DUESSELDORF, Germany, 18 May 2004 — Mark Philippoussis began lifting his sorry tennis season out of the depths yesterday, battling back for a victory in group play at the 2.1-million-euros World Team Championships to snap an eight-match losing run.
The Australian’s 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win over American Vincent Spadea put his nation ahead in the tie on clay and the Rochus club and did wonders for the Scud’s sagging confidence. Lleyton Hewitt made it a 2-0 sweep for Australia as he picked his way through a break-strewn final set to defeat Robby Ginepri 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4 after the American salvaged a match point in the ninth game.
It took user almost three hours for 2003 Wimbledon finalist Philippoussis to snap an eight-match losing streak and hopefully get his big game back on tract. The successful battle could mark a turning point in a season where his last win came in the third round of the Australian Open last January. “It’s been awhile since my last one,” the world No. 18 Aussie said of his victory which might bode well for his hopes of performing with honor at next week’s start of the French Open.
“It was great to have a fight-back,” said Philippoussis, who saved a match point in the ninth game of the final set of the marathon, finally triumphing in a deciding tie-breaker.
Philippoussis also had to struggle to avoid another massive disappointment on the clay. Trailing 5-2 in the third, he rallied back into the fight with style and grit.
Meanwhile 2002 champion Argentine notched a 2-0 win over the Netherlands through victories from Gaston Gaudio and Juan Chela. With South American big guns Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian resting up for Roland Garros, the sub’s bench performed well. Gaudio upset 2003 Paris finalist Martin Verkerk 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 while Chela ousted Dutchman Sjeng Schalken, nursing an injured hip, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
Agassi Eliminated in First Round at St. Poelten
Top-seeded Andre Agassi was eliminated by 339th-ranked Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia-Montenegro 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the first round of the Raiffeisen Grand Prix yesterday.
It was Agassi’s first clay-court match of the year in preparation for next week’s French Open, and his first on tour since March 30 when he lost in the fourth round at Miami.
Agassi, a semifinalist in three of his four previous tournaments this season, lost a first-round match for the first time in more than a year since the Italian Open, also his last match before the 2003 French Open. He went on to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
Zimonjic, a qualifier, broke Agassi in the sixth game for the first set, and led 4-1 in the second by attacking the net and going for his second serves. But the American won four straight games to serve for the set at 5-4, only to lose his serve again. In the tiebreaker, Zimonjic clinched the biggest win of his nine-year career on his second match point.
It was a good day for underdogs. Another qualifier, Xavier Malisse of Belgium, ousted Karol Beck of Slovakia 7-5, 6-0, and Hugo Armando of the United States, a lucky-loser entry, beat Tomas Behrend of Germany 6-4, 6-3. Armando replaced in the draw second-seeded Sargis Sargsian, who withdrew with a hip injury.
Third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, last year’s runner-up, beat fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-0 and will take on Mario Ancic of Croatia in the second round. Ancic overcame Galo Blanco of Spain 6-2, 6-4. Stefan Koubek of Austria downed Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-5, 7-6 (3), and Olivier Rochus of Belgium eased past Harel Levy of Israel 6-1, 6-1.
