Sunday, May 18, 2003
Sunday, May 18, 2003 |
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Tennis
Never before had four players from Argentina reached the semifinals at one ATP tournament. It was also the first time four countrymen contested the semifinals of a Masters Series, the nine tournaments that rank just below the Grand Slams. Nalbandian, last year's Wimbledon finalist, was the highest-seeded player still in the event at No. 8. Although technically an upset, his defeat against Calleri wasn't a complete surprise. Nalbandian concedes that clay is not his best surface and he is more comfortable on hard courts. Calleri, on the other hand, has completed one of the best records on clay this season 24-7 and won his first ATP title in Acapulco. He is in his third final on clay this year. Nalbandian had won four of five previous matches against Calleri, but he was frustrated by the fellow Argentine's returns and tenacity. Calleri ran down many shots and ended up head down over the court fence after chasing a shot. He even won the point, with Nalbandian putting back a shot into the net. Nalbandian could never break Calleri's serve, squandering eight break points in the match. He often threw down his racket in frustration. A quarterfinalist at the Australian Open at the start of the year, Nalbandian fired an ace with his second serve to save one set point in the first. But he hit a forehand wide in the next game to give Calleri the set. Nalbandian dropped his serve at the start of the second. He wasted two break points in the fourth game and never caught up again. He produced a double-fault to give Calleri triple match point and he used the first with a crosscourt backhand winner.
Mahesh-Mirnyi duo in semifinals
The second-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus made the semifinals with a 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-3 victory over David Prinosil and Alexander Waske of Germany. The Indo-Belarussian pair will be challenged by the third-seeded Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the US for a place in the final. In the semifinals, Leander Paes and David Rikl went down 3-6, 4-6 to the top-seeded Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada. The results: semifinals: Agustin Calleri bt David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-1. Quarterfinals: Agustin Calleri bt Wayne Ferreira 7-5, 6-2; Gaston Gaudio bt Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-1.
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