---

On another scorchingly hot day in Toronto, the quarterfinalists were decided. We focus on dramatic comebacks by David Nalbandian and Marat Safin, Tommy Haas's ouster of Pete Sampras, and a surprising name that emerged as a major topic of conversation: Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov!

---

David Nalbandian (15) def. Tim Henman (4), 4-6, 7-6 (11-9), 7-5
3rd round
Stadium
Previous head-to-head: first meeting

If Tim Henman could have managed to beat Lleyton Hewitt in their Wimbledon semifinal last month, this would have been the Wimbledon final. Instead the first-ever meeting between Henman and David Nalbandian was postponed until today, and it was a 2 hour, 50 minute marathon that in the end went the way of the 20-year-old Argentine after Henman double-faulted on his third match point in the second set tie-break.

Even though Henman won the first set 6-4, he was not looking as sharp as he did in his first two matches against Fernando Vicente and and James Blake. His serves were not as well placed, and his approach shots not incisive enough, and he was being lured into more long rallies with the Argentine baseliner Nalbandian (pictured at right) than seemed necessary.

Each player was broken once in the second set. Here is how Henman?s second set tie-break misery unfolded:

• TH serving: Nalbandian hit?s a forehand return winner off a weak, 161 km/h first serve. 1-0 Nalbandian
• DN: Nalbandian overhits a forehand. 1-1
• DN: another Nalbandian unforced forehand error. 2-1 Henman
• TH: Sharp Henman volley, a scrambling Nalbandian passing attempt goes long. 3-1 Henman
• TH: Henman floats a sliced backhand long. 3-2 Henman
• DN: Henman?s approach shot is too short, Nalbandian converts a straightforward backhand pass. 3-3
• DN: Again at the net, Henman makes a tough overhead. 4-3 Henman
• TH: Good Henman serve and backhand volley. 5-3 Henman
• TH: Service winner. 6-3 Henman, match point #1
• DN: A baseline point: Nalbandian strikes a niftily angled forehand, Henman can?t make trhe desperation runner. 6-4 Henman, match point #2
• DN: Nalbandian?s risky backhand lands on the line, forcing a Henman forehand error. 6-5 Henman, match point #3 and the first on his serve
• TH: Second serve goes long, double fault! 6-6.
• TH: Nalbandian, given new life, hits a spectacular cross-court forehand passing shot. Nalbandian drops to one knee and clenches his fist. 7-6 Nalbandian, set point #1
• DN: A much less spectactular Nalbandian passing shot fails to clear the net. 7-7
• DN: Service winner. 8-7 Nalbandian, set point #2
• TH: Nalbandian beats Henman to the net and angles a backhand volley winner. Second set to Nalbandian, 9-7 in the tie-break.

Nalbandian surprised us be coming out for the third set with a black shirt on this hot, sunny day, but the attire certainly did not hamper him. The Argentine was now dominating his service games, and giving Henman fits with high quality lobs and passing shots. Henman had to fight off two break points in game six, finally holding serve with one of his (only) three aces.

Serving to remain in the match at 5-6, Henman once again found himself in trouble. Nalbandian?s low returns at the onrushing Henman?s feet were paying dividends. At 15-30, the Englishman sent a routine forehand volley into the tramlines, and Nalbandian went on to win his first match point with a perfect backhand pass down the line. Make the final: 4-6, 7-6 (11-9), 7-5, and a berth in the quarterfinals for the Wimbledon runner-up. The fans gave Nalbandian a warm round of applause as he exited, and the Argentine made a point to wave to a man and his son wearing Argentine football jerseys in the corner of the stadium.

Henman admitted that his form was not as good as in his previous wins this week. ?I didn?t think I was serving particularly consistent,? said Tim, ?and he is certainly capable of returning a lot better than my first two opponents.? And of course the Englishman was figuratively kicking himself over the three wasted match points in the second set. ?If you have three match points and you lose, you can?t get much closer than that. So it is very, very frustrating.?

For Nalbandian, this upset and a berth in a Masters Series quarterfinal is a nice confirmation of his Wimbledon breakthrough, after two first round losses on clay in recent weeks. His opponent tomorrow will be 12th seed Andy Roddick, who rebounded from yesterday?s cramping (and gamesmanship accusations) with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Austrian Stefan Koubek. Roddick and Nalbandian have never faced one another at the pro level, but know each other well from travelling the junior circuit together. Roddick, who wa s a year behind Nalbandian in his junior development, says he never played Nalbandian at that level either. ?He was too good for me,? smiled the young American.

---

Marat Safin (2) def. Marcelo Ríos, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
3rd round
Stadium
Previous head-to-head: Safin leads 2-1

It was another nail-biter for the stadium crowd in this battle of former number ones. Marat Safin survived an up-and-down performance to edge Marcelo Ríos in a comeback effort.

Although the pony-tailed Chilean Ríos is generally thought of as a clay court specialist, he is probably better on hard courts than clay at this stage of his career. Of his three previous matches against the Russian, the two he lost to Safin came on clay, with Ríos?s only win coming on the indoor hard courts of Stuttgart last year. As for Safin, he was the Toronto champion two years ago and had been impressive in his first two matches, winning in straight sets against tough opposition (Juan Ignacio Chel a and Andrei Pavel).

The two treated us to excellent tennis in the first set. Ríos was particularly impressive, moving well and striking the ball with precision and occasional brilliance. The key break was obtained by Ríos, much to the delight of his Chilean fan club, who had seats high in the centre section of the stadium. Safin had put himself in trouble with a double fault at 15-15. After a forehand error at 15-30, Marat went to get a new racquet. The racquet must not have been the problem, since he dumped a forehand into the net to give the Chilean a 5-3 lead. Ríos served out the set, and when Safin netted a mid-court forehand on set point, it was 6-3 Ríos.

The Chilean started the second set strongly as well. As for Safin, he was grousing about line calls, misfiring with a number of forehands, and smashed his racquet for the first of two times in the match. Meanwhile, Ríos kept going about his business and took a 3-1 lead. ?I was completely lost,? said Safin of his position at this stage. ?I felt it?s going to be the end, it?s going to be finished very soon.?

But then the wheels fell off for Marcelo, as he lost five games in a row, and with them the set. With Ríos serving at 3-2, 15-30, Safin finally got himself back together with a shot that changed the momentum of the set, a booming backhand first serve return winner. He went on to break Ríos back when the Chilean pushed a forehand wide. Safin played strong tennis and Ríos?s level dipped suddenly, and Marat ran out the final three games to level the match.

The third set was almost a carbon copy of the second, with Ríos taking an early 4-1 lead. Again, he was unable to hold the advantage. Serving at 4-2, 15-40, ?El Chino? double-faulted to hand back the break he had obtained. ?If I win that game I should have won the match,? admitted Ríos afterwards. At least this time Marcelo was able to limit the damage, despite a blister on his left foot that needed medical attention late in the set. Both held serve the rest of the way, and a tie-break would decide matt ers.

The deciding game started poorly for Ríos, who overhit a forehand on his first point, but Safin returned the favour right away by dumping a backhand into the net. Ríos definitely dug his grave at 3-4, when he lost two straight service points on baseline errors. This made it 6-3, and a Safin service winner finished it. Make the final: 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)

Given that he won the first set, and then had a 3-1 lead in the second and a 4-1 lead in the third, Ríos was disappointed not to have finished Safin off. ?It?s my confidence,? he admitted. ?When you?re not playing consistent it is tough to win matches like that.?

Safin was relieved to have survived a match that he could easily have lost. ?I was just fighting. Just fighting. Just tried to stay there, tried to hold serve and wait for his mistakes.? Safin also paid a nice tribute to the quality of his opponent?s play. ?For me, he?s the most talented player in the world,? said Marat. ?He can play great tennis, and today he was playing great, and he was very close to beat me. Very, very close.?

Guillermo Cañas should provide formidable quarterfinal opposition for Marat tomorrow afternoon. The unseeded Cañas punished 5th seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-2, 6-2 this afternoon, and is one of only two players (Jiri Novak being the other) who have yet to lose a set this week. As we suspected, Kafelnikov had little in the tank after his marathon win over Younes El Aynaoui yesterday.

---

Toronto Tidbits

Haas nips Sampras in an evening thriller

13th-seeded Pete Sampras and Tommy Haas, seeded 3rd, entertained a capacity crowd this evening with a suspense-filled encounter. Despite being unable to break Sampras?s serve all match long, Haas won it, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), when Sampras double-faulted on the final point of the match. This was an eerie replay of Pete?s last visit to Toronto, where he also double-faulted on match point of a third set tie-break against Safin. Haas served 24 aces, and as Sampras recognized after the match, the German served particularly well in pressure situations.

Sampras feels he?s on the right path toward turning around a dismal year. ?I thought I played well enough to win,? said the American great of his narrow loss. ?I still feel I?ve got the game and that one week it?s going to click.? Haas, who is on good terms with Sampras and was a guest at his California home last week, agreed with this assessment: ?I think he?s on his way back to be very dangerous for the next couple of weeks.?

Fabrice flummoxes flat Martin

The slices and spins of the devilishly tricky Frenchman Fabrice Santoro (pictured at right) befuddle many a player, but usually not Todd Martin. The 6?6? (1,98m) American had not lost a set to ?Le Magicien? in three previous encounters. Today Fabrice turned the tables, trouncing an off-form Martin 6-2, 6-4. Amazingly, Santoro, who has never been accused of being a power server, won 26 of 28 first serve points today. Santoro has struggled the past three months with a sore ankle, but took two weeks off after Wimbledon to recover properly and was moving extremely well today. ?Now I feel like I? m ready to start the summer,? said the bright-eyed Frenchman.

Haas, whom Santoro plays tomorrow afternoon, feels confident about the matchup. ?He plays like no other on the tour,? admitted the German, who has beaten Santoro 5 times in 7 tries. ?I feel if I serve well like I did tonight, that will be the key for tomorrow.?

Grosjean and Novak shining in the shadows

The quarterfinalists in the top quarter of the draw, Sébastien Grosjean (11) and Jiri Novak (14), have been chugging along quietly, winning their first three matches on the side courts. We?ll give them their due tomorrow by reporting on their match, which will close out the evening session tomorrow.

Doubles! Doubles!

Speaking of anonymity, the doubles tournament has also reached the quarterfinal stage. Here are the matchups in the final eight:

• Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor (1) vs Michael Hill / Leander Paes:
  Nestor is the last Canadian left in the tournament -- not too surprising, since he and Knowles are having a tremendous season. Paes is the last member of the defunct Indian Express left in the tournament -- his former partner Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi were eliminated today by Ellis Ferreira and Jeff Tarango.
  
  
• Roger Federer / Wayne Ferreira vs Josh Eagle / Sandon Stolle (8):
  Federer and Ferreira represent the singles star power in the doubles quarterfinals. They will be severely tested by two fine doubles specialists from down under.
  
  
• David Prinosil / David Rikl (7) vs. Ellis Ferreira / Jeff Tarango:
  There have been plenty of splits in the world of doubles: Rikl has left his longtime partner Jiri Novak to play with a fellow David, Prinosil form Germany. They will do battle with an intriguing over-30, all-lefty team.
  
  
• Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (6) vs. Don Johnson / Jared Palmer (2):
  An excellent all-American duel in perspective here between the Bryan twins, who will surely never split up, and the rock-solid veterans Johnson/Palmer.

Quotable quotes

An alleged Russian mobster named Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov was arrested today in Italy, on charges that he helped fix the Olympic figure skating results earlier this year. ?What does this have to do with tennis??, I hear you cry. It seems that Tokhtakhounov?s name has been linked with Russian tennis stars Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin and Andrei Medvedev, and that Medvedev?s website contained a photo of the four together (the photo had been removed from the site when we tried to find it today). Both Kaf elnikov and Safin were asked about it today. Kafelnikov: ?He is a good friend of mine, but I?d rather talk about tennis right now?. Whatever happens there, I?m sure it?s some kind of mistake, and I have no further comment regarding that.? Safin: ?Sorry to be rude. I don?t think you will understand, but it?s not your problem.? Marat then admitted that he knows Tokhtakhounov.