The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sania Mirza enters second round

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 04, 2005

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Sport - Tennis

Sania Mirza enters second round

NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza outplayed fellow-qualifier Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second round clash with the eighth-ranked fourth seed Nadia Petrova of Russia in the Acura Classic WTA event in San Diego. Having been assured of a minimum of 39.5 WTA points, including 10.5 for qualifying, the 18-year-old Hyderabad lass will need to scalp her second top-10 victim to accomplish her target of moving into the top 50.

"It was a good match. I tried a few different things, like coming in a bit more and playing the slice. I played alright and didn't drop serve," said Mirza after beating Garbin.

"I have nothing to lose, against Petrova. I really don't know what to expect but it is going to be a good match."

"Challenging the top players does not excite me that much anymore. When I get on court, I do believe that I am as good as them. Without that belief you cannot hope to beat them. Every match is a challenge no matter whether I am playing a top 10 or a top 500 player," said Mirza, exuding a strong streak of self-belief.

"I want to be top 50, but rankings really don't matter. I am enjoying my time out there, playing a string of good matches. Even during the European tour, I was sure that I would get back my form and be moving up if I got a bunch of matches. At the moment, I am gaining a lot of match practice and am improving my game. I am training hard and feeling pretty good about it," she said.

Meanwhile, China's Shuai Peng upset third seed Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4 in the second round.

Playing only her second WTA Tour match since the French Open, China's highest-ranked player outran the fleet Dementieva, staying away from the Russian's forehand and dominating off the backhand side.

"I'm happy that I beat a higher ranked player, but I want to keep improving," she said.

Dementieva, who often practices with the 19-year-old Peng, was impressed by her foe's game.

"She's very aggressive and hits a heavy ball," Dementieva said. "I played well, too."

In a minor upset, Japan's Akiko Morigami defeated 15th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-1, 7-5.

Henman crashes out

Third-seeded Tim Henman and two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis were upset in their opening matches on Tuesday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a tuneup for the U.S. Open.

Henman of Britain, who got a first-round bye at the hard-court tournament he won in 2003, lost 7-6(4), 7-5 to South African Wesley Moodie. Australia's Philippoussis was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Luis Horna of Peru in a first-round match.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick, the 2001 champion, moved into the third round defeating Ecuador's Giovanni Lapentti 6-3, 6-4.

In other second-round matches Tuesday night, 2.08-meter (6-foot-10) Croatian Ivo Karlovic defeated Max Mirnyi of Belarus 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic beat Frenchman Sebastien De Chaunac 7-6 (7), 6-1.

In first-round play, Ginepri beat training partner and fellow American Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-3.

Puerta ambushed

Top-seeded Mariano Puerta was upset 6-4, 7-6(1) by Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the first round of the Idea Prokom Open on Tuesday.

Nieminen will play Nicolas Almagro in the next round after the Spaniard beat countryman Albert Portas 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4.

Puerta reached the final at the French Open two months ago but the Argentine hasn't made another since.

Gustavo Kuerten's struggles continued when the three-time French Open champion had to retire with neck pain while third-seeded Guillermo Coria was up 6-3, 4-0. Kuerten hasn't won a first-round match since May at the Hamburg Masters.

Coria is coming off a title victory in Umag, Croatia, where he beat Felix Mantilla in the second round and could meet the Spaniard again this week. Mantilla beat Polish qualifier Marcin Matkowski 6-0, 6-7(2), 6-1.

Fourth-seeded Carlos Moya, who lost the Umag final to Coria on Sunday, beat another Polish qualifier, Mariusz Fyrstenberg, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5, staving off a break point in the last game.

The results: At Washington (Legg Mason Tennis Classic): Second round: Andy Roddick bt Giovanni Lapentti 6-3, 6-4; Ivo Karlovic bt Max Mirnyi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Wesley Moodie bt Tim Henman 7-6(4), 7-5; Tomas Zib bt Jonas Bjorkman 0-6, 6-3, 7-5; Jan Hernych bt Sebastien De Chaunac 7-6(7), 6-1. First round: Brian Baker bt Ivo Heuberger 6-2, 6-4; Nathan Healey bt Gregory Carraz 6-2, 6-1; Robby Ginepri bt Kevin Kim 6-2 6-3; Luis Horna bt Mark Philippoussis; 7-5, 6-4; Arnaud Clement bt Nicolas Lapentti 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Gilles Muller bt Davide Sanguinetti 6-3, 6-4; Bobby Reynolds bt Alex Clayton 7-5, 6-4.

At Sopot (Idea Prokom Open): First round: Juan Monaco bt Alan Mackin 6-3, 6-1; Gael Monfils bt Juan Antonio Marin 6-0, 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen bt Mariano Puerta 6-4, 7-6(1); Felix Mantilla bt Marcin Matkowski 6-0, 6-7(2), 6-1; Nicolas Almagro bt Albert Portas 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4; Filippo Volandri bt Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 6-1; Florian Mayer bt Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; Guillermo Coria bt Gustavo Kuerten 6-3, 4-0 retired; Carlos Moya bt Mariusz Frystenberg 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5.

At San Diego (Acura Classic): Second round: Shuai Peng bt Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4; Anna Chakvetadze bt Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-3; Akiko Morigami bt Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 7-5(2); Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Klara Koukalova 7-5, 6-3. First round: Jelena Jankovic bt Amy Frazier 7-5, 6-0; Kveta Peschke bt Jill Craybas 0-6, 6-1, 7-6(2); Anastassia Rodionova bt Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2(17); Francesca Schiavone bt Abigail Spears 6-3, 6-2(10); Nathalie Dechy bt Kristina Brandi 6-2, 6-2; Anna-Lena Groenefeld bt Eleni Daniilidou 7-6(5), 6-4; Sania Mirza bt Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-2; Mashona Washington bt Karolina Sprem 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1; Ai Sugiyama bt Meghann Shaughnessy 3-0 (retired).

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