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 Sunday, January 23
Sugiyama ready to face Capriati
 
Associated Press

  MELBOURNE, Australia -- Start calling her Tsunami Sugiyama.

Ai Sugiyama overcame gusty winds at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park and upset No. 4 seeded Mary Pierce 7-5, 6-4 Sunday, advancing to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

"I tried to be aggressive and hit balls as I hard as I can," said the Japanese No. 1, who finished last year ranked No. 24. She reached the fourth round at the French Open in 1995, at Wimbledon in '96 and at the Australian Open in '98 but never had reached the final eight.

Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama had never made the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam.

Sugiyama scored her first break in the fourth game, helped by a lucky net cord at 30-40, and took a 3-1 lead.

After a marathon deuce game at 4-3, when Pierce had six break points, Sugiyama held serve for a 5-3 lead. She then had a set-point at 5-4 before Pierce broke back to 5-5.

But Sugiyama won the next game with a scorching crosscourt backhand before serving out the set.

Sugiyama broke twice for a 5-2 lead in the second set and had match-point on serve before Pierce again broke back to 5-4.

Serving for the match, Sugiyama saved two break points, then set up her second match point with a deftly angled forehand volley at the net away from a desperate Pierce. She clinched her quarterfinal berth when Pierce hit a return into the net.

It was the third time in their last four meetings that Sugiyama has beaten the 1995 Australian Open champion.

Last year, she beat Pierce at San Diego and Moscow, but lost on hardcourt at Los Angeles.

"She's a quick player," Pierce said. "She has very solid serve returns and groundstrokes. She moves well around the court."

Pierce said there were two mistaken line calls in the first set that "made a big difference, ... especially when you're not playing well. I made too many unforced errors, especially on my backhand, and wasn't moving well."

Sugiyama is prepared for a tough match against her next opponent, Jennifer Capriati.

"She's hitting the ball so hard," Sugiyama said. "We've been practicing. I have to play so good."

Sugiyama also reached the doubles quarterfinals. She and France's Julie Halard-Decugis, the 10th-seeded pair, rallied from 2-5 in the final set and beat the seventh-seeded team, Amanda Coetzer of South Africa and Russia's Elena Likhovtseva, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
 


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