Week 31 - US Open, Flushing Meadows, USA

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Order Of Play[/u]

Wednesday September 14th[/u]


Arthur Ashe Court[/u]

A.Agassi & V.Spadea vs T.Henman & A.Murray (2)

Marat Safin vs Pete Sampras

Taylor Dent vs Guillermo Coria (6)


Louis Armstrong Court[/u]

T.Dent & J.Blake (3) vs I.Lendl & M.Santana

Roger Federer (7) vs Magnus Norman (Q)

Andy Roddick vs Yevgeny Kafelnikov


Grandstand Court[/u]

T.Johansson & N.Kiefer vs R.Schuettler & J.Johansson

F.Squillari & D.Nalbandian vs G.Gaudio & O.Patience

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Day Three Review[/u]

from ATPtennis.com

Home fans happy as Americans continue to progress

It was good day for the New York crowd as all three Americans in second round action advanced through to the quarter finals on day three of the US Open. Opening the day's singles play on Arthur Ashe, Pete Sampras, who disposed of the fourth seeded Agassi in round one, followed that up with a four set success over powerful Russian Marat Safin. After dropping the first set on the breaker, Sampras scorched into life, losing just seven games in the next three sets en route to the quarter finals.

Taylor Dent continued the American success story by ending the hopes of sixth seed Guillermo Coria in the night match. Dent's powerful serve and volley game proved too much for the smaller Coria to handle and the American progressed to the quarter finals of his second successive Grand Slam. He will take on fellow American Andy Roddick for a place in the semi finals after Cincinnati champion once again recovered from two sets down to win, this time accounting for Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Roddick will take a 2-0 head-to-head record into his match with Dent on Friday in a match which is sure to be high on aces and low on rallies.

In the other singles match of the day, qualifier Magnus Norman shocked seventh seed Roger Federer in fou sets. Norman will have to hope that his form holds for the next round where he will take on Sampras for a place in the semi finals of his first Grand Slam this year.

As well as the singles matches, the doubles draw got underway today. Amongst the action, there were wins for third seeds Dent & Blake, Gaudio & Patience, Johansson & Kiefer and second seeds Henman & Murray.

Day Three Results[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) def. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 1-6 3-6 6-1 6-2 7-6 (4)

Taylor Dent (USA) def. Guillermo Coria (ARG) (6) 6-2 0-6 6-0 6-2

Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q) def. Roger Federer (SUI) (7) 7-6 (3) 0-6 6-3 6-2

Pete Sampras (USA) def. Marat Safin (RUS) 6-7 (7) 6-0 6-4 6-3

T.Dent (USA) & J.Blake (USA) (3) def. I.Lendl (USA) & M.Santana (ESP) 6-0 7-5 6-3

G.Gaudio (ARG) & O.Patience (FRA) def. D.Nalbandian (ARG) & F.Squillari (ARG) 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-3

T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU) def. R.Schuettler (DEU) & J.Johansson (SWE) 6-1 7-5 6-4

T.Henman (GBR) & A.Murray (GBR) (2) def. A.Agassi (USA) & V.Spadea (USA) 1-6 6-2 0-6 6-4 6-1

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Order Of Play[/u]

Thursday September 15th[/u]


Arthur Ashe Court[/u]

Nikolay Davydenko (Q) vs Vince Spadea

C.Rochus & X.Malisse vs P.Rafter & A.Roddick (3)

Thomas Enqvist vs Andrew Murray (2)


Louis Armstrong Court[/u]

Franco Squillari vs Jarkko Nieminen

Ivan Lendl (8) vs Rainer Schuettler

G.Coria & A.Costa (1) vs M.Youzhny & N.Davydenko


Grandstand Court[/u]

R.Federer & M.Norman vs T.Enqvist & M.Safin

J.Nieminen & G.Kuerten vs R.Gasquet & K.Alami

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Day Four Review[/u]

from ATPtennis.com

Wimbledon champ Lendl rolls on as favourite Murray crashes out

Eighth seed Ivan Lendl advanced through to the quarters of his home Slam but only after recovering from a two set deficit to oust German Rainer Schuettler in five. This is the second straight match that the Wimbledon champion has been taken the distance and he will hope for a much easier match in the next round as he presses for a place in the semis. He will take on Thomas Enqvist next, however, not the title favourite Andrew Murray after the second seeded Brit fell in straights to the Swede. Enqvist looks to be in fine form and hasn't dropped a set yet in his two matches, with the victory over Montreal champion Murray being mightily impressive.

There was also disappointment for Roland Garros finalist Franco Squillari after he lost in an enthralling five set tussle with crafty Finn Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen followed up his first round upset victory over Henman with this win here and looks to be a player in resilient form as he makes an appearance in his first Grand Slam quarter final of the year. For a spot in the semis, he will take on qualifier Nikolay Davydenko as the Russian, who took the hard court title in New Haven last week, took a topsy-turvy five set battle with American favourite Vince Spadea.

The remaining doubles first round matches took place today as well and there were wins for Youzhny & Davydenko, who upset top seeds Coria & Costa, Federer & Norman, Nieminen & Kuerten and Rochus & Malisse.

Day Four Results[/u]

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) (Q) def. Vince Spadea (USA) 1-6 6-0 0-6 6-4 6-1

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Franco Squillari (ARG) 6-1 3-6 6-7 (7) 6-1 6-4

Ivan Lendl (USA) (8) def. Rainer Schuettler (DEU) 5-7 1-6 6-0 7-5 7-5

Thomas Enqvist (SWE) def. Andrew Murray (GBR) (2) 6-0 6-4 7-6 (0)

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) def. G.Coria (ARG) & A.Costa (ESP) (1) 2-6 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-2

R.Federer (SUI) & M.Norman (SWE) def. T.Enqvist (SWE) & M.Safin (RUS) 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-4

J.Nieminen (FIN) & G.Kuerten (BRA) def. R.Gasquet (FRA) & K.Alami (MAR) 6-4 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-3

C.Rochus (BEL) & X.Malisse (BEL) def. P.Rafter (AUS) & A.Roddick (USA) (4) 6-2 6-2 0-6 2-6 7-6 (6)


Singles Draw Updated[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Taylor Dent (USA)
Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q) vs Pete Sampras (USA)

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) (Q) vs Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Ivan Lendl (USA) (8) vs Thomas Enqvist (SWE)


Doubles Draw Updated[/u]

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) vs R.Federer (SUI) & M.Norman (SWE)
J.Nieminen (FIN) & G.Kuerten (BRA) vs C.Rochus (BEL) & X.Malisse (BEL)

T.Dent (USA) & J.Blake (USA) (3) vs G.Gaudio (ARG) & O.Patience (FRA)
T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU) vs T.Henman (GBR) & A.Murray (GBR) (2)

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Head-to-Head[/u]

QF[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) 2-0 Taylor Dent (USA)
-Week 29 - Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, USA - Hard - SF - Roddick def. Dent 2-6 6-2 7-5
-Week 30 - Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, USA - Hard - R24 - Roddick def. Dent 6-2 2-6 7-6 (3)

Magnus Norman (SWE) 0-1 Pete Sampras (USA)
-Week 19 - The Stella Artois Championships, London, England - Grass - QF - Sampras def. Norman 7-6 (4) 3-6 7-5

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 0-0 Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
-No Previous Meetings-

Ivan Lendl (USA) 1-0 Thomas Enqvist (SWE)
-Week 28 - Rogers Masters, Montreal, Canada - Hard - R16 - Lendl def. Enqvist 6-4 0-6 6-0

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Order Of Play[/u]

Friday September 16th[/u]


Arthur Ashe Court[/u]

Ivan Lendl (8) vs Thomas Enqvist

T.Johansson & N.Kiefer vs T.Henman & A.Murray (2)

Andy Roddick vs Taylor Dent


Court Louis Armstrong[/u]

T.Dent & J.Blake (3) vs G.Gaudio & O.Patience

Magnus Norman (Q) vs Pete Sampras

Nikolay Davydenko (Q) vs Jarkko Nieminen


Grandstand Court[/u]

M.Youzhny & N.Davydenko vs R.Federer & M.Norman

J.Nieminen & G.Kuerten vs C.Rochus & X.Malisse

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Day Five Review[/u]

from ATPtennis.com

Roddick, Norman, Nieminen, Lendl make the semi finals

On quarter finals day of the US Open, the draw has now been wittled down to the final four who will do battle in the semis. Eighth seed Ivan Lendl was the first man to advance despite incredibly losing the first twelve games to Thomas Enqvist. The Wimbledon champion was heading for a humiliating exit before Enqvist's game completely disintegrated in the third as the American crowd cheered on their favourite. The Swede regained his composure again in the fifth but by then it was too late as Lendl advanced to his second Slam semi of the year, following on of course from Wimbledon where he won the title. In the final four, Lendl will take on Jarkko Nieminen after the Finn dispatched the New Haven champion Nikolay Davydenko in four sets. Nieminen has not won a title yet this year but is playing extremely well as he heads into his second semi final of the year, but his first at a Grand Slam.

In the night match, Andy Roddick maintained his dominance over fellow American Taylor Dent by notching up a five set victory. Roddick now leads Dent 3-0 in their head-to-head with all three of their meetings coming in the past three weeks. Roddick will now meet Swedish qualifier Magnus Norman for a final berth after Norman stunned the crowd by ending the challenge of home favourite Pete Sampras in four sets. Both semi finals will take place tomorrow in an action packed day at Flushing Meadows.

The quarter finals of the doubles draw also took place today and the final four teams through to compete in the semis will be Youzhny & Davydenko, Rochus & Malisse, Gaudio & Patience and Johansson & Kiefer

Day Five Results[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) def. Taylor Dent (USA) 0-6 6-7 (6) 6-3 6-4 6-2

Magnus Norman (SWE) Q) def. Pete Sampras (USA) 7-5 0-6 7-5 7-5

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) (Q) 6-0 0-6 6-2 7-5

Ivan Lendl (USA) (8) def. Thomas Enqvist (SWE) 0-6 0-6 6-0 6-1 6-4

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) def. R.Federer (SUI) & M.Norman (SWE) 1-6 6-1 0-6 7-5 6-1

C.Rochus (BEL) & X.Malisse (BEL) def. J.Nieminen (FIN) & G.Kuerten (BRA) 7-6 (2) 6-4 5-7 3-6 7-6 (1)

G.Gaudio (ARG) & O.Patience (FRA) def. T.Dent (USA) & J.Blake (USA) (3) 0-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 6-2

T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU) def. T.Henman (GBR) & A.Murray (GBR) (2) 6-1 6-4 6-4


Singles Draw Updated[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs Ivan Lendl (USA) (8)


Doubles Draw Updated[/u]

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) vs C.Rochus (BEL) & X.Malisse (BEL)
G.Gaudio (ARG) & O.Patience (FRA) vs T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU)

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Head-to-Head[/u]

SF[/u]

Andy Roddick (USA) 1-1 Magnus Norman (SWE)
-Week 21 - Wimbledon, London, England - Grass - Qualifiers - Norman def. Roddick 6-7 (2) 6-7 (2) 6-2 6-3 6-4
-Week 29 - Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, USA - Hard - R32 - Roddick def. Norman 6-3 1-6 6-2

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 0-0 Ivan Lendl (USA)
-No Previous Meetings-

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Order Of Play[/u]

Saturday September 17th[/u]


Arthur Ashe Court[/u]

Andy Roddick vs Magnus Norman (Q)

Jarkko Nieminen vs Ivan Lendl (8)


Louis Armstrong Court[/u]

M.Youzhny & N.Davydenko vs C.Rochus & X.Malisse

G.Gaudio & O.Patience vs T.Johansson & N.Kiefer

[DickTracy]

Good luck Jarkko!

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Day Six Review[/u]

from ATPtennis.com

Norman and Nieminen to contest US Open final

The final of the last Slam of 2005 has been decided with Swedish qualifier Magnus Norman and Finnish left hander Jarkko Nieminen set to do battle. Not many people would have expected these two players to be th last standing but both will view this as an excellent opportunity to win a Grand Slam and greatly improve their ranking. Norman was the first to progress after he stunned Cincinnati champion Andy Roddick in four high quality sets. Norman was able to return Roddick's serve very well, which allowed him to get into his receiving games much more easily than Roddick's opponents usually do. However, he will face a different kind of opponenet in the final in the shape of Nieminen who will use his crafty left handed game to attempt to throw the Swedish base-liner out of his comfort zone. The Finn made his first Slam final of the year by virtue of a four set success over Wimbledon champion Ivan Lendl, as the American had no answer to his unseeded adversary's greater consistency. The final tomorrow promises to be an intriguing contest, and one which could completely turn around one player's career.

The doubles final shall also take place tomorrow. Clashing then shall be the Russian pairing of Youzhny & Davydenko, after they downed Belgian duo Rochus & Malisse, and Johansson & Kiefer, as they defeated Gaudio & Patience. Thomas Johansson will be looking for his second Grand Slam doubles title following on from his success at Wimbledon alongside Andre Agassi to make up for his disappointing singles performance.

Day Six Results[/u]

Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q) def. Andy Roddick (USA) 6-4 7-6 (2) 3-6 7-5

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Ivan Lendl (USA) (8) 6-0 7-6 (2) 2-6 7-5

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) def. C.Rochus (BEL) & X.Malisse (BEL) 2-6 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4

T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU) def. G.Gaudio (ARG) & O.Patience (FRA) 6-1 7-6 (3) 6-4


Singles Draw Updated[/u]

Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q) vs Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)


Doubles Draw Updated[/u]

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) vs T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU)

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Head-to-Head[/u]

Final[/u]

Magnus Norman (SWE) 0-0 Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
-No Previous Meetings-

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Order Of Play[/u]

Sunday September 18th[/u]


Arthur Ashe Court[/u]

Magnus Norman (Q) vs Jarkko Nieminen

M.Youzhny & N.Davydenko vs T.Johansson & N.Kiefer

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Doubles Final Result[/u]

M.Youzhny (RUS) & N.Davydenko (RUS) def. T.Johansson (SWE) & N.Kiefer (DEU) 1-6 7-5 4-6 6-2 6-1

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Singles Final Result[/u]



Magnus Norman (SWE) (Q) def. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 0-6 6-7 (7) 6-2 7-5 7-6 (2)

from ATPtennis.com

Qualifier Norman fights back to take US Open crown

Swedish qualifier Magnus Norman joined Thomas Muster and Ivan Lendl as Grand Slam champions this year after recovering from two sets down to stun in-form Finn Jarkko Nieminen in a fifth set tie-breaker to win the final Slam of the year. Coming into the event at Flushing Meadows, Norman was ranked a lowly 43rd and needed to win two matches to even make the main draw, but he shocked everyone by defeating Costa, Federer, Sampras, Roddick and Nieminen to snatch the title and push his ranking into the top 15. However, it looked as if Nieminen was going to be the man to take the title home as he scorched into a two set lead over his opponent who looked tight in the early stages. Norman was not prepared to give up though and, encouraged by the crowd who wanted to see a closer match, he was able to force the contest into a nail-biting fifth set tie-break. At this stage it was Nieminen's turn to be tight as he dropped the first five points before eventually succombing 7-2, netting a back hand to gift Norman the victory.