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TENNIS ROUNDUP : Korda Eliminates Lendl in Canadian Open

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From Associated Press

Petr Korda enjoyed a friendly lunch with Ivan Lendl, then went out and beat his boyhood idol in the $1.65-million Canadian Open tennis tournament Friday in Montreal.

Korda won the quarterfinal match, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, to extend his record against the Lendl, 33, to 5-1 over their careers.

“I’m the only Czech player who has a good record against him,” said Korda, 25, with a shrug. “I don’t think he likes my game.”

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Korda is seeded sixth and is the highest-seeded player remaining in a tournament of upsets. He advanced to a semifinal match against Mikael Pernfors of Sweden.

Pernfors, who upset second-seeded Jim Courier on Thursday, ousted No. 8 Alexander Volkov of Russia, 6-2, 6-1, leaving Korda as the only player seeded in the top eight still in the hardcourt event.

The other semifinal will match Richey Reneberg against Todd Martin. Reneberg beat Brett Steven of New Zealand, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Martin, seeded 13th, ousted 11th-seeded Andre Agassi, 7-5, 6-3.

Korda has known Lendl since childhood, when his father, Petr Sr., worked with Lendl on the Czechoslovak Davis Cup team.

The two get together to talk about old times and their shared interests--tennis and hockey.

On the court, the lanky, left-handed Korda is Lendl’s nemesis. The only time Lendl beat Korda was last April in Nice, France, the only time they have met on clay.

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“I don’t read his shots well,” said Lendl, the former No. 1-ranked player who is now ranked seventh. “He has no backswing and I have trouble picking up the ball. If he’s making his shots, he’s hard to play against.”

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Beate Reinstadler advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Hard Court Championships at Stratton Mountain, Vt., with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over third-seeded Helena Sukova.

Sukova is ranked No. 12 in the world. Reinstadler is No. 162.

Top-seeded Conchita Martinez advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Jolene Watanabe. Also advancing were fifth-seeded Zina Garrison-Jackson and fourth-seeded Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere.

There were two rain delays, including a three-hour interruption after Sukova and Reinstadler had played only one full game.

When they resumed, Reinstadler fell behind Sukova, 3-0, and appeared overmatched. After her third consecutive service break, however, Reinstadler pulled even, 4-4.

She took command in the tiebreaker with back-to-back passing shots that gave her a 6-3 lead, and Sukova double faulted on the first set point.

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Reinstadler broke Sukova for the seventh time to close out the match. Fittingly, the final point was another backhand passing shot.

Reinstader said it was the biggest match of her career.

“I’m just so happy,” said Reinstader, who earlier this week upset seventh-seeded Lisa Raymond. “It’s almost my dream come true.”

In the semifinal, Martinez will play Maleeva-Fragniere, who won, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, over eighth-seeded Tami Whitlinger.

Garrison-Jackson, who will play Reinstadler, defeated Claudia Porwik, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), in her toughest match of the tournament so far.

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Rain prevented play at the Dutch Open clay court tennis championships at Hilversum, Netherlands, postponing the quarterfinal matches until today.

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