The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer gets past first hurdle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Federer gets past first hurdle

BANGKOK, SEPT. 28. World No. 1 Roger Federer beat Nicolas Thomann of France 6-4, 7-6(4) to begin his quest for a 10th title this season at the Thailand Open on Tuesday.

Fifth-seeded Taylor Dent also started the defence of his title by beating Justin Gimelstob 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an all-American first-round match.

Federer had little trouble handling Thomann, ranked 507th, in his first match since his U.S. Open victory two weeks ago.

Federer broke in the fifth game and closed the first set out with an ace. Thomann forced a second-set tiebreaker when he rallied from 0-40 in the 10th game. Thomann led 2-0 in the tiebreak, but the plucky Frenchman hit two consecutive long balls to concede the match.

Sharapova moves up

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova crushed Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of the Hansol Korea Open WTA event on Tuesday. The 17-year-old Russian broke Gagliardi's serve five times, beating her in 71 minutes in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

The results:

At Bangkok (Thai Open): First round: Paul Baccanello bt Marc Rosset 7-6(2), 1-6, 7-6(4); Alex Bogomolov Jr. bt Jaymond Crabb 6-3, 6-2; Dennis Van Scheppingen bt Novak Djokovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; Jeff Morrison bt Michael Kohlmann 6-4, 6-3; Roger Federer bt Nicolas Thomann 6-4, 7-6(); Taylor Dent bt Justin Gimelstob 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

At Seoul (Hansol Korea Open): First round: Shinobu Asagoe bt Seiko Okamoto 6-0, 6-2; Maria Sharapova bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1, 6-3; Katarina Srebotnik bt Antonella Serra Zanetti 6-1, 6-1; Anne Kremer bt Lubomira Kurhajcova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; Chuang Chia-jung bt Katerina Bohmova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3; Abigail Spears bt Lenka Nemeckova 6-1, 6-2; Shahar Peer bt Lenka Nemeckova 6-1, 6-2; Miho Saeki bt Sunitha Rao 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5); Saori Obata bt Yuka Yoshida 7-5, 3-6, 0-2, retd.; Rika Fujiwara bt Kim So-jung 6-0, 6-4. Marta Domachowska bt Marlene Weingartner 6-1, 6-3; Catalina Castano bt Mashona Washington 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; Galina Voskoboeva bt Milagros Sequera 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7); Sandra Mamic bt Kim Jin-hee 6-3, 6-0; Silvija Talaja bt Adriana Serra Zanetti 6-3, 6-4; Samantha Stosur bt Cho Yoon-jeong 7-6 (1), 6-4.

At Beijing (Guangzhou Open): First round: Flavia Pennetta bt Yan Zi 6-1, 2-6, 6-3; Marion Bartoli bt Jennifer Hopkins 6-0, 6-4; Nicole Pratt bt Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-4; Li Na bt Vera Douchevina 6-4, 6-1; Martina Sucha bt Alina Jidkova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Tatiana Panova bt Nina Bratchikova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3; Tamarine Tanasugarn bt Jill Craybas 6-2, 7-5; Peng Shuai bt Natalie Grandin 6-0, 6-3; Klara Koukalova bt Sun Tian Tian 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1; Barbora Strycova bt Sandra Kleinova 6-2, 6-1; Li Ting, China bt Aniko Kapros 6-1, 6-1.

At Brussels (WTA Gaz de France Stars): First round: Virginia Ruano Pascual bt Jelena Kostanic 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4; Denisa Chladkova bt Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-1, 6-4; Elena Bovina bt Carolina Maes 6-1, 6-1.

At Shanghai (ATP Heineken Open): First round: Guillermo Canas bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (1), 6-3; Davide Sanguinetti bt Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 6-3; Kenneth Carlsen bt Jan Hernych 7-5, 6-1; Gilles Muller bt Jean-Rene Lisnard 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

At Palermo (Campionati di Sicilia): First round: Fernando Verdasco bt Francesco Aldi 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Olivier Mutis bt Oliver Patience 6-4, 6-3; Jose Acasuso bt Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-1.

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