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| 06 Sep 2001 | |
| Lamine Ouahab sets up meeting with no. 1 seed Gilles Muller |
By Eleanor Preston
Gilles Muller and Lamine Ouahab became the first boys through to the quarter-finals of the US Open junior tournament today. Muller, from Luxembourg, is top seed at the last Grand Slam event of the year but he was pushed all the way by India’s Sunil Kumar Sipaeya. Sipaeya, who was cheered on by Indian Davis Cup hero Leander Paes, pushed the World No.2 all the way before Muller pulled out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win.
Muller has another tough opponent in the last eight. He’ll play 16-year-old Lamine Ouahab, seeded ninth here at Flushing Meadows, who battled past American wild card Alex Bogomolov Jr, winning
7-6, 6-4. "He’s a good player, No.1 in America at under 18s, so I knew he would be tough," said Ouahab. "Lots of people came to watch him but I like that and it gave me motivation. It’s not that I like having people cheering for someone else but that is why you play tennis."
Bogomolov and his supporters had plenty to cheer about in the first set when Ouahab lost concentration and allowed a 5-0 love lead to slip away, losing his serve three times in a row. He regained his composure just in time to take the tiebreaker but Ouahab admitted that he will have to keep his wits about him when he takes on Muller. "He’s No.2 in the world so that will be a tough match. I’ve never played him but I know he’s good," he said.
Elsewhere in the boys’ draw, fourth seed Robin Soderling and eighth seed Bruno Echagaray both sealed third round spots. Soderling ran out a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Santiago Gonzalez, while Echagaray had a harder time against Daniel Kollerer before eking out a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 win. It was a similar story for second seed Yeu-Tzuoo Wang who squeezed past American Brendan Evans 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Ytai Abougzir , seeded sixth, continued his good form with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Dudi Sela.
In the girls’ singles seventh seed and local favourite Ashley Harkleroad fought off a determined challenge from Megan Bradley, beating her fellow American 7-6, 6-7, 6-2. Harkleroad now plays unseeded Joanna Sakowicz in the third round after Sakowicz surprised twelfth seed Vera Zvonareva, beating the Russian 7-5, 6-1. There was better news for Russia’s other hope Dinara Safina, she proved too strong for Tina Schiechtl, winning 6-1, 6-3. Safina now plays top seed Kaia Kanepi for a place in the quarter-finals.
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