Frenchman blows away Danai hopes
[TENNIS] Danai Udomchoke's hopes of topping group 5 of the US$416,000 Tennis Channel Open were dashed on Tuesday when he was subdued by Frenchman Paul Henri-Mathieu in the round-robin competition at the Darling Tennis Memorial Centre in Las Vegas.
Danai, whose brilliant form helped him sail through the qualifying stage to the group, was hindered by the swirling winds which resulted in his straight-set defeat to the 64th-ranked Henri-Mathieu 6-2 6-3. "I didn't feel like I was playing tennis. It was more like windsurfing as it was very windy out there,'' complained Danai. "I couldn't play my natural game at all. On top of that he played top spin, which suited the condition. I hit flat and the balls went everywhere,'' added Danai, who will play fifth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in their last group stage match. The two-set defeat means Danai stands a slim chance to finish atop the group for a place in the quarter-finals. Verdasco, who beat Henri-Mathieu in the previous match, needs a win over the Thai to ensure his final-eight spot. "I don't think I will turn the situation around and become the group leader. Both Fernando and Paul have better shots than me." In other round-robin matches, Britain's Tim Henman defeated France's Nicolas Mahut 6-1 6-2; Australian Lleyton Hewitt outclassed American Vince Spadea 6-3 6-3; Evgeny Korolev of Russia stunned top seed John Blake 6-2 6-4 and Russian third seed Marat Safin beat Austrian Stefan Koubek 7-5 6-2. Meanwhile, Fabrice Santoro, who won the Dubai Open title five years ago, reached the quarter-finals. The Tahiti-born, Frenchman beat his compatriot Gilles Simon 6-4 6-2 in the second-round contest yesterday. Germany's Tommy Haas also reached the quarters, after beating Florent Serra of France 7-6 6-3. Nadal outplays Baghdatis nIn Dubai, world No 2 Rafael Nadal, playing his first match since finishing the Australian Open injured last month, survived a tough first round test against Marcos Baghdatis at the Dubai Open on Tuesday. Nadal's 3-6 6-2 6-3 win over the in-form world No 17 from Cyprus earned him a place in the second round in defence of his title. The Qatar Open WTA suffered a huge blow yesterday when Indian Sania Mirza pulled out of the tournament with a knee injury. Mirza, who was due to meet Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko in the second-round match yesterday.
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