Estoril Open 2002 News and Events

April 12, 2002

The good news for Jarkko Nieminen is that it looks like the slump is over. That, of course, could only mean bad news for Nieminen's quarterfinal opponent on Friday at the Estoril Open - Marat Safin.

Nieminen, who hadn't advanced past the second round in an ATP event all year, moved into Saturday's final four by upsetting No. 2 seed Marat Safin, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Finland's No. 1 player began the year 0-5 and now, in his first ATP clay-court tournament, he's a semifinalist.

"I just can't believe it right now," Nieminen said. "When this tournament started, I didn't think I'd be where I am right now. I just went into each match with nothing to lose."

After winning the first set in both of his first two matches, Safin struggled in the second set. The trend continued against Nieminen and - unlikely his matches with David Ferrer and Adrian Voinea - Safin wasn't able to recover.

Nieminen said his groundstrokes feel great right now and he's very pleased with the way he has played this week. "My backhand feels good and I'm playing well from the baseline," Nieminen said. "I just hope to continue to play well the rest of the week."

Argentina's Fernando Meligeni will face Nieminen in the semifinals. Meligeni made quick work of qualifier Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 6-1. It is the second time this year Meligeni has advanced to an ATP semifinal - having reached the finals in Acapulco.

Meligeni, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Friday, got a break in his second round match against Guillermo Coria. Tied at one set apiece and 4-4 in the third, Coria was forced to retire from the match due to a case of cramping.

"This was a great birthday present," said Meligeni, who also received another gift when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him when he entered his post-match press conference.

The only loss Meligeni has suffered this year on clay was to Carlos Moya in the final of the Acapulco tournament in February. The Brazilian believed his chances of walking away from Estoril with a trophy are good. "Once you get to the semifinals, only the best is going to win." Meligeni said.

MOYA MOVES INTO SEMIFINALS
No. 3 seed Carlos Moya improved his clay court record in 2002 to 8-0 by advancing to the semifinals at the Estoril Open.

Moya, the 2000 Estoril champion, needed three sets to escape "The Beast," Max Mirnyi, but walked away with a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3 win.

"I felt very comfortable out there today and feel great on the clay," Moya said. "The wind was still a little difficult to play through, but I got really great support from the crowd."

The support Moya received was from busloads of children from Spain. Many children from the Spanish regions of Galicia and Extremadura were bused to Estoril to take in Friday's tennis action, and that support helped motivate Moya.

Moya's hoping his success in Estoril is not a fluke. In the past, Moya's early clay-court success has meant dismal results in the Tennis Masters Series events.

"The Tennis Masters Series events are important and I need to play well later in the clay-court season," Moya said. "I always play good at the beginning of the season and then go flat. I hope the good results on clay keep coming."

Up next for Moya is Argentina's David Nalbandian, who advanced to his first ATP semifinal by defeating Sjeng Schalken, 6-4, 6-4. Nalbandian pulled the tournament's biggest upset in the second round by defeating top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"This has been a really great start to the clay court season for me," Nalbandian said. "I am playing with confidence and hopefully I will continue to play good when I play Moya tomorrow."

Moya looked forward to facing Nalbandian, a player he believes will continue to improve. "He is going to be a Top 10 player," Moya said. 'He's been playing very well, so I have to play great to win this match."

SANEX WTA TOUR

Defending Champion Falls in Estoril

Angeles Montolio's bid to win back-to-back Estoril Open titles was derailed in the quarterfinals on Friday by qualifier Anca Barna.

Barna defeated Montolio in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(0) to advance to the semifinals. Montolio, who also won last week's Porto Open, had lost only seven games through two very decisive matches leading up to the quarterfinals, but couldn't gain control of the match.

Barna's win against Montolio marked the first title she's reached the semifinals in a Sanex WTA Tour event. Coincidentally, it was at the Estoril Open in 1998 that she reached her first career WTA quarterfinal.

Dinara Safina, the 15-year-old sister of ATP star Marat Safin, continued to use Estoril as the platform for her best WTA result. The young Russian breezed into the semifinals with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Maja Matevzic.

Safina wasted no time gaining the match's momentum by grabbing a break on Matevzic's first service game. She didn't slow down from there and won the first set in less than 20 minutes.

Matevzic came out firing in the second set, gaining the early break on Safina before giving up a break one game later. Matevzic gained another break on the Russian and held serve to go up 4-2. Matevzic was serving for the second set at 5-4, when Safina broke back to even the set at 5-5. After holding serve, Safina broke Matevzic one final time to win the second set, 7-5.

No. 4 seed Magui Serna lost only two games on her way to the semifinals by defeating No. 5 Tina Pisnik, 6-2, 6-0. Serna will face last year's finalist, Elena Bovina in the semifinals. Bovina was a straight sets winner against Loudres Dominguez Lino, 6-3, 6-2.