The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Ancic gets past Paul-Henri Mathieu

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Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
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Ancic gets past Paul-Henri Mathieu

Leander Paes-Martin Damm duo goes down fighting

— PHOTO: AFP

DOUGHTY WARRIOR: Croatia’s Mario Ancic came back from a set down to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in the Paris Masters first round match.

PARIS: Mario Ancic rallied to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Paris Masters, setting up a match against 2005 champion Tomas Berdych.

The Croatian beat Mathieu, for the third time in four meetings, the most recent being on October 18 in the third round of the Madrid Masters.

“I was feeling pretty good on the court,” Ancic said. “(Mathieu) is always hard to play against and gives you no place to hide. He’s one of the toughest players for me to play against.”

Ancic expects an equally tough challenge against Berdych, the No. 12 seed who was still in contention for a place in the season-ending Masters Cup. Ancic eliminated Mathieu’s outside chance and the two remaining spots will be decided this week in Paris.

“I hope I can play as well as I did today,” Ancic said. “It wasn’t an easy draw, Mathieu and next Berdych. It won’t be easy as he’s playing for a place at the Masters.”

Comfortable winner

Marcos Baghdatis comfortably beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2 in a match-up of Masters Cup hopefuls.

“I played a great match,” Baghdatis said. “Juan Carlos is a player with great experience. But I didn’t let up on any point.”

Earlier, Mardy Fish of the United States fired 19 aces in topping Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 7-6(7), 6-4, Andreas Seppi of Italy downed Sam Querry of the United States 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, and Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 7-5, 6-3 and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia beat Arnaud Clement of France 6-4, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Andy Murray said on Tuesday that he had been involved in a car crash on his way to the Masters Series tournament in Paris. “It happened last (Monday) night, on the way from the airport to the hotel,” Murray told reporters. “There was the driver, me and (coach) Brad (Gilbert). There was a lot of traffic. The driver did nothing wrong. He just broke and somebody, driving at around 20 km/h, bumped into the back of the car.

“I’d never been in a car crash before. There was a pretty loud bang. My back’s a bit stiff but it’s nothing serious.” Murray, seeded 15th in Paris, won the St Petersburg Open on Sunday and is one of several players fighting for the last two remaining spots at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Paes-Damm went down fighting against Jeff Coetzee of South Africa and Rogier Wassen of Netherlands 6-3 6-7(5) 9-11 in the first round match here on Monday.

The results: Paris Masters: Second round: Tommy Haas bt Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3. First round: Fabrice Santoro bt Albert Montanes 7-6(4), 6-2; Jarkko Nieminen bt Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4; Filippo Volandri bt Jurgen Melzer 6-0, 6-3; Nicholas Mahut bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 7-6(4); Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Ivo Karlovic bt Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Marcos Baghdatis bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2; Mario Ancic bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Mikhail Youzhny bt Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-3; Janko Tipsarevic bt Vince Spadea 7-6(9), 7-6(2); Stanislas Wawrinka bt Nicolas Kiefer 7-5, 6-3; Andreas Seppi bt Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-1, 6-3; Juan Martin Del Potro bt Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3; Mardy Fish bt Dmitry Tursunov 7-6(7), 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen bt Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4; Nicolas Mahut bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 7-6(4).

Quebec City Challenge: Women: First round: Vania King bt Anne Kremer 6-2, 6-1; Stephanie Foretz bt Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-4 ; Aleksandra Wozniak bt Ashley Harkleroad 6-4, 6-2; Olga Govortsova bt Jorgelina Cravero 6-4, 6-3; Vera Zvonareva bt Catalina Castano 6-2, 6-4; Julia Vakulenko bt Rossana De Los Rios 6-2, 6-0. — Agencies

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