Thursday, January 19th
NEWS
Gaston won his second match in Melbourne on Wednesday against Lars Burgsmuller in 3 sets and will now play the French Fabrice Santoro today at 1AM. Good luck for this third round match Gaston .
Gaston won his first round match against Sabau 6-2, 5-0 after he retired. He will play against Lars Burgsmuller who defeated Rainer Schuettler in 4 sets.
In stark contrast Nalbandian's countryman Gaston Gaudio could not have had an easier passage to round-two after his Romanian opponent Razvan Sabau was forced to retire hurt in only the second set.
The No.8 seed, who has never progressed past the third-round in six previous visits to Melbourne, was on court for only 56 minutes in winning 6-2 5-0 after Sabau was forced out with an elbow injury.
Gaudio said he wasn't disappointed he didn't get the chance to have a longer hit-out in his opening match.
"It's always good to win like this," he said. "Two sets was enough, I was feeling good. I was hitting the ball great and I felt good on the court."
However Gaudio doubted the short first-round match would help keep him fresher for the later rounds of the tournament.
"If maybe the same thing had happened in the quarter-finals, it might help in the final rounds but in the first round it doesn't matter much," he said.
The 2004 French Open winner was the first man through to round-two on the opening day of the tournament and he was soon joined by American No.13 seed Robby Ginepri.
The Australian Open will start tomorrow, the first Grand Slam of the year. We already know the complete draw and here's the direct link where you can find it:
Monday OOP and Scores
MCA Start Time 11.00 AM
Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Gaston Gaudio (ARG)[8]
vs. Razvan Sabau (ROM)
followed by
Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Jelena Dokic (AUS)
vs. Virginie Razzano (FRA)
Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Taylor Dent (USA)[27]
vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
Not Before 7:30 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Tim Henman (GBR)
vs. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
I think it’s time for a small explanation about the website and his lack of update in the past 2 and a half months…First, my computer has gone mad and I lost almost all my files and then I had some personal problems that’s why I basically couldn’t concentrate on the website anymore… Nothing to do with my passion for tennis and Gaston.
If everything goes better, the website will be running again at the beginning of next year when the 2006 season will start ! Let’s hope so with loads of new pictures in the gallery.
Until then, I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS with lots of joy and happiness.
Argentina is actually playing Davis Cup in Slovakia. You can follow the score just by clicking on the link below. The team is made of 4 players and those are Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Gaston Gaudio and Mariano Puerta.
Next week starts the last Grand Slam of the year in the USA , the US Open . The draw is the following:
(7) AGASSI, Andre USA v SABAU, Razvan ROM
FISH, Mardy USA v KARLOVIC, Ivo CRO
MONACO, Juan ARG v MELLO, Ricardo BRA
KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp v (32) BERDYCH, Tomas CZE
(24) YOUZHNY, Mikhail RUS v MAYER, Florian GER
BEHREND, Tomas GER v (Q) BJORKMAN, Jonas SWE
HERNYCH, Jan CZE v MALISSE, Xavier BEL
(WC) BAKER, Brian USA v (9) GAUDIO, Gaston ARGThe official US OPEN website is available HERE , you'll find the rest of the draw and many other interesting things about this amazing tournament.
Gaston plays this afternoon against the spanish Tommy Robredo for a place in quarterfinal. He defeated in the first round the italian Sanguinetti in three sets 1-6 , 7-6, 7-5 and in the second round K. Carlsen in three sets 3-6 , 6-2 and 7-5.
Here's the order of play for today:
Court BN start 11:00 AM
Etlis/Rodriguez vs Oliver/Parrott
Not before 1:00 PM
P Mathieu (FRA) vs O Rochus (BEL)
(6)G Gaudio (ARG) vs (11)T Robredo (ESP)
J Ferrero (ESP) vs D Hrbaty (SVK)
Nadal/Robredo vs (2)Bryan/BryanYou can find the first pictures of the tournament in our gallery section HERE . Pictures from Gstaad , Stuttgart and Kitzbuhel have been edited too so make sure you check them out.
Gaston plays in Montreal tomorrow both in singles and doubles with Feliciano Lopez. Good luck for the first tournament on hard court since a long time.
MAIN DRAW
(1) NADAL, Rafael ESP v MOYA, Carlos ESP
MELLO, Ricardo BRA v (WC) BESTER, Philip CAN
SRICHAPHAN, Paradorn THA v GROSJEAN, Sebastien FRA
YOUZHNY, Mikhail RUS v (15) GASQUET, Richard FRA
(12) JOHANSSON, Thomas SWE v KARLOVIC, Ivo CRO
MALISSE, Xavier BEL v (WC) DANCEVIC, Frank CAN
ROCHUS, Christophe BEL v PAVEL, Andrei ROM
HORNA, Luis PER v (8) PUERTA, Mariano ARG
(3) RODDICK, Andy USA v MATHIEU, Paul-Henri FRA
Qualifier v ACASUSO, Jose ARG
ROCHUS, Olivier BEL v Qualifier
SODERLING, Robin SWE v (14) STEPANEK, Radek CZE
(9) NALBANDIAN, David ARG v CHELA, Juan Ignacio ARG
Qualifier v BECK, Karol SVK
MELZER, Jurgen AUT v BERDYCH, Tomas CZE
(WC) NIEMEYER, Frederic CAN v (5) DAVYDENKO, Nikolay RUS
(6) GAUDIO, Gaston ARG v Qualifier
(WC) STECKLEY, Rob CAN v CARLSEN, Kenneth DEN
LOPEZ, Feliciano ESP v EL AYNAOUI, Younes MAR
Qualifier v (11) ROBREDO, Tommy ESP
(13) LJUBICIC, Ivan CRO v DENT, Taylor USA
KIEFER, Nicolas GER v MASSU, Nicolas CHI
Qualifier v SPADEA, Vincent USA
MARTIN, Alberto ESP v (4) AGASSI, Andre USA
(7) CORIA, Guillermo ARG v FERRERO, Juan Carlos ESP
FERRER, David ESP v SANTORO, Fabrice FRA
NOVAK, Jiri CZE v ANDREEV, Igor RUS
HRBATY, Dominik SVK v (10) HENMAN, Tim GBR
(16) GONZALEZ, Fernando CHI v MIRNYI, Max BLR
Qualifier v RUSEDSKI, Greg GBR
SAULNIER, Cyril FRA v ANCIC, Mario CRO
Qualifier v (2) HEWITT, Lleyton AUS
ANOTHER TITLE FOR GASTON IN KITZBUHEL:
Gaston played the final against Fernando Verdasco this afternoon and won in three sets .
Third seed Gaston Gaudio defeated unseeded Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 41 minutes in the final of the Generali Open. Gaudio won his first Kitzbuehel crown in his second final, having lost to Nicoals Massu in last year’s final.
The Argentine won his eighth career title in his 16th final. He also collects his fifth clay court title of the year; having won in Vina del Mar (d. Gonzalez), Buenos Aires (d. Puerta), Estoril (d. Robredo) and Gstaad (d. Wawrinka). Gaudio’s 2005 record on clay is now 42-8, only topped by Rafael Nadal’s 48-2.
The 26-year-old from Buenos Aires now holds a 21-4 record at the Generali Open. He was appearing in his t hird straight ATP final, having won the title in Gstaad (d. Wawrinka) and reaching the final in Stuttgart (l. Nadal).
In the final, Verdasco started off best, winning the first set after breaking Gaudio twice. In the second set, Gaudio broke Verdasco twice to win the set in 30 minutes. At 4-2 for Gaudio in the third set, the match was interrupted for about two hours due to rain. When play resumed at 4-2, the players traded breaks, but Gaudio closed out the set to love on his own serve. The Argentine took a commanding 4-1 lead, including two breaks, in the fourth set before Verdasco got one break back, but then lost his serve again. Gaudio served for the match at 5-2 having one match point, but Verdasco broke again. At 5-4 Gaudio served for the match for the second time, and needed another eight match points before he could close out the match and win the title on his ninth match point.
On the way to the title, Gaudio defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Robin Vik, No. 6 seed Mikhail Youzhny, Mariano Zabaleta and Verdasco.
Gaudio earned 50 INDESIT ATP 2005 Race Points and €110,600. He now is 47-12 for the season.
Verdasco appeared in his third career ATP final and was looking for his second career title. His only tournament championship so far came in Valencia in 2004, where he defeated fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes. He also reached the final in Acapulco (l. Moya) last year.
The 21-year-old from Madrid was playing in Kitzbuehel for the third time and now holds a 9-3 record at the Generali Open.
Verdasco defeated Andreas Seppi, No. 8 seed Olivier Rochus, No. 9 seed Jurgen Melzer, No. 15 seed Victor Hanescu, and defending champion No. 7 seed Nicolas Massu on his way to the final.Gaudio: “It’s an unbelievable moment, I’m so happy today! I’m playing good tennis on clay; it’s great. I don’t know what to say. I felt so good after the French Open, and now I’m having another good experience winning five titles.”
“To win a big tournament like this is great. I lost the final last year so it was one of my goals to win it this year. I love the city, the people and the atmosphere. I’m so happy and proud.”
“It was so difficult, I don’t know how many match points I had. I was so desperate to win that I couldn’t finish the match. Every time you want to get something done fast, you have to do it slow. Today was almost like that, I was trying to finish the match as quick as I could.”
“It is always tough with rain. You are always thinking about having to stop every 15 minutes. You’re getting nervous and you have to go back and forth to the locker room. It was a bit frustrating.”
Gaston lost against Rafael Nadal for the third time in the final in Stuttgart , the score is 6-3 , 6-3 , 6-4. Pictures will be posted during the day in the gallery , and those of Gstaad too.
This week , another european country and another tournament on clay for Gaston in Kizbühel for the Generali Open. To have a look at their website , just click HERE and you'll be redirected. Here's the draw:
(1) DAVYDENKO, Nikolay RUS/Bye
HAEHNEL, Jerome FRA v. ZABALETA, Mariano ARG
SABAU, Razvan ROM v. ALMAGRO, Nicolas ESP
Bye/(13) ANDREEV, Igor RUS
(11) ACASUSO, Jose ARG/Bye
MONACO, Juan ARG v. MAYER, Florian GER
SLUITER, Raemon NED v. DI MAURO, Alessio ITA
Bye/(5) LOPEZ, Feliciano ESP
(3) GAUDIO, Gaston ARG/Bye
KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp GER v. COSTA, Albert ESP
VIK, Robin CZE v. qualifier
Bye/(16) MATHIEU, Paul-Henri FRA
(10) PAVEL, Andrei ROM/Bye
SANCHEZ, David ESP v. SCHUETTLER, Rainer GER
qualifier v. MINAR, Ivo CZE
Bye/(6) YOUZHNY, Mikhail RUS
(7) MASSU, Nicolas CHI/Bye
TABARA, Michal CZEv. (WC) KOELLERER, Daniel AUT
qualifer v. KOUBEK, Stefan AUT
Bye/(12) ROCHUS, Christophe BEL
(14) HORNA, Luis PER/Bye
CALLERI, Agustin ARG v. (WC) LAPENTTI, Nicolas ECU
ZIB, Tomas CZE v. (WC) MARACH, Oliver AUT
Bye/(4) GONZALEZ, Fernando CHI
(8) ROCHUS, Olivier BEL/Bye
VERDASCO, Fernando ESP v. SEPPI, Andreas ITA
qualifier v. (WC) HIPFL, Markus AUT
Bye/(9) MELZER, Jurgen AUT
(15) HANESCU, Victor ROM/Bye
VENTURA, Santiago ESP v. BEHREND, Tomas GER
qualifier v. qualifier
Bye/(2) PUERTA, Mariano ARG
Gaston's playing this afternoon the final in Stuttgart against Rafael Nadal at 1PM. Good luck Gaston for another title this year on clay ;-). You can follow some sort of a livescore on the website of the tournament here:
Next week , Gaston's in Stuttgart again to try to win the tournament this year after last year's defeat . The draw has been published on the official website of the german tournament , here it is:
(1) NADAL, Rafael ESP v BYE
KUERTEN, Gustavo BRA v QUALIFIER
ALMAGRO, Nicolas ESP v VERDASCO, Fernando ESP
BYE v (14) ANDREEV, Igor RUS
(12) PAVEL, Andrei ROM v BYE
QUALIFIER v ZIB, Tomas CZE
(WC) SUMMERER, Tobias GER v MONACO, Juan ARG
BYE v (5) FERRER, David ESP
(4) ROBREDO, Tommy ESP v BYE
MONFILS, Gael FRA v STARACE, Potito ITA
MAYER, Florian GER v SEPPI, Andreas ITA
BYE v (15) MARTIN, Alberto ESP
(10) MELZER, Jurgen AUT v BYE
NIEMINEN, Jarkko FIN v BURGSMULLER, Lars GER
QUALIFIER v SABAU, Razvan ROM
BYE v (6) NOVAK, Jiri CZE
(8) VOLANDRI, Filippo ITA v BYE
SIMON, Gilles FRA v MONTANES, Albert ESP
ZABALETA, Mariano ARG v (WC) THRON, Aljoscha GER
BYE v (9) ROCHUS, Olivier BEL
(16) MATHIEU, Paul-Henri FRA v BYE
COSTA, Albert ESP v QUALIFIER
DI MAURO, Alessio ITA v (WC) BECK, Andreas GER
BYE v (3) GAUDIO, Gaston ARG
(7) YOUZHNY, Mikhail RUS v BYE
SCHUETTLER, Rainer GER v QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER v KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp GER
BYE v (11) BERDYCH, Tomas CZE
(13) ACASUSO, Jose ARG v BYE
WASKE, Alexander GER v HAEHNEL, Jerome FRA
RAMIREZ HIDALGO, Ruben ESP v KOUBEK, Stefan AUT
BYE v (2) DAVYDENKO, Nikolay RUS
