Philippoussis Has a Fine Day in Scottsdale

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<H1><CLARI-ITEM HEADLINE>Philippoussis Has a Fine Day in Scottsdale</CLARI-ITEM></H1>
<CLARI-ITEM COPYRIGHT>Copyright 1997 by Reuters</CLARI-ITEM> / <CLARI-ITEM DATE>Sun, 9 Mar 1997 17:40:52 PST</CLARI-ITEM>
<CLARI-ITEM STORY>
 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Reuter) - Rising Australian star Mark
Philippoussis satisfied his hunger to win Sunday, powering his
way to his second career title on the ATP Tour and joining the
millionaire's club in the process.
 The big-serving 20-year-old Philippoussis out-slugged
eighth-seeded American Richey Reneberg 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to win the
Scottsdale event and pick up $43,000, a check that pushed his
career tournament winnings past the $1 million mark in just his
third year as a professional.
 ``Everything about tennis is about these moments,''
Philippoussis said. ``Playing on Sunday in front of a big crowd
and holding up the trophy at the end of the day, that's what its
all about.''
 The unseeded Philippoussis, who belted the world's fastest
serve in Friday's quarter-finals at 142 mph (228.5 kph),
rocketed 13 aces past Reneberg Sunday.
 He also came up with blistering groundstrokes to wear down
the 29th-ranked American during the 91-minute match.
 ``He's obviously a difficult guy to play against. At times
you don't get a lot of rhythm,'' said Reneberg, who earned
$25,300 as runner-up.
 Philippoussis is expected to rise from 42nd in the world to
the low 30s when new rankings are issued Monday. Reneberg thinks
he has the weapons to go much higher.
 ``Once he puts it together, there's no question he can be
top 10 definitely, maybe top five,'' Reneberg predicted.
 ``He has phenomenal ability and tons of talent,'' Reneberg
continued. ``Anytime you have a serve like that, it's a huge
advantage these days. His second serve is one of the best in the
game, and when he's on his forehand is as good as anyone.''
 Philippoussis captured the first set with a decisive service
break in the ninth game, breaking Reneberg at love before
serving out the set.
 The American jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. But
he failed to push the match to a third set by squandering three
set points on Philippouissis's serve and another on his own in
the following game.
 That left the Australian needing only to hold serve to force
a tiebreaker.
 ``I was down in the second set and didn't really want to go
to three,'' Philippoussis admitted. ``I wasn't feeling great out
there today but I just hung in there.''
 Philippoussis trailed 1-2 in the tie-break but caught a
break when Reneberg blew a high open-court forheand volley.
 ``In the tiebreaker I had a bit of luck when I ran that ball
down and he missed that volley,'' Philippoussis said.
 ``It was kind of surprising and I ended playing some good
points after that,'' added the champion, who won four successive
points with the help of consecutive aces.
 At match point Philippoussis unleashed a huge service winner
to claim the title.
 ``I didn't play unbelievable but I played great when I had
to in tight situations,'' he said.
 ``I was hungry to win.''
 In Rotterdam, second seed Richard Krajicek of the
Netherlands thrilled his homeland fans, getting past unseeded
Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), to
capture the $725,000 ABN/AMRO World Tennis tournament in
Rotterdam.
 The 25-year-old Krajicek fired 15 aces en route to his first
singles title since winning last year's Wimbledon and the 11th
of his career. He collected a first-prize check of $101,500.
 Krajicek was playing in his first ATP Tour final since
losing to American Michael Chang in last August's Infiniti Open.
 He had been an early-round loser in all the tournaments he had
entered this year.
 Vacek, ranked 72nd in the world, was seeking his first
career ATP Tour singles title.
 The 25-year-old Vacek knocked off top seed and defending
champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in three sets on Saturday.
Krajicek also needed three sets to get past third seed Thomas
Enqvist of Sweden in the other semifinal.
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<H1><CLARI-ITEM HEADLINE>Philippoussis Has a Fine Day in Scottsdale</CLARI-ITEM></H1>

At Indian Wells, California, a pair of youngsters touted as
future stars of the women's tennis circuit grabbed the spotlight
at the Evert Cup Sunday, but only one came out of the second
round a winner.
 Sixteen-year-old American Venus Williams, who needed a wild
card to get into the qualifying tournament here, upset
29th-ranked Ai Sugiyama of Japan 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
 Fifteen-year-old Russian Anna Kournikova, who made a splash
at last year's U.S. Open with her covergirl looks and solid
groundstrokes, won her first set.
 But third-seeded German Anke Huber regrouped to score a 3-6,
6-2, 6-2 win over the promising teen-ager.
 Second seed Conchita Martinez of Spain scored a relatively
easy 6-4, 6-2 win over Petra Begerow of Germany and fifth seed
Iva Majoli of Croatia also moved safely into the third round
with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Natasha Zvereva of Belarus.
 Players performed under crystal clear blue skies and a
desert sun that saw on-court temperatures reach 109 degrees at
midday.
 Williams, playing her first event of the year, looked like
she would not challenge Sugiyama in the first set. But she
settled down in the second, winning three successive games from
3-3 to level the match.
 After splitting sets, Williams took control in the final
set, securing a 5-1 lead. That's when she showed some
immaturity, blowing triple match point in the seventh game by
taking matters rather casually.
 ``I was joking around and the joke was on me,'' Williams
said. ``I don't want to do that again. It was kind of inane.''
 After squandering her 40-0 lead, Williams won the next game
and the match on consecutive double faults by Sugiyama.
 Williams later brushed off an attempt to get her to compare
herself to 16-year-old Martina Hingis, who is poised to take
over Steffi Graf's world No. 1 ranking.
 ``I never think anybody is better than me, never will,'' said
the confident American.
 The seventh-ranked Huber had trouble keeping the ball in
play during her first set, providing Kournikova with a false
sense of security.
 ``I think I made it very difficult for myself,'' Huber said
of her rough start. ``She hits the ball very hard and she didn't
make the mistakes in the first set that she made in the second
and third sets.''
 But Huber settled into the match, while the Russian teen
began commiting errors in bunches.
 In the third set, Kournikova was able to recoup an early
service break in the fifth game. But Huber went on to break the
Russian's serve in the sixth and eighth games for the win.
 Kournikova, who has only played three matches this season,
racked up a total of 54 unforced errors, most over the final two
sets.
 ``She's young and that's the way you're playing when you're
young,'' said Huber.

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<A HREF='http://www.clari.net/'>ClariNet</A> <CLARI-ITEM TYPE>story</CLARI-ITEM> <CLARI-ITEM SLUGWORD>SPORTS-TENNIS</CLARI-ITEM> from <CLARI-ITEM FROM>Reuters</CLARI-ITEM> 
<H1><CLARI-ITEM HEADLINE>Philippoussis Has a Fine Day in Scottsdale</CLARI-ITEM></H1>

<CLARI-ITEM STORY>
 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Reuter) - Rising Australian star Mark
Philippoussis satisfied his hunger to win Sunday, powering his
way to his second career title on the ATP Tour and joining the
millionaire's club in the process.
 The big-serving 20-year-old Philippoussis out-slugged
eighth-seeded American Richey Reneberg 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to win the
Scottsdale event and pick up $43,000, a check that pushed his
career tournament winnings past the $1 million mark in just his
third year as a professional.
 ``Everything about tennis is about these moments,''
Philippoussis said. ``Playing on Sunday in front of a big crowd
and holding up the trophy at the end of the day, that's what its
all about.''
 The unseeded Philippoussis, who belted the world's fastest

serve in Friday's quarter-finals at 142 mph, rocketed 13 aces