LONG ISLAND, New York, 20 August 2003 — Third seed Tommy Robredo had to come from a set down but managed to beat unseeded Argentine Jose Acasuso 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and advance to the second round of the TD Waterhouse Cup on Monday.

The Spaniard dropped the first set but then rallied past Acasuso to set up a tie with the winner of the match between Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman and James Blake of the United States. Seventh seed Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco also had to battle back from a set down to overcome Spanish qualifier Fernando Verdasco 6-7, 6-4, 6-0 and will meet South African qualifier Rik de Voest in the second round.

De Voest ensured that American Michael Chang’s final appearance at Long Island was not a lengthy one, with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Chang has already said he will retire at the end of the year.

German wild card Nicolas Kiefer also rallied for a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory over France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu while qualifier Karol Beck of Slovakia beat Spain’s David Sanchez 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Defending champion and top seed Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand meets Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko, while second-seed Gustavo Kuerten, who accepted a wild card into the event, will play Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. Hrbaty got into the tournament after Cincinnati Masters finalist Mardy Fish, who lost to Andy Roddick on Sunday, withdrew with fatigue.

Dokic Enjoys Return to Form With Victory in New Haven

In New Haven, Connecticut, Jelena Dokic registered a welcome 6-2, 6-4 victory over Meghann Shaughnessy at the Pilot Pen event on Monday to set up a second round encounter against top seed Lindsay Davenport. Only two seeded players took to the court and both advanced, with No. 7 Conchita Martinez of Spain beating Japan’s Saori Obata 6-2, 6-2, and eighth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan edging past unseeded American Lisa Raymond 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Dokic was happy with the victory over Shaughnessy after losing her last two matches in what has been a worrying year that has witnessed her drop out of the world’s top-20 following a string of poor results.

“I played well, surprisingly well,” the 20-year-old Yugoslav said of her triumph in the final warm-up event for next week’s US Open. “I haven’t had a great year and I lost to her quite easily the last two times we played, so I knew I had to concentrate and play well, and I did. No matter what happens in the next one, I had a good match here. About six months ago I wouldn’t have won a match like this.”

Dokic, who is seeded 22 in New York, admits she has paid the price for overplaying the past two years. In 2001, she played 76 singles and 52 doubles matches and added 79 singles and 43 doubles encounters to that total last year. “I’ve played a lot of matches the last two years,” she said. “I’ve done well and maybe now it’s tiredness, mentally and physically. I’ve played less matches this year, obviously, and I’m starting to feel better the last few months. It just happens. Sometimes you don’t play as well and your confidence goes a little bit and then you’re not so comfortable on the court. I think that’s what’s happened this year.”

Top American junior Ashley Harkleroad returned from a two-month injury break but was beaten 6-1, 7-6 by Ukraine’s Tatiana Perebiynis. Five minutes before the match Harkleroad thought she was playing fellow American Alexandra Stevenson, but her original opponent withdrew with a shoulder injury that has kept her out of action for the past three weeks.

Harkleroad, who beat Daniela Hantuchova at the French Open, fell behind 6-1, 5-1 and saved two match points before fighting back to lead 6-5. However, she failed to convert her two set points and the Ukrainian’s greater firepower carried her through the tiebreak.

In other matches, Swiss qualifier Miriam Casanova lined up a second round meeting with second seed Amelie Mauresmo by overwhelming Laura Granville 6-1, 6-1, and Elena Bovina disposed of qualifier Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-3 to set up a contest against third seed Jennifer Capriati.

Cara Black will play fourth seed Hantuchova after beating fellow qualifier Rita Grande 6-2, 6-1 and there were also wins for Russian teenager Vera Zvonareva and Magui Serna of Spain.

Johansson Pulls Out of US Open

Swede Thomas Johansson has pulled out of this month’s US Open as he is still recovering from a knee injury that has kept him out of action since last November. “The goal is to make a comeback in Moscow at the end of September,” Johansson’s coach Magnus Tideman told Swedish news agency TT in Stockholm.

“Training lately has gone really well, but there’s quite a difference between playing me and playing the US Open. We have chosen to pass on it, the goal is to play a couple of tournaments this autumn ... mentally, we’re looking at next year.”

Johansson, Australian Open champion in 2002, also missed last year’s US Open because of the knee injury. The US Open is held in New York from Aug. 25 to Sept. 7.