The Hindu : Kafelnikov in quarterfinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 01, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Kafelnikov in quarterfinals

DUBAI, FEB. 28. Second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia advanced to the quarterfinals of the $ 925,000 Dubai Open on Wednesday after fighting through an hour-long second set to beat Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

``He is a tough opponent who will not give you many free points, I toughed it out, fought hard and was able to win the game,'' Kafelnikov said.

In other second-round matches, Fabrice Santoro of France upset fourth-seeded countryman Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 7- 5; Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia topped defending champion Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-4, 6-2 and and eighth-seeded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic beat Axel Pretzsch of Germany 7-5, 6-1.

Cruising to a comfortable one-set lead in 26 minutes, Kafelnikov was broken in the second and fourth games of the second set. The Russian broke Schalken in the third and seventh. ``If you're going to beat him you got to work hard,'' said the Russian, who added the night conditions were more friendly. ``It was easier to play than in the morning,'' he said.

``I stayed on top of him to show it wouldn't be an easy match. With this win, I'm in the top 30, which was my goal for last year, so I'm just a couple of months late,'' Ljubicic said after his win over Kiefer.

In the first round, sixth-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland breezed through his match against Adrian Voinea of Romania 6-3, 6-4 in just 56 minutes. Federer, who served up six aces, broke Voinea in the eighth game and took the set with his serve.

The Romanian did not put up much of a fight in the second set, being broken in the first and third games. Also, Max Mirnyi of Belarus defeated Renzo Furlan of Italy 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

The results:

Second round: Yevgeny Kafelnikov bt Sjeng Schalken 6-1, 7-6 (7-5); Jiri Novak bt Axel Pretzsch 7-5, 6-1; Ivan Ljubicic bt Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-2; Fabrice Santoro bt Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 7-5.

First round: Roger Federer bt Adrian Voinea 6-3, 6-4; Max Mirnyi bt Renzo Furlan 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

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