TOKYO, 4 October 2003 — Top seed Rainer Schuettler stormed into the semifinals of the Japan Open with an efficient 6-3, 6-3 win over Australian Scott Draper yesterday.
However, Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis was forced to retire from the $860,000 Tokyo tournament with a sore neck while trailing Frenchman Cyril Saulnier 5-2 in the first set. The Australian, who won in Shanghai at the weekend, sustained a stiff neck after sleeping awkwardly on Thursday night.
Schuettler, closing in on a spot at the season-ending Masters Cup, was razor-sharp from the baseline and solid at the net, the German taking just 68 minutes to win in sweltering conditions.
The Australian Open runner-up saved a break point at 3-3 in the second set with a brilliant reflex volley that took the wind out of Draper.
Schuettler wrapped up victory soon after the turnaround, forcing his opponent into a wild return on his first match point. “He beat (sixth-seeded German Nicolas) Kiefer, so I knew I had to be aggressive and put pressure on him from the start,” said Schuettler, chasing his first ATP title of 2003.
“I was trying to go for my shots and dominate the rallies and it worked. I played two pretty good sets.” Schuettler will face the unseeded Saulnier today after an injury time-out failed to relieve the discomfort for Philippoussis.
“It was my neck. I woke up, went to the bathroom and ended up sleeping on my stomach. It just got stiffer and the pain got worse,” said fifth seed Philippoussis, whose career has been plagued by injuries.
Third seed Paradorn Srichaphan was two points away from defeat against close friend Lee Hyung-taik but the 24-year-old Thai battled back to squeeze out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win over the seventh-seeded South Korean.
Lee, who memorably won his first ATP title in Sydney a week before being destroyed 6-1, 6-0, 6-0 by Andre Agassi at the Australian Open in January, suddenly fell apart at 5-5 in the second-set tiebreak.
Paradorn, who has won two tournaments this year, quickly broke in the first game of the final set and closed out the match after two hours and 15 minutes with an unplayable return off a weak second serve from Lee.
The Asian No. 1 next plays second-seeded Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, who outclassed American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-3, 7-6 in an evening match.
Among the women, fast-rising Maria Sharapova moved a step closer to her first WTA Tour title with a hard-earned 7-5, 7-6 win over Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg, the 16-year-old Russian storming through the second-set tiebreak 7-1.
The Florida-based Sharapova will face Zheng Jie in the semifinals after the Chinese player beat compatriot Yan Zi 7-6, 6-3.
Dementieva and Myskina
Inch Toward Kremlin Title
In Moscow, leading Russians Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina kept their winning streaks going by posting easy victories to reach the Kremlin Cup semifinals yesterday.
Third seed Dementieva recorded her 10th straight win when her quarterfinal opponent Italy’s Francesca Schiavone retired with a right shoulder strain, trailing 6-1, 2-1.
“Yes, I’m happy, but I would have preferred to win the match normally,” said Dementieva, who is aiming for a hat trick of WTA titles after consecutive triumphs in Shanghai and Bali last month.
Dementieva will now take on second-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, who prevailed over 19-year-old Russian Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
It will be an intriguing match-up ahead of next month’s Fed Cup semifinal between Russia and France on the same center court of Moscow’s Olympiisky Sports Complex. “Of course, it will be interesting to play Elena here, especially because she will probably also play singles matches in Fed Cup,” said Mauresmo, who has a 3-1 record against Dementieva but was beaten by the Russian in their last match in Toronto in August.
“I lost to her in Toronto and here of course it will be doubly tough because the crowd will be pulling for her,” added the seventh-ranked Mauresmo, who also reached semifinals here last year before bowing out to the eventual champion Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Myskina, fresh from her victory at last week’s Leipzig Grand Prix where she beat French and US Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final, extended her winning run to six matches by crushing unseeded Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-3, 6-0 in less than an hour. In today’s semifinals, Myskina will face Israel’s Anna Pistolesi, a 6-4, 6-4 winner of another Russian, Elena Bovina.
On the men’s side, American Taylor Dent also kept his winning streak intact by dispatching twice former Kremlin Cup champion Marc Rosset of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4 to set up a semifinal clash with either defending champion Paul-Henri Mathieu of France or Russian newcomer Igor Andreev, who meet in the last match on center court.
But Argentine second seed Agustin Calleri was sent packing, becoming the last seeded player to fall after bowing out to unseeded Armenian Sargis Sargsian 6-3, 6-4.
“I had a very tough match yesterday against Yevgeny Kafelnikov with the crowd on his side, but today it wasn’t so bad,” said Sargsian, who knocked out the former five-times Kremlin Cup champion in three sets on Thursday.
The 30-year-old Armenian, in his first semifinal since the Tashkent Open in September 2001, will now face unseeded American Vincent Spadea, who eliminated Austria’s Stefan Koubek 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Ferrero Latest to
Pull Out of Vienna
French Open champion and top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero has pulled out of next week’s CA Trophy due to injury, becoming the latest big name to withdraw from the indoor Vienna tournament. Earlier yesterday, organizers said that the Argentine trio of Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian and Gaston Gaudio would miss the tournament.
Spain’s Ferrero, a finalist at the US Open, was forced to withdraw with a serious heel injury. Coria, seeded third, withdrew due to a thigh injury, Nalbandian with hand and stomach problems and Gaudio because of a damaged elbow.
Davydenko to Replace
Agassi at Paris Masters
Andre Agassi will be replaced by Russian Nikolay Davydenko at the Paris Masters later this month after the American’s withdrawal from European events for the rest of the year, tournament organizers said yesterday in Paris.
