BANGKOK, 29 September 2004 — Top seed Roger Federer toiled to beat battling Frenchman Nicolas Thomann and reach the second round of the Thailand Open yesterday.
Playing for the first time since claiming the US Open title more than two weeks ago, the world No. 1 emerged from a tight battle with a 6-4, 7-6 victory.
The Swiss was never in any danger against a player ranked 507 in the world and just returning from injury but at no stage did he stamp his authority on an always enterprising opponent who refused to be overawed.
Just one break, for 3-2, decided the first set when Thomann, who otherwise put up a respectable challenge, played a careless game.
In the second set, Federer failed to convert nine break points with six of those coming in a game with eight deuces at 3-3. He was then forced to save a break point himself that would have left his stubborn opponent serving at 5-3.
Thomann saved another three break points at 5-5 before Federer claimed the tiebreak and a place in the second round, where he will meet compatriot Ivo Heuberger.
Defending champion Taylor Dent struggled to get the better of fellow-American Justin Gimelstob, with the number five seed squeezing through 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Gimelstob’s lack of competition at the highest level may have accounted for his defeat against Dent, who struggled throughout the first set and into the second with his serve and volleys.
That denied him his only two weapons of note and left him in deep trouble at one stage as he saved three break points at 3-3 in the second set, before breaking to clinch it.
The final set was also even despite Dent breaking to lead 3-1. He survived two break points in the next game but failed to serve out at 5-3 after two consecutive double-faults before Gimelstob double-faulted on match point in the next game.
Defending Champion Philippoussis Beaten
In Shanghai, defending champion Mark Philippoussis exited the first round of the Shanghai Open yesterday, losing to American Glenn Weiner 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The Australian has now lost in the first round of his last four tournaments and languishes 76th in the world. The crowd were treated to a display of temper by the 27-year-old as he angrily fired balls into the air and disputed a number of calls by the Swedish umpire.
In other first round games, Denmark’s Kristian Pless beat Christophe Rochus of Belgium 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 and will now meet third seed Guillermo Canas of Argentina.
Local hopefuls Zeng Shaoxuan and Zhu Benqiang had mixed fortunes. Zeng lost 6-3, 6-4 to Germany’s Lars Burgsmuller but Zhu beat Czech Tomas Zib 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Sharapova Cruises Past Gagliardi in Korea Open
In Seoul, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova crushed Switzerland’s Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of the Hansol Korea Open WTA event yesterday.
The 17-year-old Russian broke Gagliardi’s serve five times, beating her in 71 minutes in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
“I thought I played quite well, although the court surface was a little bit different to China. It’s a little slower and I had to adjust in the first few games,” Sharapova told reporters.
She hit her stride in the third game and took the first set in 37 minutes. The Russian followed that with three love games in the second set, one of them with two aces in a row.
“The only game where I felt uncomfortable was my first service game,” she added.
Sharapova played Gagliardi on the center court of Seoul’s 1988 Olympic tennis complex. She will play Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia or American Sunitha Rao in the second round tomorrow. The final is on Sunday.
