Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Tennis Today

STARS

- Monica Seles defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) to win the Toyota Princess Cup, her fourth title of the year.

- Wayne Black defeated Gerald Mandl 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the decisive fifth match as Zimbabwe upset Austria 3-2 in Davis Cup to earn a spot in the 1998 World Group.

- Christophe Van Garsse upset Lionel Roux 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the final reverse singles match as Belgium beat 1996 Davis Cup champion France and advanced to the 1998 World Group.

- Mahesh Bhupathi rallied to defeat Chile's Gabriel Silberstein 6-7 (4-7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the decisive fifth match and lead India into the 1998 World Group.

- John McEnroe won the Compaq Seniors in Paris by defeating Johan Kriek 6-4, 6-4.

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SPEAKING

"My glasses were fogging up, my headband kept sliding down and my ponytail hit me in the face. It was really hard to pull myself together out there." - Kimberly Po after pulling out a three-set, second-round win at the Toyota Princess Cup.

"I was pretty pumped up just being here, and on top of that my last two matches that I have lost have both been to Patrick. So it's nice to be able to get back a little bit." - Michael Chang after beating U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter to begin the United States' 4-1 win over Australia in the Davis Cup semifinals.

"They would definitely win the award for having the more interesting youngsters. With Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Anna Kournikova on the court, I think I'm watching Olympic gymnastics." - John McEnroe on women's tennis.

"I think there are still a few great tennis moments left for me to enjoy," Steffi Graf in an interview with the monthly "Tennis Magazine."

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STAYING HOME

Morocco pulled out of its Davis Cup clash in Israel for "political reasons."

"We have received instructions (from high-ranking political officials) not to play Israel in Tel-Aviv," said Moroccan tennis federation president Mohammed M'Jid, who also said he had tried without success to have the match switched to a neutral venue.

Morocco faces sanctions from the International Tennis Federation for its withdrawal.

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SKIPPING THE TOUR

Michael Chang will not play in next week's $328,000 Beijing Open, disappointing his massive China following. A past winner of the Beijing Open, Chang has also decided against playing in an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, where he also has a huge following.

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STILL PERFECT

When Monica Seles and teammate Ai Sugiyama won the Toyota Princess Cup doubles, it was the fifth time Seles has reached a doubles final in her career - and her fifth victory. She has won her five titles with five different partners. Besides Sugiyama, Seles won doubles crowns at the Italian Open three consecutive years - in 1990 with Helen Kelesi, '91 with Jennifer Capriati and '92 with Helena Sukova - and the 1991 US Hardcourts title with Patty Fendick.

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SPECIAL PEOPLE

Chris Woodruff helped raise $35,000 for the Greater Knoxville Boys and Girls Club when he played Jim Courier in an exhibition match on Sept. 13. A crowd of more than 1,000 attended the match at the Knoxville (Tenn.) Racquet Club in Woodruff's hometown.

"I just wanted to have 200 people and raise $5,000 to $10,000," said Woodruff. "I'm very pleased."

Courier won the entertaining match 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4).

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SUFFERING

Cedric Pioline was forced to retire in the second singles of France's Davis Cup tie against Belgium. Pioline appeared to be cruising to victory, winning the first two sets against Johan Van Herck, before pulling up with a back injury in the third set. He continued playing until he trailed 4-1 in the fourth set.

Tournaments this week

Corel WTA Tour

$450,000 Sparkassen Cup International, carpet, Leipzig, Germany

$155,340 Wismilak International, hard, Surabaya, Indonesia

ATP Tour

$6 million Compaq Grand Slam Cup, indoor, Munich, Germany

$380,000 President's Cup, hard, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

$375,000 The Samsung Open, clay, Bournemouth, England

$303,000 Marbella Open, clay, Marbella, Spain

Senior Tours

MTN Champions, Johannesburg, South Africa

Tournaments week of Sept. 29

Corel WTA Tour

KB Fed Cup Championship

France vs the Netherlands at Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

ATP Tour

$975,000 Davidoff Swiss Indoors, hard, Basel, Switzerland

$303,000 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia, clay, Palermo, Italy

$303,000 Beijing Open, hard, Beijing, China

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