Ousted!
Ivanisevic upset at Guardian Direct
Posted: Wednesday February 24, 1999 07:27 PM
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Goran gone: Ivanisevic couldn't handle the serve of Hicham Arazi. Alex Livesey/Allsport |
LONDON (AP) -- Hometown favorite and No. 2 seed Tim Henman joined
No. 7 Goran Ivanisevic with upset losses Wednesday in the Guardian
Direct indoor.
Jan Kroslak of Slovakia ousted Henman 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 in
the first round and Morocco's Hicham Arazi dumped Ivanisevic - last
year's Wimbledon runner-up - 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a second-round match
despite 24 aces by the Croatian.
The loss of Henman, Britain's top-ranked player, takes the edge
off a tournament held in central London and widely promoting
Henman's presence. Greg Rusedski, the Canadian-born Briton,
advanced to the second round with a win Tuesday.
"I desperately wanted to win the match and it's definitely
disappointing," Henman said. "I don't like losing at the best of
times but playing at home there was an added incentive."
In two other second-round matches Wednesday, No. 4 seed Richard
Krajicek of the Netherlands defeated Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-3,
6-4, and No. 6 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden won over David Prinsoil of
Germany 6-4, 7-5.
In two first-round match, Italy's Davide Sanguinetti defeated
American Jan Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-4, and No. 5 Karol Kucera of
Slovakia defeated Rainer Schuttler of Germany, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0.
Schuttler was added as a last-minute replacement for three-time
Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who is in semi-retirement and
withdrew Wednesday with a viral infection.
Becker was diagnosed with gastroenteritis, a tournament doctor
said.
"I am very sorry that my health does not permit me to play,"
Becker said. "I was really looking forward to offering the public
in London -- one of my favorites ones -- a good match."
Becker played in a doubles match late Tuesday and lost.
Australian Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov is seeded No. 1. The
Russian could overtake Pete Sampras in the ATP Tour's weekly tennis
rankings if he reaches the semifinals. He is guaranteed of the
coveted No. 1 spot if he reaches the tournament final.
Kafelnikov won his opening match Tuesday, beating Sweden's
Magnus Gustafsson 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Kafelnikov was to play Byron Black
of Zimbabwe in a second-round match Thursday.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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