By TERRY MADDAFORD
Greg Rusedski shook a huge monkey off his back with his upset three-set quarter-final win over second seed and crowd favourite Goran Ivanisevic at Stanley St yesterday.
On a day when Heineken Open seeds fell like flies, Rusedski and former winner Jiri Novak emerged as the great survivors.
They will meet in today's feature semifinal. The winner will be a warm favourite to go all the way.
Joining Ivanisevic on early flights out were top seed Marat Safin, beaten by Swede Jonas Bjorkman, and fourth seed Sjeng Schalken, who failed to get beyond the second round when he was beaten 4-6, 4-6 by Felix Mantilla, who was later swept off the court by Novak 1-6, 1-6.
Joining the ousted players were the remaining New Zealanders.
Mark Nielsen, first on court on catch-up day, broke Michel Kratochvil in the opening game but immediately handed that advantage back and went out 3-6, 2-6.
"I don't mind the fact that I lost," Nielsen said, "it was more that I did not play well. I did not serve as well as I can."
He also bid farewell in the doubles when he and James Shortall lost their quarter-final 3-6, 4-6 to fourth seeds Cyril Suk and Martin Garcia.
Ivanisevic went down 2-6, 6-0, 3-6 in a topsy-turvy match with Rusedski.
"It was the worst serving match of my life," Ivanisevic said. "I served so bad, but I almost won the match. If I serve like that it doesn't leave me anywhere but to go home, very quick."
Ivanisevic, who took a 9-0 career winning record over Rusedski into the match, needed three or four painkillers before going on court, and during the match, as treatment for a troublesome left shoulder.
"I made simple mistakes," he said almost apologetically.
He did at least have the satisfaction of taking the second set 6-0 to leave Rusedski pondering that perhaps for the first time, he failed to win one game in a set in more than a decade on the ATP.
"It was really tough, more mentally than physically," said the 28-year-old Canadian-born, England-based Rusedski. "I played a good first set, but then lost the second 6-0. I had two tough matches today."
He was early on court to finish off Czech Michal Tabara in three sets before meeting Ivanisevic in the match of the day which lasted just 82 minutes.
Both players managed a first serve percentage of no better than 44. Rusedski won the battle of the aces 10-5 and served five double-faults to eight. The most telling statistic, however, was the nine breaks of service, 5-4 in Rusedski's favour.
Novak goes into today's semifinal with a 2-0 career advantage agaainst Rusedski and without Rusedski's having won a set in those clashes in 1999 and last year.
With the seeds in the top half of the draw crashing out, Frenchman Jerome Golmard, who has yet to play a seed, worked his way into today's other semifinal with a straight-sets 6-3, 6-4 win over 1997 Open winner Swede Jonas Bjorkman.
He will meet Kratochvil, who last night ousted David Nalbandian (Argentina) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5.
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