Llodra-Santoro Claim Semifinal Spot;
Black-Ullyett Top Gold Group
Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett French duo Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro claimed
the last remaining semifinal berth in the 2005 Tennis Masters
Cup after Stephen Huss had to retire during their crucial Gold
Group encounter.
With the winner of the last Round Robin match being assured of
second place in the group behind leaders Wayne Black and Kevin
Ullyett, Llodra and Santoro won the first set 6-4 before Huss
injured his right knee while trying to serve and volley at 1-1
in the second.
After receiving treatment from ATP trainer Paul Ness, Huss carried
on but was immediately broken, and after Moodie was broken two
games later to trail 4-1, the Wimbledon champions called a premature
end to their season.
"After I did it, trying to play on it, initially when I
first came back out it felt better than I thought it would feel,
and that's what encouraged me to keep going a little bit,"
said Huss. "And then after a couple more points, after we
came off the change of ends, I could feel it starting, the pain
started coming more. I felt like I had no stability in the knee.
I knew it was pretty much over. I was hoping the big fella could
roll down a few big serves and we could hold serve there. But
I knew it was over after a couple of points on that next game."
But there was better news for Huss, as the injury wasn't as bad
as first feared. "Structurally, the knee is solid, which
is very good news," said Huss. "The ligament and the
miniscus and everything, the ACL, in there is solid, which is
good news. When I first did it, I thought it was completely gone.
I thought it would be probably six months. So, you know, coming
out of there, I guess it's good news.
"I'm not planning on playing for two weeks. So after that
I'm going to have to be careful, but I don't think it's going
to be anything that keeps me out for more than a month."
It means Llodra and Santoro will face two-time defending champions
and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals in what will
be a repeat of the 2003 Tennis Masters Cup final.
Earlier in the day, Black and Ullyett maintained their unbeaten
run in this year's championships, finishing top of the Gold Group
with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory over second seeds Jonas Bjorkman
and Max Mirnyi.
The Zimbabwe duo will now meet Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjic
in Saturday's other semifinal.
Exclusive
Audio | Press
Transcripts
Thursday
Doubles: Bryans Scrape Through to Semifinals
Wednesday
Doubles: Black-Ullyett Move into Semis
Tuesday Doubles:
Paes and Zimonjic Clinch Semifinal Berth
Monday Doubles:
Huss-Moodie Dent Bjorkman-Mirnyi's Hopes
Sunday Doubles:
Arthurs-Hanley Stun Bryan Brothers
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