Теннис

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©Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Paris, France: Sesil posed for the assembled photographers while she visited the gardens in Paris.

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©Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Paris, France: Eurosport TV took the opportunity of talking to Sesil while she visited the gardens.

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©Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Paris, France: After defeating Venus Williams on Friday, Sesil Karatantcheva relaxed in the gardens near Roland Garros on Saturday

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©Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Paris, France: After winning the match of her life, Ana Ivanovic talked to the press about defeating world No.3 and French favorite Amelie Mauresmo on her home turf.

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28 мая 2005, 23:50

Матч Андреева перенесен из-за темноты

Два последних поединка субботы на «Ролан Гарросе» были перенесены из-за темноты – на грунтовых кортах Открытого чемпионата Франции нет искусственного освещения. В одном из этих матчей россиянин Игорь Андреев ушел на отдых при счете 4:4 в четвертом сете в матче против немца Николаса Кифера (1:2 по сетам в пользу немца).

А ранее определился соперник Николая Давыденко по 1/8 финала – им стал аргентинец Гильермо Кория.

В женской части турнира суббота была крайне неудачной для хозяек корта – все три француженки в одиночном разряде проиграли, 3-я ракетка турнира Амели Моресмо, 12-я ракетка Натали Деши и Эмили Луа.

Открытый чемпионат Франции. Париж (Франция). Призовой фонд – 13 459 125 евро

Мужчины

Одиночный разряд

Третий круг

Игорь Андреев (Россия) – Николас Кифер (Германия, 28) – 4:6, 7:6 (7:9), 6:3, 4:4 – матч остановлен из-за темноты

Поль-Антри Матье (Франция) – Гильермо Каньяс (Аргентина, 9) – 3:6, 6:7 (4:7), 2:2 – матч остановлен из-за темноты

Гильермо Кория (Аргентина, – Юрген Мельцер (Австрия) – 6:1, 6:1, 7:6 (7:2)

Мариано Пуэрта (Аргентина) – Станислав Вавринка (Швейцария) – 1:6, 6:3, 6:1, 6:4

Женщины

Одиночный разряд

Третий круг

Ана Иванович (Сербия и Черногория, 29) – Амели Моресмо (Франция, 3) – 6:4, 3:6, 6:4

Эммануэль Гальярди (Швецария) – Эмили Луа (Франция) – 4:6, 6:3, 6:3

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Davenport Beats Clijsters To Reach Quarterfinals

At Roland Garros on Sunday, world No.1 Lindsay Davenport (left) came from behind to beat two-time runner-up Kim Clijsters, 16 75 63, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in six years. Davenport has done it the hard way this week, needing three sets in each of her first four rounds.

Meanwhile, the dream run of Sesil Karatantcheva continues, the 15-year-old Bulgarian defeating Emmanuelle Gagliardi, 75 63. All eight quarterfinal spots will be filled Sunday with six Russians, including Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, still in contention

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May 28, 2005

Day 6: Mauresmo Stunned by Ivanovic

PARIS - Day 6 at Roland Garros... a great day for Russia, not so good for the French.

Four of five Russian women in third round singles action on Saturday advanced to the round of 16, with the only loser, Anna Chakvetadvze, falling to one of her compatriots, Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova, the 18-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion, led the charge which saw Elena Bovina, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova also reach the fourth round, joining Elena Dementieva and Elena Likhovtseva, who won their third round matches a day earlier.

But the story of the day was undoubtedly the demise of world No.3 Amelie Mauresmo at the hands of 17-year-old Serbian Ana Ivanovic, seeded No.29.

Mauresmo, in search of her first Grand Slam title, is under even greater pressure to succeed when on home soil. It was hoped the temporary hiring of Yannick Noah as an adviser to the former No.1 would help her cause; in the end, Mauresmo suffered her earliest loss in Paris in six years.

"I had always said this would be a tough opponent," said a dejected Mauresmo. "She has improved a lot in the past months, and it's true that I played her three times since the beginning of the year with a month's interval each time, and I could see the evolution in her game. I knew that she was making fast progress, so I wasn't surprised by her game."

In their fourth meeting this year - all three previous matches won by Mauresmo, the first being in the same round at the Australian Open - Mauresmo started as favorite. But a three-set match in Doha showed the up-and-coming Ivanovic was edging closer to a breakthrough win.

Playing flawless, attacking tennis, Ivanovic opened up a 64 31 lead, much to the dismay of the partisan French crowd. They got behind Mauresmo and carried her to consecutive service breaks and the second set, 6-4. Suddenly, the momentum was with Mauresmo, who has never progressed past the quarterfinals here.

But just as quickly as she wrested control of the match, it was taken from her once more. Again, Ivanovic surged to 3-1 in the third set with controlled aggression. Again, Mauresmo closed the gap, breaking back immediately to get proceedings back on serve for a dramatic end to the match.

Games went with serve until the 10th game, with Mauresmo needing to hold to stay in the tournament. Falling behind 0-40, Mauresmo was in a hole she found impossible to dig herself out of. A double fault on match point sealed her fate for another year.

"My two previous serves were good," said of her last service game. "I'd been serving quite well on my first serve, that last game I didn't serve well. My first serve wasn't going in; it was a bit disastrous. There were a few moments like that in the match, and unfortunately that was one of them."

"Well, I'm really pleased I took my opportunities," said Ivanovic after the biggest win of her career. "I think she also had some opportunities, but still I think I played very well in the end and I think that's what decided today."

Like the other seven third round winners on Saturday, Ivanovic must back up again on Sunday, when she takes on No.22 seed Francesca Schiavone. Schiavone scored a hard-fought win over German teenager Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 76(3) 75.

Having won three-setters on Saturday, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Justine Henin-Hardenne will resume their rivalry in the fourth round, their eighth meeting from the past two years.

Both women were Grand Slam champions last year - Henin-Hardenne in Melbourne, Kuznetsova in New York - but it is the Belgian who has the more impressive record so far in 2005. A 20-match win streak, defeating Kuznetsova in the Warsaw final along the way, should see the former No.1 start as a slight favorite.

On Saturday, Kuznetsova defeated unseeded American Marissa Irvin, 61 26 60, in a see-sawing encounter. Afterwards, Kuznetsova spoke of the pressure she feels heading into the second week of a major.

"I want to win each match; I want to play my best," said the 19-year-old Russian of her match against Irvin. "I was so tense and I didn't play my game. Just broke me in the start of the second set and she got a little bit into the game.

"She started to attack, she went into the court, and I just start to defend myself. This is not my game; this is not the way I have to play."

Such nerves will not stand up against Henin-Hardenne, one of the most mentally tough players in recent years. On Saturday she needed to call on that mental fortitude as she beat in-form Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Medina, a winner in Strasbourg on the eve of Roland Garros, burst out of the blocks, leading 5-0. But Henin-Hardenne recovered both breaks and the match seemed headed towards a tie-break, with the 2003 Roland Garros champion serving at 4-5.

But while Medina Garrigues broke for a third time and snatched the first set 6-4, the momentum was still with Henin-Hardenne. From that point onwards, she was rarely under threat as she won 46 62 63.

"I don't think I played really badly at the beginning," said Henin-Hardenne, now on a 20-match, three-title win streak. "I think she was playing good and I was a little bit surprised by the way she was playing. She was really consistent and she wasn't doing any mistakes.

"I just needed a little bit of time to get used to the rhythm of the match and also to the heat and everything. But I think it was a very good tennis match; very high level. She pushed me a lot, and I'm very happy that I won this one."

As mentioned earlier, it was a poor day for the local contingent. Before Mauresmo's upset loss, three more French women were shown the exit door. No.13 seed Nathalie Dechy, an Australian Open semifinalist in January, fell to Spaniard Nuria Llagosters Vives, 76(1) 63; Emilie Loit lost the third set of her match with Emmanuelle Gagliardi which was abandoned Friday night due to poor light; and No.17 seed Tatiana Golovin was beaten 63 75 by No.12 seed Elena Bovina. Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion here, remains the sole Frenchwoman still in contention.

Llagostera Vives meets Maria Sharapova for a quarterfinal berth after the world No.2 beat compatriot Anna Chakvetadze, 61 64.

"I thought I got to a really good start, and I was in control from the first game," said Sharapova. "I felt like it was a pretty tough first game, but after that I was pretty much in control."

There are at least two Russians guaranteed of a quarterfinal berth, with Bovina going head-to-head with No.7 seed Nadia Petrova. Petrova remained one of just three women yet to lose a set thus far with a 63 61 win over Israeli teenager Shahar Peer.

There is a Battle of the Elenas in the top half of the draw, with 2004 runner-up Dementieva taking on No.16 seed Likhovtseva.

Day 7 sees all fourth round matches set down for decision, with the quarterfinalists having a rest day on Monday.

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May 28, 2005

Roland Garros: Fourth Round Preview

PARIS - All eight women's singles fourth round matches are set down for decision on Sunday. Here is a quick rundown:

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1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) vs. (14) Kim Clijsters (BEL)

Very rarely would a woman ranked outside the Top 10 go into a match against a world No.1 as the favorite, but on recent form, Kim Clijsters could well be tipped to topple Lindsay Davenport on Sunday. Top-seeded Davenport, playing on red clay for the first time this season, has needed three sets in each of her opening three rounds, while Clijsters, a semifinalist in Warsaw, has yet to drop a set through Week 1. Clijsters has beaten Davenport the past six times they've played, and hasn't lost to the American in two-and-a-half years, with a 9-6 lifetime advantage. These women haven't met this early in a tournament since their fourth round meeting at the 2001 Australian Open.

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Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) vs. (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)

Both of these women have shown tremendous improvement in the past 12 months. This time last year, Sharapova was the No.18 seed at Roland Garros, where she reached her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. Just four weeks later she'd make that famous breakthrough at Wimbledon. Llagostera's rise up the rankings hasn't been as earth-shattering, but rocketing from No.160 to No.43, in part due to her first title in Rabat earlier this month, is an impressive achievement. The diminutive Spaniard didn't even qualify for Roland Garros last year and here she is, taking on the world No.2 in her debut round of 16 appearance at a major. The two women have never played each other before.

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(22) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) vs. (29) Ana Ivanovic (SCG)

Schiavone, a quarterfinalist here four years ago, has had a patchy first half of 2005, having brought a 9-9 win-loss record into Roland Garros. But a quarterfinal finish on home soil in Rome, with a win over Serena Williams en route, showed the feisty Italian's season is taking a turn for the better. Ivanovic is also going from strength to strength. She won her first title in her first event of the season (Canberra, as qualifier), then reached the Miami quarterfinals, beating world No.7 Svetlana Kuznetsova along the way. On Saturday, a career-best win over world No.3 Amelie Mauresmo has the 17-year-old Serbian through to the round of 16 on debut at Roland Garros. This is their first meeting.

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4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs. (16) Elena Likhovtseva (RUS)

The battle of the Elenas will produce one of the two guaranteed Russian quarterfinalists, with Petrova and Bovina clashing in another fourth round match on Sunday. Likhovtseva, contesting her first round of 16 at Roland Garros in 11 attempts, hasn't beaten the 2004 Paris runner-up since their first meeting in 2000. Nonetheless, Likhovtseva is back in the Top 20 for the first time in four years. The winner of this match would be favored to reach the semifinals, as their quarterfinal opponent (Karatantcheva or Gagliardi) is unseeded. Dementieva leads career head-to-heads against her compatriot 3-1.

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(6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs. (10) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL)

These women have had some interesting battles in the past, most recently in the Warsaw final last month, won by the Belgian 7-5 in the third set (their first meeting on clay). Kuznetsova scored a dramatic win over then-world No.1 Henin-Hardenne in the Doha semifinals last year, her only victory in their seven prior meetings. After two easy wins in her opening rounds, Kuznetsova was taken to three sets on Saturday by Marissa Irvin. Henin-Hardenne has also been challenged, going the distance against Conchita Martinez in the first round and against Anabel Medina Garrigues on Saturday.Henin-Hardenne carries a 20-match, three-tournament win streak into this encounter, so much like the Davenport vs. Clijsters match, the lower-ranked Belgian is arguably the favorite.

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(7) Nadia Petrova (RUS) vs. (12) Elena Bovina (RUS)

One of two all-Russian fourth round matches, Petrova vs. Bovina (left) will break a 2-2 deadlock in their career head-to-head. Both of Bovina's two wins have come in three sets, including their last meeting in the Linz semifinals last year, 7-6 in the third set. Petrova, a semifinalist here two years ago, has dropped just 14 games thus far in Paris, second only to Kim Clijsters's 10. She has had an outstanding lead-in to Roland Garros, reaching the Amelia Island semis, Charleston quarters, followed by the Berlin final. Bovina's clay record this season is similarly impressive, reaching consecutive quarterfinals at Warsaw, Berlin and Rome.

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(21) Mary Pierce (FRA) vs. ( Patty Schnyder (SUI)

These Tour veterans haven't met in three years, since the 2002 Italian Open second round. Pierce won that encounter in three sets and leads their career series 4-2 (2-1 on clay). Schnyder, however, has had a superb start to 2005, having already reached nine quarterfinals and recently returning to the Top 10 for the first time in six years. Her clay form has been particularly noteworthy, reaching the final in Rome (foiling Sharapova's No.1 bid in the semifinals), the semifinals in Charleston and Berlin and the quarterfinals of Warsaw. Pierce is one of only three women not to drop a set so far, and her third round win over No.9 seed Vera Zvonareva made her the last French woman standing.

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Sesil Karatantcheva (BUL) vs. Emmanuelle Gagliardi (SUI)

The only fourth round match between two non-seeds, Karatantcheva vs. Gagliardi features two women debuting in the fourth round of a major. This is Karatantcheva's third career major, while it is Gagliardi's 33rd. The young Bulgarian is surely buoyed by her three-set win over former world No.1 and 2002 Roland Garros runner-up Venus Williams. The more experienced Gagliardi defeated Anastasia Myskina's conqueror Maria Sanchez Lorenzo in the second round, and Emilie Loit in the third round, a match that spread over two days due to bad light on Friday. This is the second meeting between these two women, Karatantcheva winning a qualifying match at the Japan Open last year.

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Nalbandian Crashes in Paris, Canas Escapes

Romanian Victor Hanescu stunned 10th seed David Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of Roland Garros Sunday as the Argentine made an uncharacteristic 54 unforced errors. Ninth seed Guillermo Canas toiled for more than five hours before defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-7(5), 8-6. Later today Roger Federer meets Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal plays Sebastien Grosjean.

On Saturday, Marat Safin avenged his last two losses to Juan Carlos Ferrero this season with a hard fought 7-6(5), 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(2) win. The third seeded Russian next faces another in-form Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the Round of 16.

Edited May 29, 2005 by Vardan

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