The Indian Wells fans were robbed of what would have been the first showdown between two of the elite female players who are here, when Amélie Mauresmo withdrew with a throat infection just before her scheduled quarterfinal with Lindsay Davenport. The only women?s quarterfinal played today was Jennifer Capriati?s routine 7-5, 6-2 win over unseeded 18-year-old Vera Zvonareva. Vera seemed overwhelmed by the occasion, and made 37 unforced errors compared to just 8 winners. Capr iati was as good as she needed to be against the opposition she had. Jennifer will battle Davenport in the semis.

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Gustavo Kuerten def. Roger Federer (4), 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
Second round
Stadium 1
Previous head-to-head: Federer leads 1-0

The opening fixture on stadium court today was this appetizing matchup between three-time French Open champion Kuerten (pictured at right) and Federer, the hottest player on tour. Federer has won 16 of 17 matches, and the Marseille and Dubai titles, since the Australian Open.

In the opening stages, Kuerten, sporting a beard and clad in aquamarine and white, was as sharp and incisive as Federer was listless. The Brazilian was hitting the ball exceptionally hard, controlling most of the points and blasting winners with both his forehand and his celebrated backhand. Guga said that he had practiced very well this week, and took a lot of confidence in using his big game on court. ?You know, I was hitting the ball well and get the winners, serving well too, until I think the eigh th game, when I was 4-3, 40-15. I think I miss a couple of shots. From that, the match go really close.? Meanwhile the sluggish Federer was striking many lifeless, short balls and venturing to net only rarely. ?He definitely played really aggressive, it surprised me a bit,? admitted Roger after the match. ?I was [playing] short, and he could dominate the point.?

The players exchanged of breaks early in the first set. Late in the set, with Roger serving at 5-5, ?Guga? set up a 15-40 point with a backhand first serve return winner, and Federer coughed up the break on a forehand error. Kuerten served out the set, hitting another backhand winner on his second set point.

Kuerten?s level fell of a touch in the second set, and Roger, although he never really came to life completely, at least showed some signs of assertive play. At 4-4, Federer saved a break point with the best rally of the match, a baseline exchange that slowly built in intensity, Federer finally overwhelming Kuerten with a series of scalding forehands. Kuerten fought off four set points, all on his serve, the first at 4-5 and the other three at 5-6. Federer?s best chance on those set points appeared to c ome in the 5-6 game, when Roger failed to put away a simple overhead and retreated to the baseline. The rally continued, and Federer finally drove a backhand long. ?I maybe should have taken more chances on that overhead,? admitted Federer.

Surely relieved at saving these set points, Guga played a strong tie-break -- ?the best tie-break I played over this year? -- to seal the win.

• 0-0, RF serving: service winner to forehand. 1-0 Federer
• GK: Guga follows up a good serve with a good backhand down the line, and Roger?s desperation runner is wide. 1-1
• GK: Kuerten catches a backhand late and shanks it into the tenth row. 2-1 Federer
• RF: A long rally ends with a Federer backhand error. 2-2
• RF: Federer drives a forehand into the net and screams angrily. ?I was up a mini-break," said Federer in his press conference, "then I lose both points on my serve. That?s not allowed to happen.? 3-2 Kuerten
• GK: Service winner to backhand. 4-2 Kuerten
• GK: Service winner to forehand. 5-2 Kuerten
• RF: Strong serve and forehand winner by the Swiss. 5-3 Kuerten
• RF: Federer mis-hits a forehand which lands out. 6-3 Kuerten, match point
• GK: Second serve return error by Federer. Game, set & match Guga, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)

Kuerten, who says he is ?trying to find my way back to the top ten? after last year?s hip surgery, called this his best win of the year so far. He says he is finally moving as well as he had been before the surgery, and now he is trying to get those good feelings again. ?Every match I have to maintain this inspiration, happiness. I try to celebrate myself too, with the points, the victory.?

Next up for Guga: unseeded Agustín Calleri. The hard-hitting Argentine took out the 13th seed and runner-up here last year, Tim Henman, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Henman is in just his third tournament since off-season shoulder surgery. The Englishman?s approach shots and net play were too inconsistent for him to expect to defeat the confident Calleri, who was the Acapulco champion two weeks ago.

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Weird and wide open second quarter

On Sunday we mentioned the odd second quarter of the men's draw, which wound up with four qualifiers, a wild card and a lucky loser among its 16 member players. As a result of today?s play, we were assured that one of these four gents will reach the semi-finals:

• Qualifier Brian Vahaly, a former U.S. college star who is having an impressive start to his pro career. Vahaly upset 3rd seed Juan Carlos Ferrero today, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. At least Ferrero won his first round match here this year, the first Indian Wells victory of his career.
• Unseeded Tommy Robredo, who knocked off 14th seed Sjeng Schalken, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
• Qualifier Vince Spadea, who is yet to lose a set in wins over 12th seed Paradorn Srichaphan and Nicolas Kiefer.
• Lucky loser Olivier Rochus, who edged 8th seed Albert Costa, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

We were able to catch most of the entertaining Rochus-Costa, match, played on the intimate Court 5. In the opening set French Open champion Costa looked like a pretty good hard court player, pounding down heavy serves and stepping in to crack telling inside-out forehands past his undersized opponent.

But Costa?s forehand started to desert him in the second set, allowing the speedy Belgian to stay in more rallies. Albert was getting frustrated, amusing the fans by yelping at himself in anger, sometimes a good 15 seconds after a point had ended, and keeping up a running Spanish-language commentary detailing the various mistakes he was making. Meanwhile, the diminutive Rochus dug in his heels, scoring with some impressive running backhand winners, as well as a number of beautifully feathered drop shots . When yet another Costa forehand sailed out on set point, the match was level.

In the fifth game of the third set, Rochus picked up the only break he needed with a splendid backhand winner on a second serve return. Costa made a determined attempt to break back at 3-2, but Rochus fought off three break points before finally ripping a backhand crosscourt pass, accompanied by a fist pump, to hold serve. The Belgian held his advantage the rest of the way, and the Spaniard pushed a forehand wide on Rochus?s first match point. Make the final: 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, and a first-ever berth in a Masters Series third round for Olivier Rochus. Olivier is in a good run of form, having reached the final in Copenhagen two weeks ago, and after lucking into the draw here has done well to take out French veteran Fabrice Santoro as well as Costa. Vince Spadea is up next for the 5?5? Belgian dynamo.

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Wandering in the desert

Churning stomachs claim victims

Mauresmo?s throat infection is not the only health issue here this year. Stomach problems have also been making the rounds, and it?s not just nausea induced by the multitude of unforced errors the women are committing. Gastro-intestinal discomfort has claimed at least three victims. On the men?s side, Jiri Novak forfeited his match today to qualifier Robbie Ginepri because of stomach pains and dizziness. Yesterday, Felix Mantilla, gave up during the third set of his first round matc h yesterday against Roger Federer for the same reason. On the women?s side, Paola Suarez retired today during the second set of a women?s doubles semifinal, handing the victory to Kim Clijsters / Ai Sugiyama.

Tournament physician Dr. Sam Reber said that 11 players have been affected to varying degrees by the the mystery bug, but some have been able to continue playing. (We noticed tonight that Capriati took a quick break between sets, but no-one asked her if it was the stomach bug). Dr. Reber ruled out food poisoning as the cause of this wave of tummy disorders, saying ?it appears to be a flu-like illness?. However, some in the press room (admittedly, none with a medical degree) are sceptical about this claim. You see, the bug is also making the rounds among the media. Your humble reporter has been battling the same illness the last two days, and he can tell you it?s not much fun. We have talked to at least four others in the media centre who have been having the same symptoms as those reported by the players. The media and players are eating the same food?

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Quotable quotes

23-year-old Brian Vahaly, who has a degree from the University of Virgina, is proud to have a chance to show the doubters that it is possible to attend university, graduate, then still have success in the pros. ?People told me I was too old, that I started too late. ?A guy who goes to college and signed away his career.? I?d like to think that with a college degree, it brings a little extra to the table. It brings a brain and it brings a mind, and that?s my strength.?