Tue, Mar 29, 2005 page19

• Hrbaty vanquishes Safin

  • AP
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  Marat Safin threw, kicked and cursed his racket but couldn't make it behave, and he lost 7-6 (6), 6-1 to Dominik Hrbaty in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open on Sunday.

  The combustible Safin, ranked fourth, became progressively more discouraged as his match progressed, and he made no effort to reach the Slovakian's final shot, an ace down the middle.

  "It's difficult to deal with the situation when you are playing bad and you are losing," Safin said. "When I'm playing bad, I'm playing really bad. There's nothing I can do. Serve doesn't work. Backhand doesn't go the way it should be. And of course the forehand struggles. With this kind of game, it's difficult to beat anybody."

  

  Fabiola Zuluaga of Columbia returns to Venus Williams of the US during the Nasdaq-100 Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Florida on Sunday.

  PHOTO: AFP

  Safin committed 33 unforced errors and hit just 11 winners. He's the only player to beat Roger Federer in the past seven months, but since earning his second Grand Slam title in January, Safin has played three tournaments and failed to put together back-to-back victories at any of them.

  "Normally this month I never play well," Safin said. "So for me it's nothing new."

  Late March usually brings out the best in three-time defending champion Serena Williams, but she needed 90 minutes to beat 17-year-old Israeli qualifier Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-3. The scrappy Peer delighted the stadium crowd by repeatedly chasing down shots.

  "She was really gutsy," said Williams, seeded third. "I wasn't used to playing a person like that. It was a totally different game for me. She gets a lot of balls back, and she doesn't hit with a lot of pace."

  On another humid afternoon with 29 C temperatures, the top women were impressive. No. 1-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 8 Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne all won in straight sets.

  No. 13-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, a hero in Croatia's Davis Cup victory over the US three weeks ago, edged American Vince Spadea 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

  Ljubicic's record is 26-7 this year and he has already reached four finals. He was startled shortly before the match to open his locker and discover French player Michael Llodra inside -- naked.

  "He said, `I'm trying to get positive energy from you. You're winning a lot of matches this year,'" Ljubicic said. "Now when I open my locker, I'm opening really slowly. I don't know what I'm going to find in there."

  Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former top-ranked player, reached the fourth round by sweeping Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-3. Fifth-seeded Carlos Moya lost to No. 25 Thomas Johansson 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2. Fernando Verdasco, who eliminated No. 3 Andy Roddick, lost to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-2.

  Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former top-ranked player, reached the fourth round by sweeping Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-3. Fifth-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain lost to No. 25 Thomas Johansson of Sweden 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2. Fernando Verdasco, who eliminated No. 3 Andy Roddick, lost to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-2.

  The No. 19-seeded Henin-Hardenne, playing in her first tournament since the US Open, needed just 58 minutes to beat Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 6-3, 6-2. Henin-Hardenne, a three-time Grand Slam champion, had been sidelined by a virus and knee injury.

  Mauresmo defeated Anna Smashnova of Israel 6-2, 6-1. Sharapova beat Marissa Irvin of the United States 6-2, 6-0. Clijsters won her 10th match in a row, sweeping No. 12 Nathalie Dechy 6-0, 6-2. No. 7 Alicia Molik rallied past No. 29 Gisela Dulko of Argentina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

  No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the US Open champion, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva also advanced in straight sets.
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