AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Greg Rusedski snapped a seven-year,
nine-match losing streak against Wimbledon champion Goran
Ivanisevic with a 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 victory Thursday to reach the
semifinals of the Heineken Open.
Sixth-seeded Rusedski beat second-seeded Ivanisevic for the
first time since 1994.
"After I won the first set, it became difficult mentally,"
Rusedski said. "After dropping the second set to love, I knew I
had to get back into business right away.
"After nine losses you start to get a complex you're not going
to beat this guy."
Ivanisevic struggled against Rusedski, partly because of a
rotator cuff injury.
"If I play like this at the Australian Open, I'll be going home
pretty quick," said Ivanisevic, the No. 10 seed for the Grand Slam, which starts Monday.
"It's a tear, plus my nerve is jammed," he said. "Every time
I lift my arm, it's jamming the nerve. I don't have a problem with
the pain so much, but I lose the power in my arm. My serve was not
going anywhere because my arm was very sore, very heavy."
It was the second match in a day for Rusedski, who completed a
5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Czech Michal Tabara in a rain-delayed
second-round contest. He was down a set but up a break in the
second set when the match resumed.
Fifth-seeded Czech Jiri Novak, the 1996 champion, won 6-1, 6-1
over Spain's Felix Mantilla. Mantilla also had to play his
second-round match Thursday and beat fourth-seeded and 1999
champion Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands.
Top-seeded Marat Safin of Russia lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the
second round to Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, but Safin believes he
will still be a force at the Australian Open.
"It's better to be this way, it's very good for me. I have no
pressure," Safin said. "If I can get through the first week, I
will be very dangerous in the second week."
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