The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Tommy Robredo enters third round

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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Tommy Robredo enters third round

TENNIS / Dementieva downs Santangelo; Bhupathi-Zimonjic in last eight

— Photo: Elsa/Getty Images

BATTLING THROUGH: Elena Dementieva had to dig in deep to get the better of Mara Santangelo.

NEW HAVEN (U.S.): Tommy Robredo and Elena Dementieva won their opening matches at the Pilot Pen tennis tournament on Monday, and Americans also made a mark.

Robredo, the No. 2-seed in the men’s draw, advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marc Gicquel of France.

The Spaniard, ranked No. 8 by the ATP, played four consecutive clay court tournaments following Wimbledon, and said he needs these matches to get ready for the U.S. Open next week.

“On hard court, I wasn’t winning a lot of matches these last two weeks,” he said. “For me, I think it’s good to be here and get the confidence back.”

Dementieva, seeded sixth in the women’s draw, beat Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. The Russian used strong groundstrokes to overpower Santangelo and overcome nine double faults.

“Sometimes I feel like I need to take more time before I go to serve,” she said. “I feel like my serve is getting better, but when you play under pressure, sometimes it’s difficult.”

The only other seeded woman to play on Monday, No. 7 Sybille Bammer, beat American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-2. American Ashley Harkleroad advanced over Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-1, 6-0.

Sania trails

Sania Mirza’s opening encounter against Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain was interrupted due to rain.

The Indian was trailing 0-1 in the first set against the 33-ranked Medina in the only match postponed due to rain.

In the men’s section, Americans Mardy Fish and Vincent Spadea also won.

Fish moved into the third round with a 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-0 win over Filippo Volandri of Italy. Volandri was up 5-3 in the second and serving for the match, when Fish reeled off 10 straight games.

“This is the time that the Americans want to shine the most,” he said. “This is an important tournament for me. It’s nice to get on a little bit of a roll. Winning always helps your confidence, and confidence is a major part in tennis.”

Spadea moves up

Spadea advanced with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 first-round win over Russian Evgeny Korolev.

The results: At New Haven (ATP New Haven Open): Second round: Jarkko Nieminen bt Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6); Mardy Fish bt Filippo Volandri 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-0; Tommy Robredo bt Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-4.

First round: Stanislas Wawrinka bt Mario Ancic 7-6(4) 6-4; Arnaud Clement bt Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-4; Jose Acasuso bt Olivier Rochus 6-1, 7-6(7); Vince Spadea bt Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; Julien Benneteau bt Oscar Hernandez 6-2, 6- 2; Albert Montanes bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-4; Luis Horna bt Stefan Koubek 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

WTA New Haven Open: First round: Eleni Daniilidou bt Martina Mueller 6-4, 7-6(4); Elena Dementieva bt Mara Santangelo 6-2, 3-6, 6-0; Ashley Harkleroad bt Tatiana Poutchek 6-1, 6-0; Alona Bondarenko bt Olga Govortsova 6-3 , 7-6(2); Virginia Ruano bt Olga Poutchkova 7-6(4), 6-1; Sybille Bammer bt Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-2; Agnes Szavay bt Samantha Stosur (Australia) 6-2, 6-4; Emilie Loit bt Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 7-5. — Agencies

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