Back to Headlines
6/21/2001
Hewitt, Clijsters Advance at Heineken Trophy tennis
'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands (Ticker) -- Top seeds Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters each faced tricky opponents Thursday at the $570,000 Heineken Trophy and both continued their strong form to post straight-sets victories.
Hewitt improved his record on grass this season to 9-0 by overcoming three-time Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, 6-4, 7-5, to move into the quarterfinals of the men's event.
Meanwhile, Clijsters triumphed over 1999 Heineken Trophy champion Kristina Brandi of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, to claim a place in the women's semifinals.
Hewitt, who is the fifth seed at the Wimbledon Championships, which begin Monday, resumed his dominant play on grass after winning last week's Stella Artois Championship in London.
The 20-year-old defeated the hard-serving Ivanisevic during the 2000 edition of the Queen's Club tournament in their only previous meeting.
In the final eight, Hewitt will encounter Gilles Elseneer for the first time in his career. The Belgian qualifier was able to escape with a 6-4, 6-7 (0-7), 6-0 over Swede Magnus Gustafsson.
Fourth seed Roger Federer had a much easier time in his second-round matchup, crushing John Van Lottum of The Netherlands, 6-0, 6-1. The 19-year-old Swiss player, who captured the Milan Indoor title in February in his first ATP Tour event, has conquered the Dutchman in each of their three lifetime meetings.
Federer will face another local favorite in the quarterfinals. Raemon Sluiter advanced after Nicolas Escude of France retired due to a back injury with the Dutchman leading in the first set, 4-1.
Clijsters reached her first Grand Slam final earlier this month at the French Open, losing to Jennifer Capriati in a memorable championship match, 1-6, 6-4, 12-10. The confidence she gained at Roland Garros helped propel the Belgian to a straight-sets victory over Brandi, who had an eight-match Heineken Trophy winning streak before falling in last year's semifinals to Ruxandra Dragoimir of Romania.
In the semifinals, Clijsters will meet fourth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia, who trounced No. 5 seed Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-0.
On the way to winning her third WTA Tour title at Leipzig, Germany last year, Clijsters came back from match point down to defeat Dokic in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
Second seed Justine Henin of Belgiam will battle Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan in the other semifinal. Henin got past Russian Elena Bovina, 6-4, 6-4. Tulyaganova, who reached the quarters at last week's Tashkent Open, upset seventh-seeded Tatiana Panova of Russia, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.
First prize for the men is $54,000 while the women's champion takes home $27,000.
-Alternative Press
--Yahoo! Sports
|
Hewitt, Clijsters Advance at Heineken Trophy tennis'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands (Ticker) -- Top seeds Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters each faced tricky opponents Thursday at the $570,000 Heineken Trophy and both continued their strong form to post straight-sets victories. Hewitt improved his record on grass this season to 9-0 by overcoming three-time Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, 6-4, 7-5, to move into the quarterfinals of the men's event. Meanwhile, Clijsters triumphed over 1999 Heineken Trophy champion Kristina Brandi of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, to claim a place in the women's semifinals. Hewitt, who is the fifth seed at the Wimbledon Championships, which begin Monday, resumed his dominant play on grass after winning last week's Stella Artois Championship in London. The 20-year-old defeated the hard-serving Ivanisevic during the 2000 edition of the Queen's Club tournament in their only previous meeting. In the final eight, Hewitt will encounter Gilles Elseneer for the first time in his career. The Belgian qualifier was able to escape with a 6-4, 6-7 (0-7), 6-0 over Swede Magnus Gustafsson. Fourth seed Roger Federer had a much easier time in his second-round matchup, crushing John Van Lottum of The Netherlands, 6-0, 6-1. The 19-year-old Swiss player, who captured the Milan Indoor title in February in his first ATP Tour event, has conquered the Dutchman in each of their three lifetime meetings. Federer will face another local favorite in the quarterfinals. Raemon Sluiter advanced after Nicolas Escude of France retired due to a back injury with the Dutchman leading in the first set, 4-1. Clijsters reached her first Grand Slam final earlier this month at the French Open, losing to Jennifer Capriati in a memorable championship match, 1-6, 6-4, 12-10. The confidence she gained at Roland Garros helped propel the Belgian to a straight-sets victory over Brandi, who had an eight-match Heineken Trophy winning streak before falling in last year's semifinals to Ruxandra Dragoimir of Romania. In the semifinals, Clijsters will meet fourth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia, who trounced No. 5 seed Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-0. On the way to winning her third WTA Tour title at Leipzig, Germany last year, Clijsters came back from match point down to defeat Dokic in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). Second seed Justine Henin of Belgiam will battle Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan in the other semifinal. Henin got past Russian Elena Bovina, 6-4, 6-4. Tulyaganova, who reached the quarters at last week's Tashkent Open, upset seventh-seeded Tatiana Panova of Russia, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. First prize for the men is $54,000 while the women's champion takes home $27,000.
|