GSTAAD, Switzerland, 9 July 2005 — Former French Open winner Gaston Gaudio and reigning Olympic champion Nicolas Massu yesterday set up another chapter in their rivalry with victories to reach the Swiss Open semifinals.
The last two seeds in contention at this car-free alpine village took opposing paths, with number two Gaudio of Argentina forced to struggle before narrowly overcoming Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7 5).
Massu of Chile, seeded seventh, easily overcame fellow South American Luis Horna 6-4, 6-4.
Stanislas Wawrinka put a Swiss into the semifinal as he beat No. 413 qualifier Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6 (7 5).
Former French Open junior winner Wawrinka, playing in his first ATP semi, will take on another qualifier in Romanian Razvan Sabau, who beat Potito Starace of Italy 0-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Gaudio and Massu, a pair of clay powerhouses have first met in 1998, when 2004 Roland Garros winner Gaudio began a run of four straight victories, only to find Massu catching up by winning their next three.
Massu lifted victory at their last meeting in the final at Kitzbuehel last summer three months before undergoing hernia surgery in the off-season.
The Chilean, who won gold in both singles and doubles at the Athens Games, earned his fourth career win over Horna, ranked 53rd to the 30 of Massu.
“This was a big step today, a good win,” said Massu, who missed nearly three months this spring with rib and ankle injuries.
“I’m getting my confidence back, but I’m not yet playing at the level of last year.
“Gaudio is my rival, he’s a great player. This will be another difficult match - like all of ours. I’m just hoping to win it.”
Gaudio was double-faulted with a rare foot-fault on match point against Seppi while serving for victory leading 5-4 in the final set.
It took two more games and a tiebreaker before the Argentine who lost the 2002 final here, finally scraped through in two-and-a-half-hours in a contest peppered with breaks on a day of rain, sun and clouds.
Victory edged Gaudio a step closer to a fourth clay title of the season after Vina del Mar, Buenos Aires and Estoril as he won his 36th match of the season in laboured style.
“I knew it would be tough, I wasn’t surprised,” said Gaudio.
“I just had to keep fighting and trying.”
Gaudio found himself in a tiebreaker after again failing to conclude the win. But the drama wasn’t yet over in the Alps.
Gaudio blew through the concluding tiebreaker for 6-0, only to watch his massive match-point margin slowly erode.
The seed engineered a final winning escape on his last chance after Seppi had pulled to 5-6.
“I was nervous trying to close it out,” admitted the Argentine. “I was scared, but so was he. It was difficult to finish, but I’m very glad I did.
“I kept looking at the sky and hoping we wouldn’t get rained on and have to come back Saturday to play just the tiebreaker.”
Nadal Extends Clay Streak to 27 Wins
In Baastad, Sweden, French Open champion Rafael Nadal clinched his 27th successive claycourt win yesterday when he beat Spanish compatriot Juan Carlos Fererro 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the ATP tournament.
The 19-year-old top seed also took another step closer to his seventh claycourt title of 2005 to add to victories in Acapulco, Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona, Costa Do Sauipe and Roland Garros.
Nadal’s next opponent, third-seed Tommy Robredo booked a place in the semi-final by scoring a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny.
Czech Jiri Vanek breezed into his first career semi-final beating Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-4, 6-2.
Vanek will meet either defending champion Mariano Zabaleta or Tomas Berdych whose quarter-final was delayed by rain.
Venus and Myskina Set for
Fed Cup Classic
Meantime, her country’s hopes of reaching the Fed Cup final will rest on her shoulders today when Venus Williams takes on Russia’s Anastastia Myskina in the opening singles of the semifinal in Moscow.
Defeat for the 25-year-old American, who claimed her third Wimbledon title in stunning fashion less than a week ago, would put the defending champions firmly in the driving seat.
The other semifinal in Aix-de-Provence begins with France’s Amelie Mauresmo up against Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues in what should be a comfortable opening for the 2003 champions.
While the two semi-finals take centre stage, the action will be no less intense in the four World Group I play off matches where places in the elite top eight are at stake.
Kim Clijsters returns to Fed Cup action for Belgium more than a year after her last appearance and her class should prove decisive against a gritty Argentine side in Bree.
Venus versus Myskina has all the makings of a classic Fed Cup match-up.
Both arrived at Wimbledon almost unnoticed, with talk of Venus having lost focus and 2004 French Open champion Myskina experiencing a rapid reversal of fortunes.
Venus rolled back the years to win the tournament, beating fellow American and world number one Lindsay Davenport in a tumultuous final. The feisty Myskina spent nine hours on court as she battled back from seemingly impossible situations to reach the quarter-finals where she lost to Mauresmo.
Venus has won three of their four meetings, although Myskina triumphed on clay at the French Open and will benefit from the same slow surface the Olympic Stadium. She will also have 11,000 Russians on her side.
“We’re going to have great support both days,” said Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev, who hopes to record a first-ever Fed Cup victory over the U.S.
Davenport’s back injury means a daunting debut for Mashona Washington against Elena Dementieva in the other singles on Saturday but US captain Zina Garrison remains confident.
