Frustrated Niemeyer ousted in first round

Tag : Round Over Bit
It was bad and getting worse for Frederic Niemeyer. Hetossed towels, cursed aloud and, in an ultimate act of frustration,swatted a fresh ball high into the afternoon air and right out ofthe grandstand.
And almost before it landed, the New Brunswick-born tennis playerhad been eliminated from the singles draw at the Rogers Cup.Niemeyer was blasted from the first round by 12th seed TommyRobredo of Spain, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
The second set was over in 32 minutes.
Niemeyer's body language began to change after he lost aheartbreaking tiebreaker to end the first set. The 32-year-old saida close call from the umpire's chair pushed him over the edge inthe second set.
"What got under my skin is the return was a little - I saw it long- but the referee just said it was way inside the line," Niemeyersaid. "Just stupid comments like that gets me a little bit. I mean,it wasn't way inside the line. If it was in, it was barely touchingthe line."
He was down 5-0 in the set when he sent the ball sailing from thestadium at York University. And he was warned for uttering an"audible obscenity" after winning his only game of the set, momentslater.
"I was a little disappointed losing the first set because I feltdominated that one, I deserved to win that one," he said. "It waskind of a long game."
Niemeyer's doubles hopes also ended Monday night as he and France'sJulien Benneteau lost 6-4, 6-4 to Roger Federer and Swisscountryman Stanislas Wawrinka. Despite that outcome, Niemeyer wasstill guaranteed to play more meaningful tennis this summer.
Niemeyer and Daniel Nestor will represent Canada in the doublesdraw at the Summer Olympics next month in Beijing. The two men madeit to the second round of the 2004 Olympic tournament, and have won10 of 11 Davis Cup matches together.
Nestor, who beat retired legend Boris Becker 6-3 in a one-setexhibition match Monday night, has already won an Olympic goldmedal. He earned it eight years ago in Sydney with former partnerSebastien Lareau.
"Beijing is very important for Dan and I," Niemeyer said. "So I'lldo a lot of doubles drills and work on my doubles for Beijing, intwo, three weeks."