Enqvist ends local hopes
Venus Williams sets up quarterfinal match with Davenport
Posted: Sunday January 24, 1999 09:44 AM
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Enqvist toppled Australian favorite Pat Rafter AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Thomas Enqvist became Australia's public enemy No. 1 on Sunday, edging Mark Philippoussis to end the local challenge at the Australian Open.
Enqvist stopped Pat Rafter in Round 3 and added his second Australian victim in a thrilling two-hour, 51-minute fourth-round match on Centre Court.
The no-frills Swede extended his unbeaten run to 12 matches this year with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 4-6, 6-2 victory and reached his second career Grand Slam quarterfinal.
He served for the match in third set but allowed Philippoussis back into the contest.
"I think I played the perfect match after that game," Enqvist said. "I was very worried because he took the opportunities."
Philippoussis, runner-up to Rafter at the U.S. Open last year and the No. 14 seed, is nicknamed "Scud" for his service bombs, but could not match Enqvist's power in the opening two sets.
"I can't remember the last time someone hit the ball so clean," Philippoussis said. "Some of his ground strokes were so clean, so big, so flat, so consistent."
Philippoussis appeared to have turned the match when he battled back in the third and fourth sets. The fight back bought him time but not salvation.
He had 26 aces but a double fault on Enqvist's breakpoint sent him down 4-2, and then he lost his next service game as well.
Philippoussis said Enqvist was hitting the ball well enough to win the title but the Swede is keeping things in perspective.
"I feel like I'm playing well enough to win my next match," Enqvist said. "But in these matches it's such small things that decide if you win it."
Enqvist meets Switzerland's Marc Rosset, playing his first Slam since a lucky escape from death after last year's U.S. Open, in the quarters. Rosset, who canceled his seat on the Swissair flight from New York which crashed killing 229 people, scored a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Czech Bohdan Ulihrach.
American Venus Williams, seeking her first Grand Slam title, set up a quarterfinal against No. 1 Lindsay Davenport with a fourth-round victory over Chanda Rubin.
Davenport will face her first big test, after some easy wins, as she aims for back-to-back Slams following her U.S. Open triumph.
Kucera kept his perfect record intact with a win over Wayne Ferreira AP |
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She swept aside Canadian qualifier Maureen Drake 6-1, 6-3 in 47 minutes and has dropped only 15 games without giving up a set in her four matches here.
"Lindsay knows when she comes out to play me, she's got to play her best tennis," said Williams, who has lost six of their seven matches.
Slovakia's Karol Kucera, dubbed the "little cat," still hasn't had to stretch himself in reaching the quarters. Kucera kept his perfect record intact with a straight-sets win over South African Wayne Ferreira.
Kucera, the seventh seed, and fifth-seeded Andre Agassi are the only players left in the men's draw not to have lost a set and are seeded to meet in the final.
Kucera's 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 win over Ferreira setup a quarterfinal against Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, who beat Australia's Andrew Ilie.
The No. 91-ranked Lapentti had never been past the second round in his 11 previous Grand Slam tournaments, but overcame the emotional Ilie in four sets.
Kucera, nicknamed the "little cat" because his coach is "big cat" Miloslav Mecir, was guarded about his chances of surpassing his previous best Grand Slam performance here last year.
"I just hope I can win the next one, but I don't think about the title," Kucera said. "It's very open, there's no big favorite, but I think Agassi is in good shape."
Ferreira had a letdown after an epic battle late Friday night, when he came back from two sets down to beat No. 9 seed Richard Krajicek.
"I was a step too slow to get everywhere," Ferreira said. "He moves so well and he's playing good tennis, he's got the game to win here."
While Kucera has cruised, Lapentti has needed to scrap all the way. He suffered cramps in Sunday's 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win, which fllowed three five-setters against Swedes.
Lapentti called for a trainer at 4-2 in the fourth set and said it was vital he quickly finished off the match.
"I really felt my legs cramping but I think I mentally just got through very well," Lapentti said.
Amelie Mauresmo beat French compatriot Emilie Loit 6-0, 7-5 in their women's fourth-round match. Mauresmo, who raced through the first set in just 17 minutes, will play Belgium's Dominique Van Roost in the quarters.
Van Roost was a straight-sets winner over Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo, who knocked out No. 3 seed Jana Novotna in the third round.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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