Paes storms into quarters

NEW DELHI/NEWPORT, JULY 9: Only once has the top seed won the Newport Hall of Fame tournament. And that was in 1976, the year the event b...

NEW DELHI/NEWPORT, JULY 9: Only once has the top seed won the Newport Hall of Fame tournament. And that was in 1976, the year the event began, and the winner then was India8217;s Vijay Amritraj. On Thursday evening, Leander Paes, fresh from a two doubles titles at the grass courts of Wimbledon ensured his countryman8217;s record would go undisturbed into the next millennium, when he despatched Wayne Ferreira in the second round. Paes won 6-2, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with his doubles partner for the tournament, Wayne Arthurs.

One of the stars of 1999 Wimbledon, Arthurs who reached the second week of revered tournament, continued his good record on grass, defeating the No. 7 seed Daniel Nestor 6-7 6, 6-4 and 7-6 7-5. Arthurs must certainly be aiming for the title of Tiebreak King8217;, having played 12 tie-breaks in six matches since the start of Wimbledon.

In another match the 1997 winner Sargis Sargisan fell in three sets to last year8217;s semi-finalist Laurence Tielman 6-7 4/7, 7-6 7/3, 6-2.Tielman will clash with fourth seed Andrew Ilie, the only seed left in the tournament. Ilie, who ousted Wayne Ferreira in the first round at this year8217;s Wimbledon, defeated Germany8217;s Christian Vinck 6-4, 7-5.

Ferreira had a day where nothing could go right against Paes. Nothing stayed in and as he himself said after his loss. 8220;It was one of those days you wanted to get the hell out of there.8221;

In the windy conditions, Ferreira lasted only 52 minutes before Paes took the match. Possibly the frustration of the day came for the South African when he double faulted at match point. Paes appeared to have less problems with the wind.

Paes, who uses a low toss, lost only 11 points on his serve and wasn8217;t broken. Ferreira8217;s high tosses got caught in the wind, leading to unpredictable results. The South African had no aces and five double faults. When the ball was in play, he dumped his drop shots into the net and failed at overhand volleys.

Moreover, the only player in this tournament ranked in the top 50threw his racket three times and received a code violation for slamming a ball into the stands. He also injured a ball girl when he accidentally struck a shot into her neck.

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After the match, Paes said: 8220;He8217;s a fantastic player. He had a rough day. He obviously didn8217;t play his best tennis.8221; The 28-year-old Ferreira, now ranked No. 32, was once ranked as high as No. 6.

The last time Ferreira and Paes clashed, the Indian star won and that was also in straight sets, but in three, in Davis Cup. Paes is defending the 151 points he obtained by winning the title here last year and thus far, he has got 43, including 12 bonus points.

Paes, the defending champion in Newport 8212; his only ATP Tour title in his career 8212; has now a 13-3 record in the tournament. His three losses having come in the first round of 1995, and the semifinals in 1996 and 1997.

This year8217;s tournament, which carries a prize of US 41,800, coincides with Saturday8217;s inductions of seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe and AustralianKen McGregor into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

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Newport is one of the few tournaments on the ATP Tour which is still played on the grass courts. The courts produces low bounces that are perfect for Paes, who said: 8220;Guys like me don8217;t have many troubles in Newport. We don8217;t have to bend down too much.8221;