Source: www.atptour.com MONTREAL AUG. 02, 2001 Upstart Roddick Attempts to Upstage Kuerten Also on Thursday, Patrick Rafter and Todd Martin face off in a battle of veterans. Third-round action gets underway at the Tennis Masters Series Montreal Thursday, and by far, the most-anticipated match-up will take place in the afternoon, when American upstart Andy Roddick attempts to upstage the top seed Gustavo Kuerten. Jan-Michael Gambill also takes on Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, and later in the evening, Canadian crowds will be treated to another top battle between American Todd Martin and fellow veteran Patrick Rafter. Andy Roddick vs. Gustavo Kuerten Head-to-Head: First meeting In the day's best match, Roland Garros king Kuerten battles the fast-rising Roddick. After a three-set tussle Tuesday night against Haitian veteran Ronald Agenor, Kuerten found his form Wednesday against the formidable Gaston Gaudio, easily dispatching the Argentine in straight sets. Today, the 2000 World No. 1 will meet the ATP's newest star, Roddick, the 2000 World Junior No. 1, for the first time. Roddick easily bested Hyung-Taik Lee in the first round, then showed off some more poise and power in a dramatic three-set win over Carlos Moya. The American had two match points in the second set, then was up a break 4-2 in the third. The Spaniard battled back and served for the match at 5-4 before losing the final three games. Now, the 18-year-old will have his chance to add Kuerten alongside the likes of Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Michael Chang and Todd Martin as the top names in tennis he's already beaten. But Kuerten, who last month claimed the Stuttgart title, has won 17 of his last 18 matches, and won't go down without a fight. He stands second in the ATP Champions Race behind Andre Agassi, and will regain the lead if he reaches the final in Montreal. Patrick Rafter vs. Todd Martin Head-to-Head: Rafter leads 6-3 In a battle of two of tennis's most mannerly players - five ATP Sportsmanship Awards between them - the ninth seeded Rafter takes on two-time Slam runner-up Todd Martin, in what figures to be a closely contested affair. None of their nine prior encounters ended in straight sets, with Rafter, the tournament's lone remaining former champion, holding a 6-3 advantage including their last two. Monday night, Rafter ousted last year's finalist Harel Levy in three tough sets, then Wednesday, he dismantled 2000 World No. 4 Magnus Norman. With many of the seeds already out of the tournament, Rafter, who's seeking his fourth straight quarterfinal here, now assumes the role as tournament favorite. But Martin, the oldest player remaining in the field at 31, is playing in Canada for the ninth year, and has reached the quarterfinals three times before. He also plays well on big occasions. Earlier this summer, he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing to Tim Henman in five sets. And he began the season impressively, losing in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open to Andre Agassi. Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Jan-Michael Gambill Head-to-Head: Ferrero leads 1-0 Last year, Ferrero lost in the third round at the event to Yevgeny Kafelnikov. But this year, the 21-year-old Spaniard is enjoying the best season of his career, with a 45-11 match record and four ATP titles (Dubai, Estoril, Barcelona, TMS Rome). He has a 10-4 record on hard courts, winning his first career title on hard courts in Dubai (d. Marat Safin). He's looking not only to further make his mark on hard courts, but he also stands in third place in the ATP Champions Race 2001, and does not want to lose any ground now that the clay court season is over. Gambill, meanwhile, has never got past the second round here until now. The man nicknamed, "Hollywood," is coming off a quarterfinal in Los Angeles last week, losing to Agassi. And this year, he won his second ATP singles title in Delray Beach, and also advanced to his first Tennis Masters Series final at the Ericsson Open Miami, where he again fell to Agassi in straight sets. Look for a closely contested battle. |