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THE SCOOP: saturDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Agassi's fourth (and last) San
Jose meltdown
Unknown Frenchman Saulnier into
semis; Safina grows up
By Matthew
Cronin, TennisReporters.net
 |
 Photos:
© Mark Lyons |
| Andre Agassi couldn't control his temper
in his straight-set loss to Jurgen Melzer. |
FROM THE SAP OPEN IN SAN JOSE – Six
time SAP Open champion Andre Agassi has melted down in a big way
before in San Jose, but never over fluffy balls and never went into
the tank like he did in a 6-3, 6-1 quarterfinal loss to Austria’s
Jurgen Melzer on Friday.
Agassi is infamous for the 1996 "Spitting on the Courtside
Mercedes Incident;" his 1999 "Vicious Cursing at a Linesperson
and Subsequent Default to Cecil Mamiit Incident;" and his 2004
"Fist-Pumping Incident," where Agassi appeared to mock
Mardy Fish's fist pumping in the final game of the second set and
also seemed to be launching F-bombs in the 22-year-old's direction
in his semifinal loss.
But other than the Mamiit default, he had never gone down before
the semis and was never humbled like he was by the lefty Melzer,
a talented yet negotiable foe.
In the fourth game of the second set, he was infuriated by the light
and fluffy balls, that he launched a loud "it’s the f—ing
balls" that all could hear and then a few points later smashed
another ball into the seats. He did not win another game and only
won a handful of points. He was off the court, into the pressroom
and out of the arena (possibly for the last time) faster than it
takes his daughter, Jaz, to down a bottle of formula.
"I was frustrated," Agassi said. "I just never found
the range on my shots, especially my serve. The balls are terribly
unpredictable. They skim the net, you make the adjustment and they
go 18 feet long. Prince should stick to tennis rackets, that's for
sure."
Interestingly, the balls are not made by Prince and according to
tournament director Bill Rapp, are made by Wilson and are the same
ones used here in the past three years. But Max Mirnyi and Tommy
Haas also criticized the stenciled balls and Roddick called them
"tough."
"I assure you it's dodgy for everybody. It's not a question
of excuses. I was referring to frustration, and I let the circumstances
get the better of me and I shouldn't have done that," said
Agassi.
Here’s what truly crazy: that Prince would debut a ball that’s
not even theirs, and then take the heat for it. Full disclosure:
This TennisReporters.net reporter was not in attendance
on Friday (other journalists were) due to a vicious bout of the
flu that forced me to miss my first day of a tournament I was scheduled
to be at in nearly 13 years. And you thought Serena was sick …
Unknown Frenchman Saulnier into semis
On to Cyril Saulnier, who we hear was traded straight up to Marseille
for Taylor Dent and reached his first ATP final Saturday, out-stroking
Melzer 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-3. A versatile player who doesn’t
blow you off the court with his power but is a nifty shot maker,
Saulnier took over the match when Melzer twisted his left ankle
in thee second game of the second set.
With the victory, Saulnier cracked the Top 50 and broke his semifinal
losing streak to German speaking players at three. (He had fallen
to Rainer Schuettler, Tommy Haas and Alexander Popp in prior semis.)
"I’m very happy," said Saulnier. "It’s
taken a lot of work and a lot of fighting in my mind. Sometimes
I didn’t believe I could get to a final and now I am here.
Last year was my best year. I’ve stayed mentally strong. I’ve
played good matches against top guys. I’m telling myself I’m
on the way. I’ll keep fighting and work a lot and I’ll
be up there. My goal is to go higher in the rankings, but you have
to work on it every week and stay focused. Every day is different."
WTA Tour |
Safina grows up
Every
day had been much the same for Dinara Safina, arguably the biggest
underachiever amongst the Russian teens. Maybe she should have rid
herself of her mom as her coach long ago, just like her brother,
Marat, did. Now she’s in her first Tier II final and will
meet Amelie Mauresmo for the Open Gaz de France title on Sunday.
Mauresmo defeated Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-3 to advance to her fourth
Open Gaz final. Mauresmo won the title in '01, but lost in '99 and
'03 to Serena, who pulled out with the stomach flu before her match
against Safina.
Safina ruined an all-France final between Mauresmo and Tatiana Golovin,
when she overcame the baby teen 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2). "I was 3-5
and 0-30 down in the third set," Safina said. "I just
kept telling myself to keep on fighting. I was lucky to win the
match but also I have to say that I have been working very hard
lately on the mental aspect of the game and that definitely showed
today."
It’s a very busy week in France where, down south, Joachim
Johansson out-served Feliciano Lopez 6-7(1), 7-6(6), 6-4 and reached
the final, where he’ll face Ivan Ljubicic, who overcame Davis
Cup teammate Mario Ancic, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
In Buenos Aires, Gaston Gaudio continued his hot streak, wasting
Rafael Nadal and then Alberto Martin 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final.
He’ll play "The Doorman" Mariano Puerta, who beat
Jose Acasuso 6-4, 7-6(5). |
