San Jose Mercury News

2 March 2001

The lights went out at the Sybase Open on Thursday morning. Then they went out on two-time defending champion Mark Philippoussis and tour veteran Goran Ivanisevic, who lost their second-round matches.

The third-seeded Philippoussis became the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament when he dropped a 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3) decision to unseeded Juan Balcells of Spain in a match that lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes and ended at 12:27 this morning.

Ivanisevic, coming back from a shoulder injury that dropped him almost 70 spots in the ATP Tour rankings last year, was eliminated by qualifier Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

``I was on the court, but I was not on the court,'' said Ivanisevic, who won three qualifying matches last weekend to advance to the main draw. ``I was there only because I was scheduled to play.''

It was a long day for the Sybase tournament, which came to a halt during the first set of the day's first match when San Jose Arena suddenly went dark at 11:05 a.m. A PG&E spokesman blamed the outage on an internal failure at the company's substation. Some 8,000 customers in downtown and north-central San Jose were affected.

The delay pushed back the start of Thursday's night matches, which featured No. 1 seed Andre Agassi and No. 3 Mark Philippoussis, about 90 minutes from their scheduled 7 p.m. start. Agassi overcame a 4-1 deficit in the first set to defeat Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland 6-4, 6-2 and move into the quarterfinals for the eighth time in nine Sybase appearances. He improved his record in the Bay Area to 33-4.

``Down 4-1, I was telling myself to keep executing and make him make shots if he's going to win the set,'' Agassi said. ``It was still a long way to the finish line.''

Malisse, meanwhile, didn't seem to mind the long wait for his match against Ivanisevic. He needed just 56 minutes and two service breaks to eliminate the unseeded Croatian, a three-time runner-up at Wimbledon and former top-10 player whose game has sunk as a result of his injured left shoulder.

``It was more fun,'' Malisse said, noting that the evening crowd was allowed to watch most of his match from the upper level at the arena. ``More people came. I like to play in front of big crowds.''

Ivanisevic committed 27 unforced errors and often looked incapable of putting the ball where he wanted.

``It just shouldn't happen like this,'' Ivanisevic said. ``I was not in the match. I was missing something, I don't know what. . . . I tried to do too much. I tried to kill him off the court, but he played smart.''

Asked if his ailing shoulder bothered him, he sighed and said, ``No pain, just a bad day. But I shouldn't have so many bad days.''

Ivanisevic conceded that he's considering arthroscopic surgery, which would keep him sidelined for up to two months, in the hope he could return for Wimbledon in June.

``The shoulder is the worst part of the body to operate on,'' he said. ``They can tell you five weeks and it can be 10 weeks. It's a tricky decision.''

Not so tricky was Malisse, who was hitting winners and taking chances. He finished with seven aces, including one that ended the match.

``This gives me a lot of confidence,'' Malisse said. ``This year, I was always losing in the second round. But today was an awesome match. I can't say I did anything wrong. Goran is maybe not his fittest right now, but my tennis was perfect.''

Second seed Lleyton Hewitt turned what should have been a routine victory into a close call, beating unseeded Andrei Stoliarov of Russia 6-2, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3 to move into the quarterfinals.

Hewitt had a 5-1 lead in the second set before Stoliarov tied it at 6, then held two match points that he lost. Hewitt double-faulted on the 18th point to send the match to a third set.

``To his credit, he kept fighting,'' Hewitt said. ``I thought I was in the locker room. But when I had to raise the bar and go up a level, I knew I had it in me.''

2 March 2001

In a stunning upset that went into early Friday morning, unseeded Juan Balcells of Spain defeated two-time defending champion Mark Philippoussis 6-4 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) at the $400,000 Sybase Open tennis tournament.

A power outage delayed play for two hours.

Andre Agassi led three others into the quarterfinals on Thursday, beating Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil 6-4 6-2.

Australian and number two seed Lleyton Hewitt continued his quest for his first indoor title with a rocky 2-6 6-7 (10-8) 6-3 victory over Russian Andrei Stolairov.

Number four seed Tommy Haas of Germany also gained the quarterfinals, with a tough 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Sweden's Magnus Gustafsson. Haas will meet qualifier Xavier Malisse of Belgium, who scored a 6-3 6-4 victory over Goran Ivanisevic.

Still lethargic from the flu, Philippoussis couldn't handle Balcells effective serve-and-volley-attack and was frequently confused by the big Spaniard's returns of serves in the hard-hitting two-hour, 24 minute minute contest.

Balcells will play number six Jan Michael Gambill in the next round.

Agassi, after falling behind 1-4 in the first set, began to get a better read on Kratochvil's big forehand and effectively moved the teenager around the court.

"I couldn't determine whether I started low or if he got off to a good start," said Agassi of the 18-year-old Swiss. "I certainly didn't get off to a good start but he served well and hit a couple of good shots to get the break."

Agassi, who will play his friend Sargis Sargsian of Armenia in Friday's quarterfinals, said he needed to find his rhythm before figuring out Kratochvil.

"This is two matches in a row I've played someone for the first time," said Agassi, the 2001 Australian Open champion.

"It takes a while to figure out what shots they're capable of making under pressure and what's the best way to make them uncomfortable. He hit some great shots, and you always have to question whether he can do that again.

"You don't know it until you really feel his game. I keep myself in the frame of mind that would allow my game to come around."

Hewitt, a 2000 US Open semifinalist, has seven titles to date but has never won a crown indoors. Against the steady Russian, he needed seven match points to close out the contest, letting go of a 6-2, 5-2 lead.

"I've got to give him credit, he never stopped fighting," said Hewitt, who will face number eight seed Greg Rusedski of England in Friday's quarterfinal. "At 5-2 in the second set, Id thought I was back in the locker room."

In the first set and a half, the feisty 20-year-old Hewitt showed off his entire arsenal, reeling off both crosscourt and down the line winners off both wings, tripping up his opponent with touch volleys and adeptly disguising his serve.

But Stoliarov began to grow comfortable in their crosscourt rallies, retrieving with abandon and catching Hewitt off guard with heavily topspinned forehands.

The muscular Stoliarov pulled out the tiebreaker after Hewitt committed a series of unforced errors. In the third set, Hewitt began to attack more, taking apart his opponent's powderpuff second serve and serving with more authority.

"I never lost confidence," said Hewitt, who finished the two-hour, 15-minute match with 39 winners (including eight aces) and 46 unforced errors. "When I needed to raise the bar, I did."

The flashy, 20-year-old Malisse was considered by some to have top-20 potential when he turned pro in 1998 but has yet to finish a year in the top-100. To date, he has been more famous

for his romance with Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati than for his tennis.

"I'm a new man this year," said Malisse, who has qualified for three tournaments his year. "I wasn't focused last year I wasted it. Now I'm more concentrated and mentally prepared. I'm motivated and having fun. Tonight against Goran, my tennis was perfect."

2 March 2001

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt advanced, but Mark Philippoussis was not as lucky Thursday night in the second round of the Sybase Open tennis event.

The top-seeded Agassi, who is competing in his first event since defending his Australian Open title last month, cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland. Agassi, seeking his fifth title at San Jose, will meet Aremenian Sargis Sargsian in the quarterfinals.

Agassi, 30, had to withdraw from this event last year due to a back injury but has compiled an impressive 33-4 record, reaching the quarterfinals in eight of his previous nine appearances.

Hewitt outlasted Andrei Stoliarov of Russia, 6-2, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, and will play No. 8 Greg Rusedski of Britain in the quarterfinals. Hewitt is seeking his second title of the year after winning at Sydney last month.

Philippoussis, the two-time defending champion, was ousted by Juan Balcells of Spain, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3). Philippoussis was playing his second tournament of the year after offseason knee surgery. The 24-year-old Australian made a successful debut last week at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis, capturing his ninth career singles title.

Fourth seeded Tommy Haas of Germany moved into the quarterfinals earlier Thursday as he rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 34-year-old Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden, the oldest player in the draw.

Haas improved his season record to 15-3 with Thursday's win. He won his second career title at Adelaide in January and is coming off a semifinal showing in Memphis.

In an unseeded matchup, qualifier Xavier Malisse of Belgium posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fiery Croatian Goran Ivanisevic. Malisse will meet sixth seed Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States, who advanced to the quarterfinals Wednesday.

First prize at this hardcourt tournament is $54,000.