Post by tall_one on May 21, 2004 4:17:06 GMT
Just one win away
By Guillaume Baraise
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The second round of men’s and women’s singles qualifying came to an end on Thursday evening. Among the men who still dare to dream of a place in Monday’s first round proper are German Florian Mayer (n°2 seed), Argentine Juan Monaco and five French hopefuls. In the women’s qualies, Americans Marissa Irvin (n°1), Shenay Perry (n°2) and Teryn Ashley (n°3) all made it through to the third and final round.
The heat was on at Roland-Garros today, both literally and metaphorically. And for those who prospered in the sun, just one win now stands between them and a ticket to next week’s French Open. In the final round of qualifying on Friday and Saturday, sixteen places will be up for grabs in the men’s singles and 12 in the women’s.
With the temperatures rising into the high 20s on Thursday, it is perhaps no surprise that the Spaniards and South Americans fared well. Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Argentines Juan Monaco (n°23), Mariano Delfino and Ignacio Gonzalez-King and Brazilian Franco Ferreiro joined Nicolas Almagro (n°15) and Marc Lopez (n°7) from Spain and Brazilian Ricardo Mello (n°28),who booked their passage into the final round on Wednesday. Eighteen-year-old Almagro and 20-year-old Monaco (142nd in the world), who has beaten the likes of Gustavo Kuerten, Juan Ignacio Chela and Nicolas Massu recently, both looked in sparkling form. Monaco wasted little energy in disposing of Marco Chiudinelli (6/2, 6/4) and could do well next week if he continues in this vein.
Five from France
The French players pleased the home crowds on Thursday. Jérôme Haehnel, 259th in the world, showed great courage and intelligence in overcoming Argentine Diego Moyano (6/2, 7/6). He’ll need more of the same if he is to beat another "gaucho", Gonzalez-King and qualify for the real thing next week. Florent Serra, Julien Jeanpierre Jean-Christophe Faurel and Marc Gicquel are the other French chances in the last round, and it may well be that French players outdo last year’s performance when Nicolas Coutelot and Julien Varlet made it out of the “qualies”.
N°2 seed Florian Mayer from Germany beat compatriot Dieter Kindlmann to progress. A semi-finalist at Estoril, 20-year-old Mayer also made it into the last sixteen at the ATP Masters in Hamburg. He joins three other Germans in the last round: Daniel Elsner (n°31), Björn Phau and Alexander Waske, who pulled off the surprise of the day by beating Franco Squillari, a former Roland Garros semi-finalist.
No less than five Americans are still in the running in the women’s qualies. Marissa Irvin, Shenay Perry and Teryn Ashley showed just why they are the top three seeds. N°4 seed Roberta Vinci showed all her experience in beating a second French opponent in succession. Pauline Parmentier went the same way as Emmanuelle Edon as the curtain came down on the French challenge.
Clarisa Fernandez and Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios are the other big names to have made into the last round, meaning seven seeds out of the top ten are still in with a shout. But in both the men’s and the women’s singles there is still one match to go before the gates to Roland Garros are flung open, and that means joy for half the competitors – and despair for the rest.
By Guillaume Baraise
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The second round of men’s and women’s singles qualifying came to an end on Thursday evening. Among the men who still dare to dream of a place in Monday’s first round proper are German Florian Mayer (n°2 seed), Argentine Juan Monaco and five French hopefuls. In the women’s qualies, Americans Marissa Irvin (n°1), Shenay Perry (n°2) and Teryn Ashley (n°3) all made it through to the third and final round.
The heat was on at Roland-Garros today, both literally and metaphorically. And for those who prospered in the sun, just one win now stands between them and a ticket to next week’s French Open. In the final round of qualifying on Friday and Saturday, sixteen places will be up for grabs in the men’s singles and 12 in the women’s.
With the temperatures rising into the high 20s on Thursday, it is perhaps no surprise that the Spaniards and South Americans fared well. Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Argentines Juan Monaco (n°23), Mariano Delfino and Ignacio Gonzalez-King and Brazilian Franco Ferreiro joined Nicolas Almagro (n°15) and Marc Lopez (n°7) from Spain and Brazilian Ricardo Mello (n°28),who booked their passage into the final round on Wednesday. Eighteen-year-old Almagro and 20-year-old Monaco (142nd in the world), who has beaten the likes of Gustavo Kuerten, Juan Ignacio Chela and Nicolas Massu recently, both looked in sparkling form. Monaco wasted little energy in disposing of Marco Chiudinelli (6/2, 6/4) and could do well next week if he continues in this vein.
Five from France
The French players pleased the home crowds on Thursday. Jérôme Haehnel, 259th in the world, showed great courage and intelligence in overcoming Argentine Diego Moyano (6/2, 7/6). He’ll need more of the same if he is to beat another "gaucho", Gonzalez-King and qualify for the real thing next week. Florent Serra, Julien Jeanpierre Jean-Christophe Faurel and Marc Gicquel are the other French chances in the last round, and it may well be that French players outdo last year’s performance when Nicolas Coutelot and Julien Varlet made it out of the “qualies”.
N°2 seed Florian Mayer from Germany beat compatriot Dieter Kindlmann to progress. A semi-finalist at Estoril, 20-year-old Mayer also made it into the last sixteen at the ATP Masters in Hamburg. He joins three other Germans in the last round: Daniel Elsner (n°31), Björn Phau and Alexander Waske, who pulled off the surprise of the day by beating Franco Squillari, a former Roland Garros semi-finalist.
No less than five Americans are still in the running in the women’s qualies. Marissa Irvin, Shenay Perry and Teryn Ashley showed just why they are the top three seeds. N°4 seed Roberta Vinci showed all her experience in beating a second French opponent in succession. Pauline Parmentier went the same way as Emmanuelle Edon as the curtain came down on the French challenge.
Clarisa Fernandez and Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios are the other big names to have made into the last round, meaning seven seeds out of the top ten are still in with a shout. But in both the men’s and the women’s singles there is still one match to go before the gates to Roland Garros are flung open, and that means joy for half the competitors – and despair for the rest.
