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Distracted dad Federer takes advantage of Henman defeatPosted: Wednesday October 16, 2002 12:43 PMUpdated: Wednesday October 16, 2002 3:59 PM
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Second-seeded Andre Agassi went through to the third round in straight sets, but top-seeded Tommy Haas had to retire in his opening match Wednesday at the Madrid Masters. Agassi, playing for the first time in the Spanish capital, beat fellow American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-4 on the Pabellon de Cristal's center court. Haas retired because of blisters in his right hand when trailing 7-6 (7), 4-1. "It felt pretty good in the first set, then it got worse," Haas said. "I hold my racket pretty tight. There was no way I could continue." Gambill, who played two weekend qualifying matches to get into the main draw, also lost to Agassi in the Los Angeles final and the round of 16 at the U.S. Open this year. Agassi said he was excited to play in Madrid. "I never played here before," he said. "It's a great city and deserves a great tournament." He was never really challenged by Gambill. "I felt good about most parts of my game," Agassi said. "It's been a few weeks ... I wanted to do well. I'm glad I got through it. I don't enjoy losing under any circumstances, especially when I have to travel a long way." Earlier, rising star Paradorn Srichaphan beat fourth-seeded Tim Henman in three sets for his second upset win in 24 hours. The 23-year-old from Thailand, who ousted former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten on Tuesday, beat Britain's top player 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first center-court match of the day. In the decisive set, Paradorn broke Henman to lead 4-3 and held serve the rest of the way. Two other seeded players, No. 10 Andy Roddick and No. 13 Guillermo Canas, also lost. Roddick fell 6-3, 6-4 to Mikhail Youzhny while Canas lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to fellow Argentine David Nalbandian, this year's Wimbledon finalist. Paradorn, who won his first ATP title at Long Island, New York, before the U.S. Open, had lost all four previous matches on three different surfaces to Henman and was also outplayed by him when Britain beat Thailand in a Davis Cup tie last month. The key game was the first in the second set, Paradorn said. "I was serving love-40," he said. "If I had lost that game, it could have been over." Henman is fourth in the ATP Champions Race and, like Roddick and Haas, has not yet qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup next month in Shanghai. Six berths remain up for grabs with just three weeks left of the season. "I felt I could have won early in the third set," Henman said. "But he played very aggressively. He played really, really well." Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, who also is trying to secure a Masters Cup berth, also came from behind to win his second-round match, beating fellow Swede Magnus Norman 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Johansson, the No. 15 seed, will next face another giant-killer, Argentine qualifier Agustin Calleri, who ousted third-seeded Marat Safin in a match that ended early Wednesday morning. No. 12-seed Roger Federer, who is also chasing a Masters Cup berth, improved his chances by beating Marcelo Rios 6-4, 6-2 to gain a spot in the third round. The Madrid tournament has the finest field ever assembled in Spain. U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras, who is taking a break, and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, who pulled out because of a virus, are the only top stars missing. Hewitt, the defending champion, has already qualified for Shanghai along with Agassi, who made it to a season-ending finale for the 11th time by reaching the U.S. Open title match.
The US$2,950,000 tournament is played on Green Set, a fast indoor hardcourt, on three different courts at Pabellon de Cristal. The main court is in the Rockodromo Arena, which has 9,300 seats.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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