ (Чехия/Аргентина, 12) – 7:6 (7:2), 3:6, 6:1. Гонсалес/Массу (оба – Чили) – Кновле/Мельцер (оба – Австрия) – 5:7, 7:5, 6:4. Бьоркман/Мирный (Швеция/Белоруссия, 2) – Артурс/Хэнли (оба – Австралия, – 6:4, 7:6 (7:5).

Женщины

Одиночный разряд

Четвертьфинал

Лиховцева (Россия, 16) – Каратанчева (Болгария) – 2:6, 6:4, 6:4. Петрова (Россия, 7) – Иванович (Сербия и Черногория, 29) – 6:2, 6:2. Энен-Арденн (Бельгия, 10) – Шарапова (Россия, 2) – 6:4, 6:2. Пьерс (Франция, 21) – Дэвенпорт (США, 1) – 6:3, 6:2.

Парный разряд

Второй круг

Блэк/Хубер (Зимбабве/ЮАР, 2) – Линецкая/Воскобоева (обе – Россия) – 6:4, 6:1.

Юношеский турнир

Юноши

Одиночный разряд

Второй круг

Красноруцкий (Россия) – Бестер (Канада) – 3:6, 6:2, 6:2. Кириллов (Россия, 14) – Обама (Франция) – 6:0, 6:4.

Парный разряд

Первый круг

Левин/Шабаз (оба – США) – Кириллов/Красноруцкий (оба – Россия) – 4:6, 6:4, 6:3.

Девушки

Одиночный разряд

Первый круг

Клейбанова (Россия) – Коэн (США) – 4:6, 6:3, 7:5.

Второй круг

Макарова (Россия, 6) – Дутрелан (Франция) – 6:3, 6:2. Клейбанова (Россия) – Азаренка (Белоруссия, 2) – 7:6 (9:7), 4:6, 8:6. Родина (Россия) – Чан (Тайвань, 3) – 6:4, 6:3. Андрие (Франция) – Кудрявцева (Россия) – 6:1, 6:4.

Парный разряд

Первый круг

Павлюченкова/Шведова (обе – Россия) – Лукашевич/Макдауэлл (обе – Австралия) – 4:6, 6:2, 7:5.

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Puerta, Davydenko Battle into Semifinals

Unseeded Argentine Mariano Puerta and No. 12 seed Russian Nikolay Davydenko will meet in their first ever Grand Slam semifinal appearances after hard fought five-set victories at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Puerta pulled through against compatriot Guillermo Canas 6-2, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours, 35 minutes. Davydenko jumped to No. 3 in the INDESIT ATP Race after he defeated No. 15 seed Tommy Robredo.

On Friday, World No.1 Roger Federer and Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal will clash in the other semifinal after moving through in straight sets on Tuesday

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Four Focused on Final

After nine days of intense action, just four players remain in contention for the singles title at Roland Garros. Among the four is No.10 seed and 2003 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, who will put her 22-match winning streak on the line in Thursday's semifinals against No.7 Nadia Petrova.

For No.21 seed Mary Pierce, it's been five years since she captured the title in Paris and she hasn't been to a Grand Slam final since. She will look to end her championship holdout against No.16 Elena Likhovtseva.

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June 1, 2005

Roland Garros SF Profile: Elena Likhovtseva

PARIS - After 14 years as a professional, Elena Likhovtseva will be in the final four of a Grand Slam event for the first time when she faces Mary Pierce in the Roland Garros semifinals on Thursday. The 29-year-old Russian is currently contesting her 46th career Grand Slam, having previously reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in 2000 and Wimbledon in 2002.

Likhovtseva had never made it past the third round at Roland Garros, but has exceeded expectations by a long way this year, showing incredible tenacity and fight in making it all the way to the semifinals.

She began with a 26 64 64 first round win over 76th-ranked Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine, followed by a 61 76(3) win over 73rd-ranked Argentinian Mariana Diaz-Oliva, which was her only match of the tournament thus far to last less than two hours. In the third round, she defeated No.18 seed Silvia Farina Elia of Italy for the first time in over 10 years by a score of 75 76(2), reaching the round of 16 for the first time in her career. Once there, she kept her momentum going with a marathon 76(3) 57 75 upset of No.4 seed Elena Dementieva, her compatriot and a runner-up here last year, in just under three hours. She had another 26 64 64 win in the quarterfinals, this time over 98th-ranked Sesil Karatantcheva, a 15-year-old Bulgarian who had upset former world No.1 Venus Williams en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"I can't really tell when I turned it around," she said on her quarterfinal victory over the 2004 Roland Garros junior champion. "I think it got better in the second set. I started to run down more balls, and hit more balls over the net."

"It was ugly maybe, but I still won the match."

Despite several patches of erratic play, which have seen her hit exactly 100 more unforced errors than winners through the first five rounds, Likhovtseva has hung tough and played aggressively in every single one of her matches, approaching the net more times than any of the other three semifinalists.

On Thursday, Likhovtseva will face No.21 seed Mary Pierce, the 2000 winner here who is coming off a quarterfinal upset of world No.1 Lindsay Davenport. Likhovtseva has faced Pierce 10 times previously, with the Frenchwoman holding a 6-4 edge. In their most recent meeting, Pierce defeated Likhovtseva 62 62 in the second round of Berlin earlier this year, snapping a three-match losing streak to the Russian. Half of their meetings have gone to three sets, and they are even at 2-2 on clay.

"I have nothing to lose," said the Russian. "I've had some wins against Mary, though I lost against her last time, but I know how I'm going to play."

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June 1, 2005

Roland Garros SF Profile: Justine Henin-Hardenne

"That's the biggest difference from 2003. I feel very lucky I can play, and every shot I hit, it's just a great pleasure."

PARIS - For 23-year-old Justine Henin-Hardenne, the recent returns to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour winner's circle at Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin, and potentially another title at Roland Garros, hold greater meaning than her previous title runs or world No.1 status.

After looking virtually invincible late in 2003 and early on in 2004, Henin-Hardenne spent much of last year's final eight months battling the effects of cytomegalovirus. The Belgian returned to tennis in August, winning an Olympic Gold medal in Athens, but after a fourth round loss at the US Open, she decided to spend the rest of 2004 to recover from the viral illness. A right knee injury suffered during a practice session in late December delayed the start of her 2005 season before she finally took the court at Miami, where she won four matches before a three-set loss to Maria Sharapova in the quarters.

"I'm a little bit surprised the way I came back," she said on her run to the Miami quarterfinals, which included an impressive three-set win over Australian Alicia Molik, who was ranked No.8 at the time. "It was very quick. I was a little bit out of the rhythm, out of competition. Since that, I've played really well on clay."

Her incredible 22-match win streak since that loss has brought her the three aforementioned clay court titles, two of which were Tier I events, and also includes some scintillating battles in the first five rounds here in Paris.

In the first round, she survived a late surge by 45th-ranked Spanish veteran Conchita Martinez to win 60 46 64 in two hours and 16 minutes, followed by a much more comprehensive win in the second round over another Spanish veteran, advancing with a 61 64 win over 66th-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual. In the third round, she went the distance for a second time, emerging with a 46 62 63 victory over 34th-ranked Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain in two hours and 17 minutes.

In what was arguably the most entertaining women's match of the tournament, Henin-Hardenne overcame a 5-3 third-set deficit and two match points in the fourth round to defeat No.6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the reigning US Open champion. The Belgian's nerves of steel were particularly apparent towards the end of the match as she won the last four games to claim a 76(6) 46 75 win in three hours and 15 minutes. She also saved a set point at 5-6 in the first-set tie-break.

"I could feel at 5-3 that she was very nervous to win the match," said the Belgian. "At that point, I still believed I could win. Even if I didn't play a great match, it's very good because I stayed really positive and I never stopped fighting. This kind of win makes me very, very happy."

In Tuesday's quarterfinals, Henin-Hardenne defeated No.2 seed Maria Sharapova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, by a score of 64 62. The former No.1 blasted 22 winners to just 17 unforced errors in the match, and broke the big-serving Russian a total of four times.

"I was feeling great on the court," she said after the win, her second in a row over Sharapova since the loss in Miami. "I felt I had a lot of time, and I was in the good rhythm, and I served very well, and that was the big difference from the last few matches."

"I think that I'm playing a very good French Open. I hope I can keep going this way."

Another title at Roland Garros would be a dream come true all over again for Henin-Hardenne, but the three-time Grand Slam champion is cautious when looking too far ahead at her prospects. In the semifinals, she will face No.7 seed Nadia Petrova, who has stormed into the final four with the loss of just one set. Although Henin-Hardenne has won six of their seven previous meetings, Petrova was victorious in their last encounter at a Grand Slam, a 63 62 decision in the fourth round of last year's US Open.

"I'm far from the end of Roland Garros," she said. "The hardest is yet to come. When you reach a semifinal, it's great, but it doesn't mean that you've won it. I hope I'm lucky enough to win another Grand Slam tournament."

"It's hard, especially if you know what I went through. I know my opponent will have exactly the same motivation. She never played in a Grand Slam final, and I'm sure that that's going to make her feel like defeating me. But I'll be there."

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June 1, 2005

Roland Garros SF Profile: Nadia Petrova

"The difference between this time and the 2003 French Open is that I have more experience, more self-belief, and I'm a much calmer person on the court."

PARIS - In 2003, Nadia Petrova came into Roland Garros with different expectations. She had been forced off the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for several months the year before due to a left foot injury, and was struggling to find the form that had previously taken her to the semifinals at Amelia Island and Gold Coast as well as impressive fourth round finishes at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2001.

Coming into the 2003 French Open ranked No.76, things didn't look too good when Petrova drew former three-time champion Monica Seles in the opening round, but the Russian hung tough and made it all the way to the semifinals, defeating Seles and another former champion in Jennifer Capriati en route before losing to Kim Clijsters 75 61, after holding set point in the first set.

"Playing in front of the big crowd, playing on the center court, it didn't really bother me at all," she said. "I just went out and I had a good start. I was a little bit unlucky on a set point. I felt tired. But now I'm stronger and fitter, so hopefully I will go further."

Despite faltering in her opportunities against Clijsters, Petrova has since become a force to be reckoned with on the Tour, reaching her first three career finals at Linz in 2003, Gold Coast in 2004 and most recently at Berlin earlier this year. She also made another impressive Grand Slam run at the US Open last year, blowing past defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne by a score of 63 62 en route to the quarterfinals, where she lost to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in a close two-set encounter.

Petrova heads into this year’s final four at Roland Garros having won 15 of her 18 matches on clay so far this season, a record highlighted by the aforementioned finish at Berlin, where she defeated defending champion Amelie Mauresmo en route to the final, as well as a semifinal finish at Amelia Island, where she lost to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport.

The record also includes her comprehensive run to the semifinals in the current event. After dropping a total of just 14 games in her first three rounds against 64th-ranked Mashona Washington, 132nd-ranked Severine Beltrame and 84th-ranked Shahar Peer, she was put to the test in the fourth round by No.12 seed Elena Bovina, overcoming her compatriot 75 36 64 in almost two-and-a-half hours. In the quarterfinals, she lost only four games in dispatching No.29 seed Ana Ivanovic, who had taken out No.3 seed Amelie Mauresmo in the third round. Of all four semifinalists, Petrova has lost the least amount of games and has spent the least amount of time on court through the first five rounds. Her match statistics through the semifinals are also impressive, successfully converting on over half of her total break points and winning 75% of her net approaches.

Petrova will have to overcome a discouraging head-to-head in her upcoming semifinal match-up with No.10 seed Henin-Hardenne. The two have played seven times previously, with Henin-Hardenne holding a 6-1 lead. Although Petrova did defeat the Belgian at last year's US Open, Henin-Hardenne had won all of their first five meetings, and in their only encounter since, the former No.1 defeated the Russian 63 46 63 in the Berlin final in early May.

"I was a bit worn out playing Justine," said Petrova on the Berlin loss. "The way I competed against her in the finals, still not playing best game, bringing the match to a three-setter, I feel like I'm pretty much on the same level that I can compete with anyone at the moment."

When asked about her mindset heading into the semifinals for the second time at Roland Garros, the 22-year-old Russian points to her past experiences as guidance.

"To do it the second time, it's a little bit easier because I know what it takes to be there, and I know how I should be on the court to win the match," she said. "All this crowd, all those expectations, it's not easy. You have to learn to put all the outside influence away."

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June 1, 2005

Roland Garros SF Profile: Mary Pierce

PARIS - When asked about whether she is playing better this year at Roland Garros than during her 2000 title run, Mary Pierce thinks back to the hardships she faced in the years following her proudest moment, unable to even attempt to defend her title in 2001 due to a lingering back injury.

"Better, no. Different," she says. "The only thing that I could say has changed is that I really savour victories now more than before, because I went through difficult times and through a long, difficult period. I can say that I appreciate victory even more now."

The Frenchwoman is one of the most accomplished active players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning Grand Slam titles at the 1995 Australian Open as well as the aforementioned 2000 French Open, also claiming 14 other titles, including Tier I events at Rome in 1997, Moscow in 1998 and most recently Charleston in 2000.

Her incredible 43-13 record at Roland Garros includes the improbable run to the final four as the No.21 seed at this year's event, which began with a 62 75 first round win over 49th-ranked Russian Vera Douchevina, followed by a 61 60 defeat of 62nd-ranked Jelena Kostanic in the second round. The 58-minute rout of Kostanic makes Pierce the only semifinalist who has won one of her matches in under an hour.

After passing through the first two rounds with relatively little trouble, Pierce upset Top 10 seeds in each of her last three rounds, beginning with a 76(2) 75 upset over No.9 seed Vera Zvonareva in the third round. After that, she outlasted No.8 seed Patty Schnyder, a recent runner-up at Rome, by a score of 61 16 64, and on Tuesday, Pierce defeated a world No.1 for the fifth time in her career with a 63 62 quarterfinal win over Lindsay Davenport (two of her other wins over No.1s have also come at this event, defeating Graf in the 1994 semifinals and Hingis in the 2000 semifinals).

"I really set a good tone from the very beginning, trying to be aggressive, coming forward, and just executing what I wanted to do out there today really well," she said after the win, just her third in 11 meetings with the American.

"When I was on the court and hitting the ball, they were just going in. Sometimes I missed them wide by this much and they were going on the line. I even shanked a ball and it just went in deep for a winner. I was like, 'Wow, okay, this is my day. Take advantage of this.'"

Pierce's high-risk game style has produced some of the cleanest statistics of all four semifinalists. Firstly, she leads the final four in successful net approaches, winning the point on 78% of her forecourt ventures. She also has the highest average first serve percentage through the first five rounds at 68%. Finally, she has the best winners-to-errors differential, hitting 141 winners to go along with 158 unforced errors, a difference of only 17. Henin-Hardenne has the next best differential of the final four, with 55 more errors than winners.

"I didn't know that I was going to come this far, but I always believe in it," she said on her impressive form through the semifinals. "This is tennis, you never know what to expect. I really take it one day at a time. I give out as much as I can, and I enjoy."

A long-running rivalry will resume on Thursday as Pierce takes on No.16 seed Elena Likhovtseva of Russia in the semifinals. Pierce and Likhovtseva have played 10 times previously, with the Frenchwoman holding a 6-4 edge. In their most recent meeting, Pierce defeated Likhovtseva 62 62 in the second round of Berlin earlier this year, snapping a three-match losing streak to the Russian. Half of their meetings have gone to three sets, and they are even at 2-2 on clay.

"I'm ready for a fight," said Pierce, who has never lost in four career Grand Slam semifinals. "I know she's going to play some good tennis, so I just have to be really ready for that and play my game."

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©Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Paris, France: France's Mary Pierce defeated world No.1 Lindsay Davenport Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals

Edited June 1, 2005 by Vardan

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