LONDON, 7 June 2005 — Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan’s woeful run of form continued here yesterday, losing for the fifth time in succession in a first-round contest as he crashed out of the 680,250-euro Queen’s club event.
The former top 15 player, now languishing in 36th, has not won a match since late April, when he defeated the 89th-ranked Dutchman Peter Wessels in Munich.
Paradorn fell to American journeyman Kevin Kim 6-3, 6-4 to compile a dismal 11-16 record this season and to make matters worse it was on his favorite surface.
The fall from grace was painful after the Thai announced his presence with a Wimbledon upset of Andre Agassi in 2002.
Teenaged qualifier Chris Guccione provided a rare bright spot for Australia scoring their lone win from three matches.
The 19-year-old, ranked, 188 fought through to defeat Belgian Kristof Vliegen 7-6 (7 2), 3-6, 6-4 to move into the second-round. His victory provided some compensation for losses by another pair of Aussies at the elite Wimbledon tune-up event.
Dual-sport standout Scott Draper moved a step closer to resuming his pro golf career as he crashed out at the hands of clay-courting Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-7 (3 7), 7-6 (7 4), 6-2.
He is set to go onto the golf tour full-time after Wimbledon. Grass powerhouse Wayne Arthurs played at a shadow of his best in a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to 16th seed Karol Beck, the Slovak who hammered Tim Henman in an opening match here a year ago.
British players delighted a home crowd on a gloomy London day, with the 14th-seeded Greg Rusedski ousting untried Number 324 wild card Joshua Goodall 6-3, 6-4. US Open junior champion Andrew Murray, admittedly better on clay than grass due to his full-time training in Spain, earned a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Spaniard Santiago Ventura.
Rusedski, a first-round 2004 loser, has everything riding on his huge serve over the next month. Three-time champion and top seed Lleyton Hewitt, will open after a bye against Xavier Malisse, who put out 2004 semi-finalist Hyung-taik Lee 6-2, 6-0.
French Open Champion Nadal Starts Wimbledon Build-Up
In Halle, Germany, newly-crowned French Open champion Rafael Nadal switches surfaces to grass at the 680,250-euro ATP tournament here on Tuesday as he begins his Wimbledon build-up.
Meanwhile Australian Open champion Marat Safin of Russia beat Germany’s Alexander Popp 6-3, 6-2 to move into the second round.
Meanwhile world No. 1 and top seed Roger Federer, who starts his tournament on Tuesday against Sweden’s Robin Soderling, said he was hoping to boost his Wimbledon chances this week.
“I want to win the title to give me some confidence before Wimbledon,” said Federer, who was beaten by Nadal in the French Open semifinals.
The Wimbledon fortnight at the All England club in south west London begins on June 20.
