New York: For the second straight year, Tommy Haas and Robby Ginepri played a five-set five-set marathon in the third round of the US Open.
On Monday, it was Haas who outlasted No 18 Ginepri 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (1), breaking a personal seven-match losing streak in five-setters and eliminating one of the final three Americans left in the year's last Grand Slam.
"I was thinking about it actually, that I haven't won a five-set match for a long time," the 14th-seeded German said. "Put a little pressure on me."
The long match was nothing new to Ginepri; five of his last seven at the US Open have gone five sets, including an Open-era record four in a row last year. He beat Haas before losing a five-setter in the 2005 semi-finals to Andre Agassi.
With his loss, 2003 champion Andy Roddick and No 5 James Blake are the lone Americans remaining in the draw. Roddick was to play Benjamin Becker, who knocked out Andre Agassi, later on Monday.
Monday's biggest showdown was at night: former No 1 and two-time Open champion Serena Williams vs current No 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who's won two Grand Slam titles this year. Others in action: Maria Sharapova, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.
Second-seeded Rafael Nadal easily advanced to his first US Open quarter-final appearance with a 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Czech Jiri Novak.
Russian Mikhail Youzhny beat sixth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-2, 6-0, 6-1.
On the women's side, second-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne made quick work of Shahar Peer, dispatching the Israeli 6-1, 6-0 in 50 minutes in the fourth round. Sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, however, lost to Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (5) 6-3, 6-2.
Kuznetsova hasn't had much success at Flushing Meadows since becoming the first Russian woman to win the singles title in 2004.
Last year, she became the first defending women's champion to lose in the first round.
"I would love to repeat it one day, but it's no pressure anymore," said Kuznetsova, who had 46 unforced errors. "I still believe I can do well here."
The 2004 runner-up, Elena Dementieva, reached the quarter-finals this year by eliminating Aravane Rezai of France 7-5, 6-4.
Jankovic, who beat No 9 Nicole Vaidisova in the third round, reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Her previous best showing was getting to the fourth round at Wimbledon this year, when she knocked out Venus Williams.
Henin-Hardenne, with five major titles on her resume including this year's French Open, is bidding to make her fourth straight Grand Slam final.
She will face the winner of Monday's match between Lindsay Davenport and Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals.
"I walked on the court thinking that it could be a dangerous match because she's a young player and she has a lot of motivation," the Belgian said.
"That's probably why I won it pretty easily, because I was ready for it."
Such went the early action on the first day of the post-Agassi era at the Open.
Comments
0 comment