Grand Slam Cup, Mallorca and Toulouse Semi's!! Enjoy! :)
Wout's Report:
* Welcome to another edition of...WOUT'S (almost) DAILY TENNISREPORTS!! *
****************************************************************************
& In TODAY's issue: &
& SECTION 1: &
& - GRAND SLAM CUP : Today's Men's Semi's!! &
& &
& SECTION 2: &
& THE ATP TOUR : Mallorca + Toulouse: All the Semi's!!!!!! &
& &
& SECTION 3: &
& - In Focus: The Australian players &
& &
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$ SECTION 1: GRAND SLAM CUP $
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Well and a lovely Saturday to all of you out there! :)
How the heck are ya guys (and girls of course!!) ?? :) Still doing alright aye?? Well
that's good to hear! :) I am not doing so bad either..thanks for asking! :)
Today has been a really relaxing day...I slept till 11:30 am ad at 13:00 pm I went
shopping! :) I really felt like spending some money..and so I did! LOL! :)
Let's see..well like I said yesterday..I bought some badmintonshoes..they're from
Asics..now that 'brand'?? :) Well I hope I can play with these shoes..they's very
comfortable, so why not aye?? :) Well I also told you that I would buy some
CD's..right?? Well I ended up buying THREE and coming home with FIVE!! Now how is that
possible you ask??
*YEAH WOUT..HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?? YOU SILLY TENNISREPORTER YOU!! LOL!!*
Well I will tell ya..see this week's it's 'Ten Days Of Music' to translate it as well as
I can! :) If you but CD's worth of 45 Dutch Guldens, you will get one CD for free..a CD
with various songs on it..pretty good ones too! :) Well today I bought CD's with a total
value of 115 Dutch Gulden, that's about 60 US Dollars!! I told you I felt like spending
didn't I?? LOL! :) So I got TWO FREE CD's! :) Cool huh?
Anyway I bought the Diva's Live CD, a CD called The Hitzone 4 and to my surprise I saw
Phil Collins with a new CD: PHIL COLLINS..HITS...now I had my doubts about buying this
one, cause I already have his Live CD and most songs on this one are on that one as
well! But since this new one had his new song True Colors and moreover the song I Wish
It Would Rain Down, which I absolutely LOVE, I just thought: What the heck..let's go
wild! Ha ha! :)
Well enough chit-chatting about...let's have some TENNIS shall we?? Talking about
tennis, I am going to play tomorrow!! Yes Harry, my tennisbud, has come down to Hoorn,
so we are finally gonna play again! It's been a while, so we will see what happens! :)
Anyway let's get to this report OK?? Have fun,
Wout, your (almost) DAILY tennisreporter..and much more...I hope! LOL! :)
******************************* THIS WEEK: GRAND SLAM CUP ****************************
Well an now it's time to check out TODAY'S action at the Grand Slam Cup aye?? Yes this
is a tourney with men and women playing, so I will put them together this time..that's
OK aye?? :)
MUNICH - Andre Agassi staged one of the most remarkable comebacks of his career against
Slovakia's Karol Kucera to reach the final of the Grand Slam Cup on Saturday.
Showing glimpses of his pre-slump form, the former world number one fought back
from 5-2 down in the fourth set and saved four match points before sweeping to a
7-6 6-7 2-6 7-5 6-0 win...WOW!! That really is incredible!! I was watching this match
and when Karol won that third set 6-2 I really thought it was over!! Andre looked tired
and unmotivated...unfortunately I didn't watch the end of the match, cause I really
thought Karol would take that 4th set easily! Guess not aye?? :)
He will meet Marcelo Rios in Sunday's final. The Chilean world number three
enjoyed a relatively straightforward 7-6 6-3 6-4 win over Australian Mark
Philippoussis in the other semifinal.
Kucera, who had beaten Agassi in five sets in the fourth round of the U.S. Open
last month, crumbled completely in the decisive set.
A double fault on match point left him crushed after three hours 41 minutes of
brilliant tennis.
Agassi had not won from a match point down since beating compatriot David
Wheaton at the 1994 Canadian Open.
"It was a very physical match," said Agassi who received a wild card for the
lucrative tournament for the best performers in the year's four grand slams.
"I was tired, too, but not as much as him."
"That's the good thing about tennis. You don't need perfection, you simply have
to be that much better than your opponent," said the former Wimbledon
champion, currently eighth in the rankings after sinking below 140th last year.
"I'm a bit surprised I came so close to winning," Kucera said before leaving the
Bavarian capital with $325,000 in prize money. "I'm not too disappointed. It was a
great match."
Agassi, who whitewashed Frenchman Cedric Pioline before outplaying Australian
Open champion Petr Korda in earlier rounds, will now battle it out with Rios for a
$1.3 million cheque.
After losing the first set in a tie break world number six Kucera rallied to win the
second, also in a tie break.
The elegant Slovakian then began to dominate, breaking Agassi twice to claim a
one-sided third set.
In the fourth Kucera flirted with victory. Leading 5-2 and serving for the match, he
saw Agassi hand him four match points but squandered all four.
The abyss awaited the demoralised Kucera as he let Agassi take 11 successive
games, although both players hit stunning winners along the way.
"I started to feel tired in the second set but winning that set and the next one gave
me the strength to carry on," said Kucera. "After those four match points it
became really difficult and I tried to avoid long rallies."
There was little drama in the second match, Rios winning a close first set in a tie
break before getting on top of the U.S. Open runner-up.
Philipppoussis relied on his trademark booming serves but made too many
unforced errors.
Rios, the highest ranked player in the men's draw in the absence of Pete Sampras
and Patrick Rafter, hit fiercely from the baseline, waiting for his opponent to make
mistakes.
"I'm looking forward to playing Andre," said the volatile Chilean. "It should be a
good match with great rallies."
Agassi was considering a trip to the Oktoberfest beer festival after his gruelling
five-setter.
"I could use a few of those beers tonight," he said.
The women's final also will be contested on Sunday as Switzerland's Patty Schnyder,
fresh off her victory over top-ranked countrywoman Martina Hingis, will take on fellow
teenager Venus Williams of the United States.
Schnyder, 19, leads the WTA Tour with five titles this year and is currently ranked
ninth. The 18-year-old Williams will be gunning for her third title of the year. She
eliminated Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat of France to earn a spot in the final.
The loser of the Agassi-Rios match takes home $650,000. The women's champion takes home
$800,000, while the runner-up receives $400,000.
Well here are the draws again:
GRAND SLAM CUP IN MUNICH: MEN
SEMI-FINALS:
Agassi (VS) - Kucera (Slk) : 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 7-5, 6-0
Rios (Chi) - Philippoussis (Aus) : 7-6, 6-3, 6-4
THE FINAL:
Agassi (VS) - Rios (Chi)
GRAND SLAM CUP IN MUNICH: WOMEN
SEMI-FINALS:
Schnyder (Zwi) - Hingis (Zwi) : 5-7, 7-5, 5-5 Hingis withdrew..
V.Williams (VS) - Tauziat (Fra) : 6-4, 6-0
THE FINAL:
Schnyder (Zwi) - V.Williams (VS)
Well and if you want to know more about this tourney, just check out the Official
Homepage..thanks to Konstatin! :) Here ya go: http://www.compaqgrandslam.net
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$ SECTION 2: THE ATP TOUR $
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Well so much for the Grand Slam Cup..let's have a look at this week ATP tourneys shall
we?? First Mallorca..
***************** THIS WEEK: ATP TOURNAMENT IN MALLORCA ******************************
And here we are...that was quick wasn't it?? Well enjoy today's report..
MALLORCA - Carlos Moya set up a final between the 1998 and 1997 French Open champions on
Saturday with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 victory over Fernando Vicente at the Mallorca Open.
The Mallorca-born Moya proved far too strong, breaking his compatriot's serve
five times to set up a Sunday final with Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, who edged out
Thomas Muster 7-5 7-5 in the day's first semifinal...GOOD WIN GUGA!! :)
Moya barely broke sweat as he took a 5-0 lead and seemed set to complete a
first-set whitewash. Vicente eventually found some rhythm on his serve and,
helped by two mishit returns from Moya, managed to hold serve for the first time
in game six.
Moya served out for the first set and got the break he needed in game three of the
second, taking advantage of a weak second serve to smash a return winner past Vicente.
Moya broke again for 5-2 and completed a 75-minute victory with a fizzing ace.
Muster, the fifth seed, had earlier wasted a host of chances to get back into his
semifinal in the second set, breaking the Kuerten serve twice but both times failing
to hold his own.
Kuerten, the 1997 French Open champion and eighth seed, then saved two break
points at 5-5 with aces.
Kuerten set up two match points with a backhand pass and converted the second
thanks to a mishit forehand that just clipped the line.
The 21-year-old Moya will be appearing in his third claycourt final of the year. He
captured his first Grand Slam title at this year's French Open and also won the Super 9
Monte Carlo Open. After reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open last month, Moya lost
both singles matches in the Davis Cup semifinal loss to Sweden last week on carpet. On
Sunday, he will be seeking his sixth career ATP Tour title.
Kuerten, 22, will be vying for his second ATP Tour title of the year, having defeated
Moya en route to the Mercedes Cup title in Stuttgart, Germany in July -- his only other
title since his 1997 French Open triumph as an unseeded player last year.
The Mallorca Open is one of just two new tournaments on this year's ATP schedule and is
taking place in an arena normally used for bullfighting. First prize is $34,260.
Well here's the draw..
ATP TOURNAMENT IN MALLORCA: 475.000 $
SEMI-FINALS:
Kuerten (Bra-8) - Muster (Oos-5) : 7-5, 7-5
Moya (Spa-1) - Vicente (Spa) : 6-1, 6-2
THE FINAL:
Kuerten (Bra-8) - Moya (Spa-1)
And what's this?? I even found the Homepage of this fine tourney..unbelievable aye?? :)
Here it is: http://www.mallorcaopen.com
***************** THIS WEEK: ATP TOURNAMENT IN TOULOUSE ******************************
And now our final ATP tourney..Toulouse...enjoy this report..
TOULOUSE -- Greg Rusedski and Jan Siemerink, the top two seeds, won semifinal matches
Saturday in the Toulouse Open.
Britain's Rusedski, the top seed, swept away defending champion and No. 4 seed
Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-4, 6-1.
"It was revenge for me," Rusedski said. ``The last time we played in Stuttgart in
1997, he won. Now my objective is to get back into the top 10.
"Today my service went well, especially the first serve," said the Briton.
Siemerink of the Netherlands had a far tougher task, beating No. 3 seed Thomas
Johansson of Sweden 6-3, 3-6, 7-5...YEAH!! GO JAN!! :)
The 25-year-old Rusedski, who accepted a wild card into this event, claimed his only ATP
Tour title of the year at the European Community Championships at Antwerp, Belgium in
February. He also was a finalist at this year's Croatian Indoors and Champions Cup
events. On Sunday, the hard-serving Brit will be gunning for his seventh career singles
title.
Siemerink, 28, also has one ATP Tour title to his credit this year, winning at Rotterdam
in March. Prior to 1998, he won tournaments in Singapore in 1991 and Nottingham, England
in 1996.
First prize is $54,000.
Well and the draw again:
ATP TOURNAMENT IN TOULOUSE: 400.000 $
QUARTERFINALS:
Rusedski (GB-1) - Clement (Fra) : 6-4, 6-1
Siemerink (Ned-2) - Federer (Zwi) : 7-6, 6-2
Kiefer (Dui) - Rosset (Zwi) : 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Johansson (Zwe-3) - Huet (Fra) : 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
SEMI-FINALS:
Rusedski (GB-1) - Kiefer (Dui-4) : 6-4, 6-1
Siemerink (Ned-2) - Johansson (Zwe-3) : 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 (GO JANNNN!!!)
Well I haven't been able to find this Homepage neither..can anybody help me?? :(
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$ SECTION 3: ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND MORE!! $
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OK..let's see if there's some tennisnews shall we??
*********************** IN FOCUS: THE AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS *****************************
Rafter and Philippoussis leading Australian tennis: A world power again?
Most Australian titles since 1975
This year alone Australians have won 10 titles on the Tour - the most since Australians
won 12 titles back in 1975. Is this a sign that Australia is again becoming one of the
great tennis nations?
At the start of the Open Era players like John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Ken Rosewall and
Rod Laver dominated the tennis world. In fact the dominance was so great at a stage that
in 1972 Australian tennis players won 26 titles. From 1969 to 1972, Australia averaged
24 titles a year.
However after 1975 there was a steady decline in the fortunes of Australian tennis
players. The year 1985 was the low point with not a single Australian taking a title
that year.
But then Australia's hope soared with the arrival of Pat Cash on the scene. And in
1987 he went on to take the title at Wimbledon. However, Australia had not come close to
being the world tennis power it was once - until now.
Two players are leading the field - Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis. But this
is not all, there are the Woodies - Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde - who have
dominated the doubles scene since they teamed up in 1991.
This year has seen a turn around, with Rafter winning six titles and Philippoussis
winning the title in Memphis as well as being a finalist at the US Open. The Rafter -
Philippoussis final at the US Open this year was the first all Australian Grand Slam
final since Ken Rosewall defeated Tony Roche in the 1970 US Open final 28 years ago.
Rafter, who is ranked at No. 2 on the ATP Tour Rankings, is also in a position to become
No. 1, having earned the most points on the Tour this season as well as the most titles.
If he does become No. 1, he will be only the second Australian to be Ranked at No.1.
since John Newcombe on July 28, 1974.
Philippoussis and Rafter, though, are not the only Australians around. There is Scott
Draper who won the title at Queen's as well as the consistent Richard Fromberg and
Jason Stoltenberg. And then there are two of the Tour's possible future stars:
Andrew Ilie and Lleyton Hewitt.
Ilie who has suffered from back problems for much of the past two seasons has surged
this year from No. 477 to a current ATP Tour Ranking of No. 51. He was also the champion
in Coral Springs, his first ATP Tour title.
In January, Lleyton Hewitt caught the tennis world's attention by winning the title in
Adelaide at the age of 16 years and 10 months - the youngest player in nearly 10 years
to win a title.
Only tw players - Michael Chang and Aaron Krickstein - were younger when they won their
first titles, and both went on to become Top 10 players.
In the doubles, it was not the Woodies who caught the attention at the US Open, but the
Sandon Stolle, son of the legendary Australian, Fred Stolle. Together with Cyril Suk,
Sandon Stolle won the US Open doubles title.
What the future holds for Australian tennis is anyone's guess, but going on this year's
performance it is certainly looking good.
*********************** THE OFFICIAL HOMEPAGES OF THE TOUR ***************************
THE OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE OF THE ATP TOUR: http://www.atptour.com/en/
THE OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE OF THE WTA TOUR: http://www.corelwtatour.com/
***** DEDICATED TO MY FRIENDS OUT THERE: THEIR HOMEPAGES AND OTHER STUFF!! ************
This is a NEW section in my report..dedicated to my friends out there..a section with
their homepages, so FRIENDS..if you want your page to be here, just give me the site and
I will add it to the list OK?? Here we go..
1. LARA'S GORAN PAGE! INCLUDING my reports AND picture, so for all of you out there who
haven't seen me yet, check it out..just go here:
http://www.luckonline.net/tennis/index.htm
2. Sign up for Agoori's Aranxta Newsletter: s97...@dpc.kfupm.edu.sa
A preview at this URL: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/9480/index.html
3. Marshy's Aranxta Sanchez Fanpage: http://members.tripod.com/~CMSTRONG/index.html
4. Ahn's Homepage...it's worth checking:
http://www.angelfire.com/al/anhhomepage/index.html
5. Darren's SRI Ranking System: http://www.aaii.oz.au/staff/darren/SRI/tennis.html
6. Josephine's Magnus Norman Page: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/5106/
7. Caz and Countess' Graf and Sanchez Fapage:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bleachers/7462/
8. Prips's Mirjana Lucic Page: http://www.mirjanalucic.com
9. Steve's Tennissite including quiz: http://www2.one.net.au/~marshy/index.html
10. Drazen's Mirjana Lucic page: http://www.lucic.com
11. Kristen's TennisSite: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/1477
12. Myst's Tennis Lobby: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/4535/
13. Sam Settle's Tennis Site: http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/zola/206/index.htm
14. Gigi's Tennis Rally Page: http://www.TennisRally.com
15. Another awsome Tennis Site: http://www.btinternet.com/~tennis.net
16. Andre's Aranxta Sanchez Page: http://members.tripod.com/~Salams/Index.html
17. Caz's Magui Serna Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bench/3769/AtGrandSlamEvents.html
18. Kulli's Dominique Van Roost Page: http://www.bmf.ee/kylli/index1.html
Well so much for now...if you feel left out, just give me a ring sorta speak and I will
add you to the list! :)
******************************* THAT'S IT FOLKS!!! ************************************
Well so much for today...did ya enjoy it?? GREAT! It was my pleasure..once again! :)
Don't forget to check out the pictures, jokes and soundfile aye?? :)
"Till next time...take care of yourself...and eachother!! "
Jerry Springer
Wouter, your buddie from....YES you guessed it right.. the Netherlands!! LOL!! :)
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% "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" %
% Wout's Motto %
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% And remember....TENNIS: "IT'S ALL GOOD!!" %
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