Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (Sports Network) - French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic and last week's Portoroz champion Tatiana Golovin were among the winners Wednesday, while third-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova went by way of the upset at the $600,000 Fortis Championships.
The second-seeded Ivanovic moved into the quarterfinals by handling a wild card, Luxembourg's own Anne Kremer, 7-5, 6-4, while the eighth-seeded Golovin stayed hot by downing Romanian wild card Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round on the indoor hardcourts at CK Sport Kockelscheuer. The Serbian Ivanovic and three other seeds received opening-round byes this week.
The French Golovin has won her last six matches, including a victory against Katarina Srebotnik in this past Sunday's finale at the Slovenia Open. Her second-round opponent here on Thursday will be last year's Luxembourg runner- up, Francesca Schiavone.
Surging Belarusian Victoria Azarenka ousted Petrova in 6-2, 6-1 fashion to reach the quarterfinals.
One other second-round match saw Russian Vera Zvonareva take out seventh- seeded Israeli Shahar Peer 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, while one other first-round bout saw sixth-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder shut down Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-3. Bondarenko's sister Alona captured this tournament last year by beating Schiavone in the final. Alona Bondarenko lost to Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli here on Tuesday.
Zvonareva will meet Azarenka in Friday's quarterfinals.
This week's top seed is Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who will open her stay against American Meilen Tu on Thursday.
The 2007 Luxembourg titlist will claim $88,265.
White Plains, NY (Sports Network) - The 2007 Davis Cup World Group final between the host United States and defending champion Russia will be staged at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.
The best-of-five tie will be played from November 30-December 2, on a surface yet to be determined, and will mark the first Davis Cup final on American soil in 15 years. The Americans topped the Swiss in the 1992 finale in Fort Worth, Texas.
The U.S., captained by Patrick McEnroe, featured Andy Roddick, James Blake and the twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in its 4-1 semifinal victory against host Sweden last week, while the Russian team, skippered by Shamil Tarpischev, boasted Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny in its home win against Germany.
The Americans hold a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but haven't won the championship since 1995, when Pete Sampras led them to a 3-2 victory over Russia in a final in Moscow.
The Russians beat Argentina in last year's finale, in Moscow, and captured the first of their two titles in 2002.
The U.S. is 2-1 all-time versus Russia, which beat the Americans 3-2 in last year's semifinals, in Moscow. Team USA bested the Russians 3-2 in an opening- round affair on home turf in Atlanta back in 1998.
Portland's Memorial Coliseum has hosted Davis Cup matches, which it did in 1981 and 1984.
Guangzhou, China (Sports Network) - Fourth-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was one of 12 first-round winners Wednesday at the Guangzhou International women's tennis event.
Cibulkova handled Belarusian Tatiana Poutchek 6-0, 6-3 at the Tennis Courts of Fangcun Sports Center.
A trio of upsets occurred, as American qualifier Julie Ditty dropped fifth- seeded Russian Olga Poutchkova 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru topped seventh-seeded Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2, 6-4 and France's Camille Pin took out eighth-seeded Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 4-1, as the Russian retired due to a right knee injury.
Sixth-seeded Belarusian Olga Govortsova avoided an upset by drubbing Slovakian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-1, 6-3 at this hardcourt tournament.
A trio of Chinese crowd favorites advanced, as Zi Yan beat American Vania King 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), qualifier Shanshan Song subdued her wild card countrywoman Chunmei Ji 6-3, 6-2 and Tiantian Sun overcame American qualifier Raquel Kops- Jones 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.
Additional opening-round wins came for Russian Anastassia Rodionova, Israeli Tzipora Obziler, Aussie Alicia Molik and Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.
On Thursday, top-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues will take on Croat Jelena Kostanic Tosic in a second-round affair. Medina Garrigues was last year's runner-up here to Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
The 2007 Guangzhou champion will collect $25,855.
Seoul, Korea (Sports Network) - Last week's Kolkata champion Maria Kirilenko posted a first-round victory, while sixth-seeded German Martina Muller came up a second-round loser Wednesday at the $145,000 Korea Open.
The fourth-seeded Kirilenko won her sixth straight match by handling Korean wild card So-Jung Kim 7-5, 6-3, while Muller failed to reach the quarterfinals here when Colombian Catalina Castano erased her in 6-4, 6-2 fashion on the hardcourts at the Olympic Tennis Courts. The Russian Kirilenko corralled her second career WTA Tout title in India this past Sunday.
In other second-round action, Japan's Ayumi Morita edged out France's Mathilde Johansson 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and Italian Flavia Pennetta handled Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-4.
One other opening-round bout saw Polish qualifier Marta Domachowska dismiss Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-2.
On Thursday, top-seeded Wimbledon champion Venus Williams of the United States will face Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn, second-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay, fresh off her title in Beijing, will encounter Russian Galina Voskoboeva, the surging Kirilenko will meet Chinese Meng Yuan and defending Seoul titlist Eleni Daniilidou of Greece will battle American Ahsha Rolle. Daniilidou topped Japan's Ai Sugiyama in last year's finale here.
The 2007 Seoul champion will take home $21,140.
Bangkok, Thailand (Sports Network) - Seeds Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas were among Wednesday's first-round winners, while former world No. 1 Andy Roddick pulled out of the $550,000 Thailand Open, citing a left foot injury.
The second-seeded Roddick was scheduled to meet Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang on Day 2 here, but the American, fresh off his Davis Cup action in Sweden, withdrew due to the foot problem suffered during practice here on Tuesday. Roddick helped the United States beat Sweden 4-1 in last week's Davis Cup semifinal in Gothenburg.
Roddick was the 2004 Bangkok runner-up to Roger Federer.
Top-seeded U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic pulled out of the draw here on Tuesday, citing a back injury, while world No. 2 Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event on Sunday due to a knee injury, leaving this watered-down tournament without three of the top-five players on the planet.
Meanwhile, the third-seeded Berdych, of the Czech Republic, blasted Thai wild card Kittipong Wachiramanowong 6-3, 6-0 and the fourth-seeded Haas, of Germany, overcame American Vincent Spadea 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at Impact Arena.
Sixth-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov got past Austrian Werner Eschauer 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, while eighth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco vaulted past American lucky-loser David Martin 6-2, 6-1.
Other Day-2 wins came for Russian Igor Kunitsyn, German lucky-loser Simon Stadler, Aussie qualifier Nick Lindahl and the wild card Wang, who, instead of facing Roddick, took on American lucky-loser Phillip King and prevailed 6-3, 6-3.
The 2007 Bangkok titlist will collect $76,500.
Mumbai, India (Sports Network) - Sixth-seeded Austrian Stefan Koubek and eighth-seeded Belgian Olivier beat out the rain on Wednesday and posted first- round wins at the $416,000 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open.
Koubek clobbered Chilean Paul Capdeville 6-3, 6-2, while Rochus routed Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2, 6-2 on another wet day at the Cricket Club of India. Rain has disrupted play on all three days of main-draw activity here.
One other Day-3 result saw Italian Fabio Fognini drive out Indian wild card Somdev Dev Varman 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). Fognini is rewarded with a second-round match against top-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was supposed to open his stay here against qualifier Ti Chen of Taipei on Wednesday, but the Aussie star will have to wait until Day 4.
Fourth-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen and fifth-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro had their second-rounders postponed until Thursday.
The 2007 Mumbai titlist will collect $65,850.
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - World No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport posted quarterfinal wins, while third-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo came up a loser Friday at the $600,000 China Open.
The second-seeded Jankovic handled Japan's Akiko Morigami 6-3, 7-5, while the unseeded Davenport won her eighth straight match by ousting fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 at Beijing Tennis Center.
Jankovic and the three-time major titlist Davenport will now meet for a second straight week, as the 31-year-old American doused the Serbian star in last week's quarterfinals on her way to a title in Bali. Last week marked Davenport's first WTA Tour singles action since last September. She gave birth to her first child, a son named Jagger, in June of this year.
Davenport is a perfect 4-0 lifetime against Jankovic.
The former top-ranked and two-time major champion Mauresmo succumbed to Chinese crowd favorite Shuai Peng 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Mauresmo was last year's Beijing runner-up to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who pulled out of this year's event on Wednesday due to an injury.
One other quarterfinal match saw sixth-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay zip past Argentine lucky-loser Maria Emilia Salerni 6-2, 6-4. Salerni replaced an injured Kuznetsova in the draw here.
Szavay and Peng will square off in Saturday's other semifinal.
The 2007 Beijing titlist will collect $88,265.
Gothenburg, Sweden (Sports Network) - Andy Roddick handled Joachim Johansson in straight sets in Friday's opening singles rubber in the Davis Cup semifinal between the United States and host Sweden.
The former world No. 1 Roddick recorded a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 53 minutes in a hard-serving affair on an indoor carpet at Scandinavium.
Roddick launched 30 aces at the 6-foot-6 Johansson, who countered with 23 bombs in a losing effort. The rusty Johansson, who hasn't played on the ATP since the Australian Open back in January due to ongoing shoulder problems, piled up seven double faults on his way to surrendering the first point to the formidable Americans.
The former U.S. Open champ and three-time Grand Slam runner-up Roddick is now 24-9 in his career Davis Cup singles matches.
Friday's second singles rubber will James Blake against the hosts' Thomas Johansson, who is not related to Joachim. Blake is 11-7 in his career Davis Cup singles action.
Saturday's doubles will pit the American twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, against a Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman, while Sunday's reverse singles tentatively call for Roddick to meet Thomas Johansson and Blake to take on Joachim Johansson. Aspelin captured the U.S. Open men's doubles title, alongside Austrian Julian Knowle, earlier this month.
The winner of this best-of-five tie will face the Russia-Germany victor in the World Group final in late-November/early-December. Russia is the defending Davis Cup champ.
The United States owns a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but is currently in its longest-ever championship drought, having not hoisted the chalice since 1995. The Swedes have won the title seven times, with their last one coming back in 1998.
The Americans are 8-3 all-time against Sweden, dating back to 1946, including a quarterfinal victory in Florida in 2004. The Swedes are 3-1 versus the U.S. in their ties on home turf, including a 5-0 victory in a final right here in Gothenburg 10 years ago. Sweden also topped the Americans in the final back in 1984.
The U.S. is 2-1 versus the Swedes in the Davis Cup semifinals, but 0-1 in ones played here in Sweden.
Patrick McEnroe captains the American squad, while former tennis great Mats Wilander guides the Swedes.
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sports Network) - This week's top seeds -- France's Tatiana Golovin and Austrian Sybille Bammer -- highlighted Wednesday's second- round winners at the $145,000 Slovenia Open.
Golovin grounded Italian Karin Knapp 6-4, 6-3, while Bammer blitzed Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 6-2 on the hardcourts at SRC Marina in the beautiful coastal city of Portoroz.
Two other seeds moved into the quarterfinals here, as No. 5 Russian Vera Zvonareva held off Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 and No. 8 Russian Vera Dushevina doused Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-4. Zvonareva and Dushevina will square off in an all-Russian quarter on Friday.
The first round finally concluded on Wednesday, with three matches that were either suspended or postponed because of rain and/or darkness here on Tuesday. Seventh-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko dropped Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-3, 6-4, while ninth-seeded American Meilen Tu got past Croat Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) and Russian Elena Vesnina outlasted Slovenian wild card Polona Hercog 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4.
On Thursday, fourth-seeded heavy Slovenian crowd favorite Katarina Srebotnik will battle American veteran Meghann Shaughnessy in a second-round affair.
The 2007 Portoroz winner will pocket $21,140.
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Tatiana Golovin and Slovenian crowd favorite Katarina Srebotnik highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $145,000 Slovenia Open.
The Russian native Golovin, who plays under the French flag and lives in Florida, snuck past American Lilia Osterloh 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, while the fourth- seeded Srebotnik dismantled her wild card countrywoman Masa Zec Peskiric 6-0, 6-0 on the hardcourts at SRC Marina.
One other opening-rounder saw Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva sneak past Czech veteran Klara Zakopalova 7-6 (10-8), 6-2.
The 2007 Portoroz winner will pocket $21,140. Austrian Tamira Paszek beat Italian Maria Elena Camerin in last year's finale.
Kolkata, India (Sports Network) - Fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $175,000 Sunfeast Open.
Kirilenko handled American qualifier Neha Uberoi 6-2, 6-2, while another seed posted a Day-1 victory, as No. 8 Yung-Jan Chan of Taipei double-bageled helpless Indian wild card Kyra Shroff 6-0, 6-0 at Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Up next for Kirilenko will be Russian Ekaterina Ivanova, while Chan will battle Slovakian Jarmila Gajdosova.
In other opening-round play, Aussie Casey Dellacqua drilled Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-2, 6-3, the qualifier Ivanova held off British qualifier Naomi Cavaday 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 and Gajdosova grounded France's Youlia Fedossova 6-3, 6-4.
This week's top seeds are Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli of France and last week's Bali runner-up Daniela Hantuchova. Bartoli will open up against American Vania King, while the Slovakian Hantuchova will encounter Poland's Marta
Domachowska.
Swiss Martina Hingis bested Russian Olga Poutchkova in last year's finale here, but neither player made the trip to Kolkata this year.
The 2007 Sunfeast titlist will pocket $25,855.
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Two of Monday's three scheduled first-round matches were postponed because of rain at the $600,000 China Open.
In the lone result of the day, Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova snuck past Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 on the hardcourts at Beijing Tennis Center. Chilean Fernando Gonzalez topped Spaniard Tommy Robredo in last week's men's edition of this tournament.
Day 1's rained out matches were supposed to pit fifth-seeded Swiss Martina Hingis against Chinese wild card Tiantian Sun and Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual versus Russian Olga Poutchkova. The two matches will now be part of Tuesday's schedule.
Last year's marquee final here saw Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova defeat France's Amelie Mauresmo. This week's top four seeds -- the U.S. Open runner-up Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, the two-time major champion Mauresmo and two-time Grand Slam runner-up Elena Dementieva -- received opening-round byes.
The 2007 Beijing titlist will collect $88,265.
Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Hometown favorite Victor Hanescu toppled third-seeded Italian Potito Starace in Friday's quarterfinal action at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
The Bucharest native Hanescu, a wild card this week, sent Starace packing with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 decision on the red clay at BNR Arenas.
The only seeded player still standing this week, No. 6 Frenchman Gilles Simon, avoided an upset by drilling American qualifier Hugo Armando 6-4, 6-2 on Day 5.
In other quarterfinal action, qualifier Gael Monfils drubbed fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-2 and Argentine Carlos Berlocq dismissed Russian qualifier Yuri Schukin 7-5, 6-3.
Saturday's semifinals will pit Simon against Berlocq and Hanescu versus Monfils.
Bali, Indonesia (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and former world No. 1 American Lindsay Davenport highlighted Thursday's second-round winners at the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
Jankovic, fresh off her quarterfinal appearance at the U.S. Open, got past Aussie Casey Dellacqua 6-4, 6-4, while the unseeded Davenport handled her qualifier compatriot Julie Ditty 6-1, 6-4 at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Bali.
The 22-year-old Jankovic and the three-time major titlist Davenport will do battle in the quarters here on Friday. The 31-year-old Davenport is 3-0 lifetime against the current world No. 3 Serb.
The 2005 Bali titlist Davenport is playing her first singles tennis since last September. She gave birth to her first child, a son named Jagger, in June of this year.
A pair of Day-4 upsets occurred, as Romanian qualifier Sorana Cirstea drove out third-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 and Italian Sara Errani erased fourth-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Seventh-seeded Japanese Aiko Nakamura charged into the quarterfinals by pasting France's Youlia Fedossova 6-2, 6-2.
Friday's other quarters will pit second-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova against Japan's Ayumi Morita, Nakamura versus Errani and Cirstea against her fellow Romanian Edina Gallovits.
This week's winner will collect $32,340.
Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Italian Potito Starace, the highest-remaining seed still standing this week, highlighted Thursday's second-round winners at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
Starace drove out veteran Romanian crowd favorite Andrei Pavel 6-3, 6-3 on the red clay at B.N.R. Arenas. The 33-year-old Pavel entered the draw as a wild card this week.
Another Romanian wild card did not disappoint the home crowd on Day 4, however, as Victor Hanescu knocked out eighth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-2 to reach Friday's quarterfinals, where he will meet Starace. Montanes was the Bucharest runner-up back in 2001.
In other second-round play, Russian qualifier Yuri Schukin got past Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3 and Argentine Carlos Berlocq handled Spaniard Ivan Navarro Pastor 7-5, 6-3.
The other quarters will pit sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon against American Hugo Armando, Schukin versus Berlocq and Frenchman Marc Gicquel against his countryman Gael Monfils.
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Russian star Nikolay Davydenko came up a second-round loser Thursday at the $500,000 China Open.
Promising 18-year-old Croat Marin Cilic upended the U.S. Open semifinalist Davydenko in 6-3, 6-4 fashion on the hardcourts at Beijing Tennis Center. Davydenko has now dropped two of his last three matches, including a final four setback at the hands of Roger Federer in New York last week.
A pair of seeds moved into Friday's quarterfinals here, as No. 3 Spaniard Tommy Robredo rolled past South African Rik De Voest 6-2, 6-3 and No. 8 Russian Igor Kunitsyn held off American Kevin Kim 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Another upset, albeit a mild one, occurred when German wild card Nicolas Kiefer cut down seventh-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4.
The quarters will pit second-seeded Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez, of Chile, against sixth-seeded Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, Robredo versus Kunitsyn, fourth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic against fifth-seeded and defending Beijing champion Marcos Baghdatis and Cilic versus Kiefer. The 2006 Aussie Open runner-up Baghdatis, of Cyprus, bested Croat Mario Ancic in last year's finale here and is currently riding seven-match winning streak in Beijing.
Bali, Indonesia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova highlighted Wednesday's second-round winners at the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
Hantuchova handled Dutch wild card Elise Tamaela 7-5, 6-3 at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Bali.
A second-round upset came when Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita mauled sixth- seeded German Martina Muller 6-4, 6-0. Morita will now appear in her first- ever WTA Tour quarterfinal, against Hantuchova.
One other second-round match saw Romanian Edina Gallovits ground Chinese qualifier Meng Yuan 6-2, 6-4, while one final opening-round bout had seventh- seeded Japanese Aiko Nakamura besting Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5.
On Thursday, second-round matches will come for top-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and former world No. 1 American Lindsay Davenport, who is playing her first singles tennis in almost a year this week. Jankovic will face Aussie Casey Dellacqua, while the 2005 Bali titlist Davenport will encounter fellow American Julie Ditty.
This week's winner will collect $32,340.
Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Fifth-seeded and two-time runner-up Igor Andreev was among Wednesday's second-round losers at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
Frenchman Marc Gicquel dismissed the Russian Andreev in 6-4, 6-3 fashion on the red clay at B.N.R. Arenas. Andreev reached back-to-back finals here in 2004 and 2005.
Sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon avoided an upset by pasting Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-4, 6-2 on Day 3 here.
In other second-round action, American qualifier Hugo Armando erased Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-3 and French qualifier Gael Monfils topped Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 6-4. Armando will battle Simon in the quarterfinals, while Monfils will encounter his countryman Gicquel.
A pair of Romanian crowd favorites will take to the clay here on Thursday, as Victor Hanescu will face eighth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes and Andrei Pavel will take on third-seeded Italian Potito Starace.
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez and last year's Beijing champion Marcos Baghdatis were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the $500,000 China Open.
The second-seeded Gonzalez blew past fellow Chilean Paul Capdeville 6-1, 6-2, while a fifth-seeded Baghdatis, of Cyprus, brushed aside Serbian Boris Pashanski 6-4, 6-4. The 2006 Aussie Open runner-up Baghdatis has won his last seven matches here in Beijing, including a title bout victory over Croatian Mario Ancic a year ago.
Gonzalez will battle sixth-seeded Korean Hyung-Taik Lee in the quarterfinals here on Friday, while Baghdatis will face fourth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic.
In other second-round action, Ljubicic leveled Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-1 and Lee handled German Bjorn Phau 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 on the hardcourts at the Beijing Tennis Center.
And in one final opening-round match, third-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo rolled past German Denis Gremelmayr 6-2, 6-4.
On Thursday, top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko will play his second-rounder against Croat Marin Cilic, while Robredo will take on South African Rik De Voest.
London, England (Sports Network) - Roger Federer has decided to play Davis Cup for Switzerland this month.
The Swiss will face the Czech Republic in a playoff on an indoor carpet in Prague from September 21-23, with the winner joining next year's 16-team World Group.
Federer had said that he would not play Davis Cup this year so he could concentrate on his top-ranking status and the Grand Slams. He won three of the four majors this year and was the runner-up at the French Open.
The 26-year-old Federer will be joined on the Swiss team by Stanislas Wawrinka, Michael Lammer and Yves Allegro. The formidable Czechs will counter with Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Lukas Dlouhy and Martin Damm.
Federer captured his fourth straight U.S. Open title last week, giving him 12 major titles for his brilliant career.
Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Top seeds Nicolas Almagro and Filippo Volandri were a pair of upset victims Tuesday at the $400,000 Romanian Open.
Almagro gave way to Italian Simone Bolelli, and an elbow injury, as the Spaniard retired from their match. Almagro won the first set 6-4 and was trailing 1-5 in the second when he called it quits.
The 2006 Bucharest runner-up Volandri was sent packing by French qualifier Gael Monfils 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) on the red clay at B.N.R. Arena. The Italian Volandri lost to Austrian Jurgen Melzer in last year's finale here.
Another Day-2 upset occurred when Argentine Carlos Berlocq knocked out seventh-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
The only seeded victor on Tuesday was No. 3 Italian Potito Starace, who came from behind to best Belgian Kristof Vliegen 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Starace is now the highest-standing seed remaining in the draw.
A pair of Romanian crowd favorites and wild cards advanced, as Victor Hanescu held off German Florian Mayer 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-3) and Andrei Pavel doused Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 7-5, 7-5.
Additional wins came for Russian qualifier Yuri Schukin, American qualifier Hugo Armando and Frenchman Marc Gicquel.
Bali, Indonesia (Sports Network) - Playing her first singles tennis since last year, former world No. 1 American Lindsay Davenport was an easy opening- round winner Tuesday at the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
An unseeded Davenport rolled past fifth-seeded Greek Eleni Daniilidou 6-2, 6-2 at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Bali. Davenport is now 2-0 lifetime against Daniilidou, with the other victory coming on a hardcourt in Los Angeles five years ago.
The 31-year-old Davenport is a three-time major titlist and captured this Bali event in 2005.
Davenport gave birth to her first child, a son named Jagger, back in June, and played her first WTA Tour tennis of any kind by making a doubles appearance in New Haven three weeks ago. Her last singles match came in China last September.
Up next for the big American will be her qualifier countrywoman Julie Ditty, who whipped Czech Hana Sromova 6-2, 6-1 on Day 2 here.
A trio of seeds managed to advance on Tuesday, as No. 3 Swiss Patty Schnyder shut down Chinese Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-2, No. 4 Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues pasted Indonesian wild card Sandy Gumulya 6-1, 6-1 and No. 6 German Martina Muller mauled Belarusian Tatiana Poutchek 6-3, 6-3.
Another seed bowed out when Chinese qualifier Meng Yuan drilled No. 8 Russian Yaroslava Shvedova 6-0, 6-1.
Additional wins came for Aussie Casey Dellacqua, Italian Sara Errani, Romanian qualifier Sorana Cirstea and Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita.
This week's winner will collect $32,340. The top seeds are Serbian Jelena Jankovic and Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova. Jankovic will open her stay against Dellacqua, while Hantuchova will face Dutchwoman Elise Tamaela.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will play for the U.S. Open title on Sunday after each won semifinal matches on Saturday.
The top-seeded Federer posted a 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, while the third-seeded Djokovic beat the heat and Spain's David Ferrer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, in the opener of Saturday's afternoon twinbill.
Federer continued his amazing play in Grand Slam competition, reaching a final for the 10th straight time. He will try for his fourth consecutive U.S. Open title and his 12th overall Grand Slam crown.
Standing in his way is the 20-year-old Djokovic, who was the last man to beat the Swiss superstar. Federer lost to the young Serb in the final of the Montreal Masters last month.
A victory Sunday afternoon would put Federer just two Grand Slam titles behind the record of 14 set by Pete Sampras. Federer would also become the first player to win four straight U.S. Open titles since the great Bill Tilden won six in a row from 1920-25.
The 26-year-old is also bidding to claim three of the season's four major championships for the second consecutive year and third time overall. He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns earlier this year and lost only in the final at the French Open.
Federer beat Davydenko for the 10th time without a loss, but had to struggle at times on Saturday.
Davydenko, who entered the match without having lost a set in the tournament, broke serve immediately. Federer got the break back in the sixth game, but failed to capitalize on four break points before finally converting.
After a trade of breaks, which became a theme, Federer held for 6-5 and broke serve again to take the first set.
Federer simply dominated the second set, before things turned bizarre.
Both players held serve to start the third set, but the next six games featured service breaks. Davydenko was bidding to make it seven in a row, and had a pair of set points against Federer's serve. He squandered both and Federer was able to hold to even the set at 5-5.
Federer then broke serve again and held at love to finish the match. He broke Davydenko's serve nine times, but had his own serve broken a surprising five times.
Davydenko has never reached a Grand Slam final, falling to 0-4 in major semis. He also lost to Federer in the French Open semis earlier this year.
Djokovic, meanwhile, became the first Serb to reach a Grand Slam final.
Ferrer, who had knocked off fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, was primed for another upset after racing out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. However, Djokovic stormed back to win the final five games of the set.
The momentum carried into the second, as a break of serve gave Djokovic the early advantage. He was ahead 2-1 in the set before asking for a doctor to deal with the heat.
Following the brief delay, Ferrer surged in front by winning two straight games. Djokovic, though, regrouped and won the next three games on his way to capturing the set.
Ferrer held serve to start the third, but Djokovic won the next three games to take control and cruised to the finish.
Djokovic had 37 winners, compared to 17 for the 15th-seeded Ferrer. The 20- year-old Belgrade native also won 18 points on his 22 net approaches.
This was the third straight Grand Slam semifinal appearance for Djokovic, who had lost to Nadal in the semis at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
In addition to the Montreal final, Djokovic and Federer played twice earlier this year. Federer won a quarterfinal match in Dubai as well as a round of 16 match at the Australian Open.
Federer had won all four previous meetings with Djokovic before the Montreal match.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - In a rematch of last year's French Open final, Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova will square off in Saturday's title match at the 2007 U.S. Open.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Henin held off 12th-seeded American Venus Williams 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the second of Friday's semifinals at Ashe Stadium. The steady Henin has yet to drop a set at this '07 fortnight.
The first set was extremely tight before Henin was able to dominate in the tiebreak. The Belgian then ran out to a 3-0, 40-15 lead in the second set, only to see Williams fight back to level things at 3-3.
Henin fought off three break points in the seventh game of the second stanza, went on to win the game and ultimately advanced three games later by breaking Williams, who sent one final backhand wide after two hours of hard-hitting tennis.
Williams wound up with 35 unforced errors and had her serve broken four times en route to defeat. The American broke Henin on three occasions.
Henin improved to 2-7 lifetime against Williams, who had won their previous seven matchups, dating back to 2001, a year in which the American topped the Belgian in the Wimbledon finale. Williams was a perfect 3-0 in their Grand Slam meetings before Friday, but the two had never met in New York.
The 25-year-old Henin handled Williams' younger sister Serena in straight sets in a quarterfinal here on Tuesday night. It marked the third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal victory for Henin against Serena in the last few months.
Henin owns six major titles, including her third straight and fourth overall French Open championship earlier this season. The diminutive Belgian was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Russian superstar Maria Sharapova and titled here in Flushing back in 2003.
The 27-year-old Venus also owns six major titles, including a fourth Wimbledon championship in July. The former top-ranked star captured the U.S. Open back- to-back in 2000 and 2001 and is also a two-time runner-up in the Big Apple.
Henin will seek her 36th career title, and has already captured six this season. She'll appear in her 11th career Grand Slam final (6-4) and will compete in her sixth major title bout in her last seven tries. Henin appeared in all four Grand Slam finals last year, skipped this year's Aussie Open and captured Roland Garros back in June.
Kuznetsova will appear in her second U.S. Open final in four years after beating her fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze on Day 12.
The fourth-seeded Kuznetsova overcame the sixth-seeded Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on another sunny day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Kuznetsova advanced in 1 hour, 36 minutes after playing a shaky first set. Chakvetadze was unable to sustain any momentum after taking the first stanza, and wound up losing 12 of the final 13 games to bow out in a sloppy affair.
Chakvetadze struggled mightily and finished with 46 unforced errors and four double faults. Kuznetsova, herself, misfired for 35 unforced errors.
Kuznetsova is now 3-0 lifetime against the 20-year-old Chakvetadze, who was appearing in her first-ever major semi.
The St. Petersburg native Kuznetsova captured the 2004 U.S. Open by beating Elena Dementieva in an all-Russian final and she was last year's French Open runner-up to Henin.
The 22-year-old Kuznetsova will appear in her 21st career final (9-11), which includes a victory in New Haven the week before this Open fortnight commenced. She's 1-4 in her 2007 finals and currently riding a 10-match overall winning streak.
Henin is a dominant 14-2 lifetime against Kuznetsova, but the Russian did win their last meeting in Berlin earlier this year. Henin is 2-1 in their 2007 meetings, including a win in a final in Dubai.
The gritty Henin is a perfect 4-0 versus Kuznetsova in their Grand Slam matchups, but they've never met at the U.S. Open.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - The men's semifinals will be staged Saturday at the U.S. Open, where top-seeded and three-time defending champion Roger Federer will take on fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko and third- seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will tangle with 15th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer. Three of the top-four seeds are still standing at this hardcourt fortnight.
The world No. 1 Federer is a seemingly unstoppable 9-0 lifetime against Davydenko, including a victory in this year's French Open semis. The super Swiss also topped the gritty Russian in last year's U.S. Open semifinals and is 3-0 versus Davydenko in Grand Slam action.
The 26-year-old Federer has already reached a record nine straight Grand Slam finals, going 7-2, and owns 11 major titles, including the last two Aussie Opens and the last five Wimbledon championships. His two major finals losses came at the hands of Rafael Nadal at the French Open over the last two seasons.
Federer is 26-0 at the U.S. Open since reaching the top of the ATP rankings in 2004.
The 26-year-old Davydenko will compete in his fourth major semi, and has yet to win one (0-3).
The 20-year-old Djokovic and 25-year-old Ferrer will square off in the other final four bout at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Djokovic, who will perform in his third straight Grand Slam semi this year, is 1-2 lifetime against Ferrer, including a 1-1 split this season. Djokovic won their lone meeting on a hardcourt at Indian Wells earlier this year.
The 25-year-old Ferrer, who stunned the second-seeded and reigning three-time French Open champion Nadal here on Tuesday night, will appear in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal.
Djokovic is the only remaining player here to have ever beaten the amazing Federer, which he did at a Masters Series finale in Montreal last month.
Saturday's winners will square off in Sunday's lucrative final, with the champion taking home at least $1.4 million and a new Lexus automobile.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic survived his fourth-round match with Argentine Juan Monaco, while second- seeded Rafael Nadal fell to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Nadal, the reigning three-time French Open champ and two-time Wimbledon runner-up, won a first-set tiebreaker with Ferrer, seeded 15th, before dropping the next three and losing 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Nadal, who was hobbled by injuries, has not advanced past the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open. Ferrer advances to take on Argentine slugger Juan Ignacio Chela.
Although Ferrer/Nadal's match lasted three hours and 28 minutes, Djokovic's 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Monaco topped that at just under four hours.
Djokovic reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and captured Masters Series titles in Miami and Montreal this season. Up next for Djokovic is 17th-seeded Carlos Moya, who got past rising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
The Spanish veteran moved on in 2 hours, 25 minutes with the help of five service breaks. The talented Gulbis, who turned 19 here last week, launched 13 aces, but also piled up 64 unforced errors on Day 9.
The 31-year-old Moya, the oldest player still standing here, will appear in his first U.S. Open quarterfinal in nine years. This also marks his second quarterfinal appearance of 2007, as the resurgent former world No. 1 reached the round of eight at Roland Garros, where he captured his lone major title back in 1998.
Chela landed in his first-ever U.S. Open quarterfinal by outlasting capable Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4 in the round of 16.
Chela advanced in 3 hours, 41 minutes by converting on his second match point on another beautiful day in New York. The sloppy match featured 15 service breaks, including eight by the Swiss, and 117 unforced errors, including 68 by the loser. Wawrinka piled up 36 more winners than Chela (65-29), but also misfired for 19 more errors.
The 20th-seeded Chela, who turned 28 here last week, has reached only one other Grand Slam quarterfinal, and that came at Roland Garros three years ago.
On Wednesday, American Andy Roddick will square off against world No. 1 Roger Federer. Federer is the reigning three-time U.S. Open champ and also holds the Wimbledon and Aussie Open titles. The 11-time major titlist Federer is 13-1 lifetime against Roddick, with Roddick's lone victory coming four years ago. Federer beat the 2003 titlist Roddick in last year's finale here.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Spaniard Rafael Nadal rebounded from a tough first set to earn a straight-set victory, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-1, over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday at the U.S. Open.
Nadal, the second seed in the tournament, downed France's Tsonga to reach the fourth round of the Open.
Also advancing on Sunday was Nadal's countryman David Ferrer, the 15th seed, who outlasted 24th-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Juan Ignacio Chela, Nalbandian's countryman, did not suffer a similar fate, as he upended Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, the No. 12 seed, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Juan Monaco, the 23rd-seed, also advanced, downed Agustin Calleri 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4, in an all-Argentinian third-round matchup.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - American Serena Williams downed Marion Bartoli in straight sets to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Sunday.
The eighth-seeded Williams overcame a persistent thumb injury to top the 10th- seeded Frenchwoman 6-3, 6-4.
Williams will now move on to face the winner of a night match between No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 15 Dinara Safina.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (Sports Network) - French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic and last week's Portoroz champion Tatiana Golovin were among the winners Wednesday, while third-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova went by way of the upset at the $600,000 Fortis Championships.
