 Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |  Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |  Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |  Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |  Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |  Photographer: Francesco Panunzio
Date: 21 May 2004 |
|
| 20 May 2004 - ITF - Neil Robinson | |
| Fognini Keeps Italian Flag Flying in Milan |
It was a day of three-set battles in the boys' singles of the Italian Juniors today, at the Bonacossa Club in Milan, as the four remaining quarterfinalists were decided.
Fabio Fognini delighted the home crowd as he upset the higher-ranked Spaniard, Pablo Andujar-Alba 63 57 63 to reach his third Grade A quarterfinal this year. The Italian, who was visibly nervous quickly trailed 0-3 before taking control of the match by taking six straight games to win the first set and lead 4-2 in the second. The Spaniard hit back to level the match before Fognini got the early break in the third set. Leading 3-0, the Italian was pulled back to 3-3 before winning the final three games to advance to a meeting with second-seeded German, Sebastian Rieschick, who overcame a slow start to defeat Robin Haase, of the Netherlands, 26 64 64, his third three-setter this week. Fognini will be keen to reverse the result of their only previous meeting in the 2002 Casablanca Cup where Rieschick won a tight three set match.
USA's Gregory Ouellette just edged the battle of the qualifiers, recovering from the loss of the first set to beat Belarussian Sergei Tarasevitch, 57 63 64. Ouellette, who celebrated his 18th birthday yesterday advances to his first Grade A quarterfinal where he will face fellow-American, third-seed, Brendan Evans. Evans, the reigning Australian Open Junior doubles champion clinched the closest, and arguably the best, match of the day, 64 36 108 against Korea's Woong-Sun Jun.
The remaining quarterfinals see four boys at this stage of a Grade A tournament for the first time. The Ukraine's Sergei Bubka faces Dutch player, Igor Sijsling and Thomaz Bellucci, of Brazil, plays Argentine player, Juan-Martin Del Potro. These four players enjoyed a rest day today, having played yesterday.
In today's girls' singles matches, there were victories for top seed, Michaella Krajicek, who now plays Russian Regina Kulikova and fourteenth seed, Viktoria Azarenka, who faces 13-year-old Sharon Fichman, of Canada, in tomorrow's quarterfinals.
Krajicek, the defending champion, did not have it all her own way and had to fight off a determined challenge from Romanian Madalina Gojnea before triumphing 75 36 64. Kulikova, playing in only her second Grade A event, saw off Slovenia's Masa Zec-Peskiric 57 63 62.
Fichman surpassed her previous best performance in a Grade A event when she ended the hopes of Italian Margot Torre, 64 60. Azarenka easily defeated Evgeniya Rodina, of Russia, 62 61 and will be in the unusual position of playing someone younger than her tomorrow, given that she is only fourteen herself. Neither Fichman nor Azarenka have ever reached the semifinals of a Grade A event before so an opportunity awaits for one of them.
In the other two quarterfinals, second seed Sesil Karatancheva, of Bulgaria takes on Irina Kotkina, of Russia while No.3 seed, Kateryna Bondarenko, of the Ukraine hopes to repeat last week's victory over fifth seed, Volha Havartsova, of Belarus.
Latest results are available by clicking here :
Related Articles
> Day Three Round-Up
> Day Two Round-Up
> Day One Round-Up
> Milan Preview
^ Back to Top
|
