HENMAN GETS VERY BEST OF RODDICK.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer INDIAN WELLS Indian Wells may refer to:
It was an edge-of-your-seat, fingers-on-the-chalkboard doozy doo·zy or doo·zie n. pl. doo·zies Slang Something extraordinary or bizarre: "Among the delicious names taken by, or given to, minor political parties in the United States . . . between the enigmatic young American, Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and fifth-ranked player in the world as of October 1, 2007. He finished sixth in the 2006 ATP Race. , and Tim Henman Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE (born September 6, 1974 in Oxford) is a former English tennis player. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. , the pride of Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. , in a quarterfinal at the Pacific Life Open on Friday afternoon. It was good enough to be a final. It was the kind of match you wanted neither player to lose. ``When you get into a match like that then, you know, it's a fine line between a lot of satisfaction and a lot of disappointment,'' said Henman, who escaped with a 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 upset. ``It's always been very, very tight against him.'' Roddick, 21, maintained perspective. ``I told him when we shook hands that we'll have to play a close one next time,'' Roddick said. The two have been through this before: Henman needed two tiebreakers to beat Roddick during a semifinal in Paris, his first Masters Series title, and Roddick knocked Henman off en route to his U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
n. See tiebreaker. . Asked why he's played so many tiebreakers against Henman lately, Roddick was in no mood to speculate. ``Because we each get to six,'' he said. Roddick seemed less in control of his emotion than the older Henman, who is 29, and his frustrations surfaced on more than once occasion. He batted a ball into the stadium's top tier in the middle of the first-set tiebreak and complained to the chair umpire chair umpire that freebie free·bie also free·bee n. Slang An article or service given free: "such freebies as subway and bus maps" New York. fans, distributed to keep spectators cool, were a distraction when he served later in the match. ``Obviously, I'm (upset). I'm disappointed,'' Roddick said. Along the way, Roddick recorded the fastest serve of the tournament, a 143-mph ace. Still, finesse won out in the end, as Henman kept Roddick off-balance with a varied chip-and-charge approach. Henman staved off a match point for Roddick at 5-6 in the second set, with three consecutive service winners, a Roddick trademark. It was evidence the player typecast as one-dimensional knows more about mixing it up then he lets on. ``The players today, if they know every time you stand up to the line you're going to serve and volley The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. , they'll get into a rhythm,'' Henman said. The turning point - late in the third set - came on a quirky sequence that paralleled the match. Henman was ahead 4-3, 30-40 on Roddick's serve but put on the defensive by a bruising Roddick forehand forehand the head, neck, shoulders, withers and forelimbs of the horse. . He offered up a topspin lob, Roddick backpedaled, but not far enough, and sent the overhead wide. ``It's not easy when you've got to take it out of the air,'' Henman said. ``You know the consequences if you miss it, and he missed it by six inches.'' The 5-3 deficit was too much for Roddick, and Henman, who won nearly half his points at net, took the final game with ease. Having spent most of its mental faculty on Roddick's match, the crowd filed out and left American James Blake
Labadze turned pro in 1998, and has recently passed the $1,000,000 career prize money mark. of the Republic of Georgia relatively unnoticed. Irakli, the No. 135 player in the world, defeated Blake 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-1. ``Usually I'm not handling this,'' Labadze said. ``I play one set and then I lose it. I go back to the same tactic and then I lose it. I'm in the shower already, lost the match. So now I'm in the shower, but I'm in the shower as a winner.'' His semifinal match today against Henman will follow the Andre Agassi-Rodger Federer semifinal. The men's quarterfinals were sandwiched between two women's semifinals, which were decidedly less electric. No. 3 Lindsay Davenport overcame Nathalie Dechy of France 6-2, 7-6(4 ) and No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-1, 6-1, in just 56 minutes. Davenport leads the series against Henin-Hardenne 5-2, but the Belgian has won two of the last three meetings. She withdrew from the other, in Sydney in January, with a right shoulder injury. Lauren Gustus, (818) 713-3607 Lauren.gustus(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Tim Henman pumps his first after finishing off Andy Roddick in three sets Friday afternoon to advance to the Pacific Life semifinals. Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press |
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