TENNIS in DEPTH.

Chile is not a happy country right now. The 8.8 Richter-scale earthquake that struck central and southern Chile last weekend left in its wake a lot of grief, and a desire to find some joy and light in the middle of the darkness.

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas has become an unexpected way of finding a little happiness for this ravaged country. The earthquake struck from Santiago, the capital, to the south, but Coquimbo is 500 km north of Santiago – it was felt here, but only as a soft tremor.

There were no damages to the city or the venue facilities, so there is a weird feeling of tranquility in the streets, mixed with the relief of seeing how large parts of the country were struck while their own city was spared from any harm.

Things are fine in Coquimbo, a seaside port with a twin city called La Serena, which make up a conurbation close to 600,000 inhabitants. With a 17-km wide beachfront, and lots of night life, this traditional summer retreat for Chileans features a spectacular clay-court outdoor venue, as usual in South America.

However, the natural good feeling of this place has been hurt by the suffering of their fellow nationals that have been affected. Both Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, the leading local stars, acknowledge it but also know that sport is part of the road to recovery.

“I am saddened for what we are living as a country, but I am hopeful because we are a supportive, strong country,” said Gonzalez.

“I am fully aware of what happened in Concepción, in Talca, and I am sending a message of hope: what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Even Roger Federer messaged me, very worried. We are all very sensitive about this.

“We will play to try to win to create some happiness for our country, for our people, in these difficult times”.

Massu had similar ideas.

“It is hard to put yourself in place of the people who have lost relatives, or are having a rough time, but I think Chile is a wonderful country,” said the former Olympic gold medalist.

“When natural disasters strike, Chileans always lend a hand to your fellow man in trouble. It does not seem easy to focus on the match, but at the same time we will do our part to give our country a morale boost by winning this tie.”

In the classic two sides of the coin, the local icons have chosen to acknowledge the suffering but commit, in full body and spirit, to win their matches for their country, in order to return some of the love and pride they have always felt from their fans. In a perhaps bittersweet way, that is what Davis Cup is all about.

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Gonzalez and the Chilean Davis Cup squad are scheduled to host Israel in first round World Group action beginning Friday in Coquimbo. The port town, located 500 km north of Santiago, has suffered little damage from the earthquake and the Chilean tennis federation would like the tie to go ahead as planned.

Gonzalez, who played a semi-final match Friday night at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, flew from Mexico to Lima, Peru, on Sunday night and took a domestic flight Monday to Tacna, located on the Peruvian-Chilean border. He will travel by car to the northern Chilean city of Arica, where he will attempt to book a flight to Santiago.

He posted the following message Sunday on his official web site:

“Hello friends:

“I was watching TV and I found out about the earthquake. I’m so sad for the victims and families. I’m at Mexico City. This night I’ll fly to Lima to try to get a new flight to Santiago.

“Thank God I could talk with my family after the earthquake. I watched TV all the time and I’m so sad with the news. It’s tough I can’t be in Chile. I’m praying. I would like to help with the reconstruction of my country.

“I hope to see them again as soon as possible.

“A big hug for everyone and ¡Fuerza Chile!”

The 29 year old added on his Twitter account Monday: “I only want to come back to Santiago to stay with my family again”.

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Third seed Thomaz Bellucci ended hometown favourite Fernando Gonzalez’s run at the Movistar Open in Santiago and will face Juan Monaco in the final.

The Brazilian, ranked 35th in the world, lost the first set 6-3 but came back to take the second with a decisive break in the 10th game.

And he pushed on to complete a 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory in one hour and 54 minutes.

Second seed Monaco, from Argentina, had a much easier passage to the final with a 6-1 6-4 rout of Brazilian qualifier Joao Souza.

Monaco broke twice in each set and won 68 per cent of points on his serve to seal a routine 73-minute win.

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Top seed Fernando Gonzalez dropped just three games as he cruised into the second round of the ATP Movistar Open in Santiago.

The Chilean, on home clay, hammered Spain’s Oscar Hernandez 6-2 6-1 in just 59 minutes.

Sixth-seeded Argentinian Jose Acasuso had a more straightforward passage with a 6-1 6-1 triumph over Chile’s Hans Podlipnik but Thomaz Bellucci suffered a scare before beating Nicolas Lapentti in three sets.

The Brazilian third seed fought back to claim his place in round two with a 3-6 6-1 6-1 victory over the Ecuadorian.

Three seeds did fall in the first round, however, with the biggest upset coming when Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas – seeded fourth – was dumped out in straight sets by Ricardo Mello, the Brazilian triumphing 7-6 (7/5) 6-3.

Poland’s Lukasz Kubot overcame fifth-seeded Argentinian Horacio Zeballos 3-6 7-5 6-3 and Brazil’s Joao Souza upset seventh-seeded German Simon Greul 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7/5).

Paul Capdeville saw off fellow home player Cristobal Saavedra-Corvalan 4-6 6-2 6-1, while Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank boosted the South American contingent in round two by beating Italian Paolo Lorenzi 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-3.

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Andy Roddick outlasted a strong challenge from Fernando Gonzalez to book a quarter-final clash with Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

The American came from two sets to one down to win the fourth-round match 6-3 3-6 4-6 7-5 6-2 in three hours and 25 minutes at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night.

Gonzalez looked to be in control of the match early in the fourth set, and created a break point chance in the third game. However, Roddick managed to hold the service game, and as the set continued the Chilean tired significantly, and the American never looked back.

Roddick’s service game was incredibly consistent throughout the match, as he delivered a remarkable 32 aces and no double faults. Gonzalez on the other hand hit 83 winners, but produced 49 unforced errors to Roddick’s 17.

Early aces from the world No. 7 saw him looking the stronger player in the first set, and though Gonzalez hit some superb winners, a costly double fault in the sixth game helped the American break serve to 4-2 – a lead which he consolidated to take the set 6-3.

Gonzalez struck back hard in the second set as he made 17 winners to Roddick’s 10. He eventually broke the American’s serve in an epic 30-shot rally at the end of the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Assisted by vocal support from a large Chilean contingent at the Rod Laver Arena, he took the set 6-3.

In the third set, 11th-seeded Gonzalez only improved as Roddick’s frustration grew. The Chilean looked to have an edge over the American, and took the set 6-4, blasting an impressive 23 winners, many of which came from his preferred forehand.

Roddick’s crucial hold early in the fourth set would be the turning point in the match. Having saved the break points in that game, he challenged Gonzalez’s serve at 5-4, but the Chilean managed to save four set points.

Two games later, it was a different story, as Roddick came from 0-40 down to take the game and the set. The set point came in dramatic circumstances as Roddick challenged a line judge that had called a forehand winner out. The challenge showed the ball was in, and Roddick took the set and plenty of momentum into the decider.

Roddick broke early in the fifth, and as the Chilean’s fatigue continued to affect his game, the American controlled the set and claimed it 6-2.

The victory was Roddick’s ninth in 12 meetings with Gonzalez, though it marked the first time the pair had reached five sets.

After the match, Roddick admitted he was fortunate to go through.

“I was lucky to get out of that. Sometimes if you fight and stick around you give yourself a shot – and that’s what happened,” he said.

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Last month on a national television sports show, President Michelle Bachelet said she felt it important that Gonzalez, ranked 11th in the world, play for Chile’s Davis Cup tennis team (ST. Nov 2). Gonzalez responded by thanking the President and agreeing to meet with her to discuss his problems with Chile’s tennis federation.

Gonzalez defended the length of time it had taken for him to respond to Bachelet’s offer, insisting that he hadn’t been able to think about it until the tennis season ended earlier this month.

The tennis star quit the Davis Cup team in April after the FTCh published details of how much he and fellow team members Nicolas Massu and Paul Capdeville were paid. Since then Gonzalez has publicly feuded with FTCh director Jose Hinzpeter.

Hinzpeter hailed Gonzalez’s words as a “positive gesture.” “I hope we can heal the wounds and talk about Fernando returning,” he said.

A government spokesperson also praised Gonzalez’s comments, but insisted that a firm date for the meeting was yet to be agreed upon due to the President’s busy schedule and the player’s tournament commitments.

The Davis Cup competition pits the best tennis players from countries the world over in an international knockout format. Without Gonzalez, the Chilean team defeated Austria in September to maintain their position in the cup’s top division – the World Group (ST, 22 Sept).

Gonzalez’s statement raised hopes he will play in Chile’s first match of the 2010 tournament against Israel in the north Chilean port city of Coquimbo next march.

Gonzalez spoke while publicizing next Monday’s exhibition game against Argentine world number five and US open champion Juan Martin del Potro. The game starts at 22.00 at Santiago’s Moviestar arena and is seen by both players as an important warm-up ahead of next month’s Australian open.

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Radek Stepanek was one of a number of seeded players to make certain of their place in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Monday.

The 13th-seeded Czech raced past former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-0, breaking his Spanish opponent four times during the match.

David Ferrer, the number 16 seed, also progressed beating Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3 in his opening clash.

The 14th seed, Tommy Robredo, was a 6-1 6-4 winner over French qualifier Michel Llodra, while 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez was handed his place in the next round when Germany’s Mischa Zverev retired hurt with a wrist injury in the third set.

James Blake was made to work hard by Ivo Karlovic before eventually overcoming the big Croatian 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 to set up a second-round clash with Rafael Nadal.

Marat Safin, who is set to retire at the end of the season, was a convincing 6-4 6-4 victor over Chinese wild card Gong Mao-Xin.

Stanislas Wawrinka fought back from a set down to see off Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 2-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/3), while other first-round winners included German duo Rainer Schuettler and Florian Mayer.

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