The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Benjamin Becker, Ginepri crash out

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Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
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Benjamin Becker, Ginepri crash out

— PHOTO: AFP

ALL INTENSITY: Gilles Simon shocked Nikolay Davydenko in the Croatia Open on Monday.

INDIANAPOLIS: Robby Ginepri and Benjamin Becker, the seventh and eighth seeds, were bundled out of the Indianapolis Championships at the first hurdle on Monday.

American Ginepri, who won the Indianapolis title in 2005 and reached the semifinals last year, was upset by 83rd-ranked Michael Berrer of Germany 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Berrer, 27, who reached the quarterfinals at ’s Hertogenbosch on grass last month, lost to countryman Nicolas Kiefer in the quarterfinals at Los Angeles last week.

“I’m full of confidence,” Berrer told reporters. “For the moment I’m in good shape. I want to win a lot.

“Maybe today I wanted it a little bit more than he did.”

Ginepri won the first set after breaking Berrer’s serve in the eighth game but Berrer raced to a 4-1 lead in the second set after breaking serve in the second game, and then broke serve again in the eighth.

The German then took a 3-1 lead in the final set when Ginepri double-faulted twice in a row to go to 0-40 and netted a volley to lose serve in the fourth game.

Seeded casualty

Eighth-seeded Becker of Germany, the only other seed in action on Monday, was also a casualty as he fell to Frank Dancevic of Canada 6-4 6-3.

The 109th-ranked Dancevic broke Becker’s serve three times in the match — in the third game of the first set and the third and ninth games of the second set.

Sam Querrey, the World No. 90, ended a six-match losing streak which dated back to May with a 7-6(6), 6-1 first-round win over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

The 19-year-old, who blasted 19 aces, lost only four points on first serve in the match and reversed a run of form that has seen him win just once in nine matches.

“This was my first win in like seven weeks,” Querrey said. “This was a very important win. Every time you win, it builds on your confidence.

“This was a big boost.”

Russian teenager Evgeny Korolev made good on nine of 12 break points to beat American veteran Justin Gimelstob 6-2, 6-4 and book a place in the second round against top seed Andy Roddick.

In the doubles, friends Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick combined to take out the top-seeded pairing of Mahesh Bhupathi and Aussie Paul Hanley 67(2) 64 10-8.

Mirnyi loses

Former top-20 player Max Mirnyi was upset by 406th-ranked Rainer Eitzinger of Austria 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in the first round of the Austrian Open on Monday.

After dropping the first set, Mirnyi used the only break point in the second to take the match into a decider.

Davydenko ousted

Gilles Simon of France held on to upset world No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in their Croatia Open first-round match on Monday. Simon led 5-0 in the final set but Davydenko saved four match points to rally to 5-3. The Russian had eight break points in the next game but Simon held serve for the best win of his career. It was Davydenko’s third defeat in a row in the first round in as many weeks.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia scored his 100th victory by beating qualifier Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-1, 6-3 in his first match on clay since the Roland Garros semifinals.

The results (all first round):

At Indianapolis (Indianapolis Tennis Championships): Sam Querrey bt Julien Benneteau 7-6(6), 6-1; Evgeny Korolev bt Justin Gimelstob 6-2, 6-4; Frank Dancevic bt Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-3; Juan-Martin del Potro bt Amer Delic 7-5, 7-6(5); Michael Berrer bt Robby Ginepri 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

At Kitzbuehel (Austrian Open): Diego Hartfield bt Martin Fischer 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Rainer Eitzinger bt Max Mirnyi 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3).

At Umag (Croatia Open): Novak Djokovic bt Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-3; Gilles Simon bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 2-6, 6-3; Marin Cilic bt Mathieu Montcourt 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Carlos Berlocq bt Maximo Gonzalez 6-3, 6-4; Pere Riba bt Luka Belic 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo bt Gaston Gaudio 6-0, 6-4.

At Stanford (Bank of the West Classic): Katarina Srebotnik bt Olga Poutchkova 6-3, 6-4; Meilen Tu bt Meghann Shaughnessy 7-6(3), 6-1; Peng Shuai bt Elena Bovina 6-3, 6-4; Eleni Daniilidou bt Amber Liu 4-6, 7-5, 6-1; Lilia Osterloh bt J ill Craybas 6-2, 7-5.

At Bad Gastein (Gastein Ladies): Edina Gallovits bt Aravane Rezai 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Virginia Ruano Pascual bt Nika Ozegovic 6-2, 6-3; Eva Birnerova bt Iveta Benesova 7-6(5), 6-3. — Agencies

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