|
Sports Line Archive
January - June 2003
Pistolesi, Rao and Norman end solid week on English
lawns
(June 20) Anna Pistolesi’s run at Eastbourne
came to an end on Thursday losing in the quarterfinals of
the Hastings Direct International Championships to defending
champion Chanda Rubin. The Israeli nevertheless enjoyed a
good week on grass, a surface she hasn’t faired well
on in past years. She edged out Japan's Saori Obata 7-6 (7-5),
4-6, 7-6 (7-5) in the second round after having defeated Greece's
Eleni Daniilidou in straight sets in the opening round. Pistolesi
is seeded 25th in the Ladies' Singles at this year’s
Wimbledon Championships and starts against Samantha Reeves
of the United States of America in the first round at the
All England Club.
Sunitha Rao scored a strong victory against second-seeded
Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg in the second round of the Ladies'
Qualifying for The Championships but came up short in the
final round against Stanislava Hrozenska of Slovakia. The
17-year-old American of Indian descent next participates in
the juniors’ competition commencing the second week
of Wimbledon.
In the Gentlemen’s Qualifying Singles Belgium’s
Dick Norman beat Britain’s Chris Lewis in straight sets
to qualify for his second straight Grand Slam tournament.
The 6-foot-8, left-handed Norman will be delighted to return
to SW19 where he scored his best Grand Slam result in 1995.
Advancing to the round of sixteen Norman beat Pat Cash, Stefan
Edberg and Todd Woodbridge before losing to Boris Becker in
the fourth round.
Back
to Top
Good day for ITMS Sports tennis clients on grass
(June 18) Anna Pistolesi was an opening-round
winner at the $585,000 Hastings Direct International Championships
yesterday. The Israeli beat 14th ranked Eleni Daniilidou 6-2,
7-6, at the Eastbourne grass-court event, the last tune-up
for Wimbledon, to advance to the second round where she will
face Japan's Saori Obata who easily disposed of struggling
sixth-seeded Jelena Dokic.
Dick Norman of Belgium and Sunitha Rao of the United States
also got off to strong starts in Wimbledon Qualifying at Roehampton
this week. Norman, who advanced to the third round of the
Stella Artois Championships last week, easily disposed of
Ota Fukarek of Czechoslovakia to advance to the final round
of qualifying where he will face Chris Lewis of Britain. 17-year
old Rao had no problems with Nathalie Vierin of Italy but
looks to face stiffer competition against second-seeded Claudine
Schaul of Luxembourg in the next round on the grass-courts
of the Bank of England Sports Ground.
Back
to Top
Dick Norman loses tennis thriller to Lleyton Hewitt
(June 13) Dick Norman had top-seeded Lleyton
Hewitt on the brink of defeat before finally succumbing, 7-6,
3-6, 6-4 in a third round match at the Stella Artois Championships
at Queen's Club. The world number one struggled against his
6-foot-8, left-handed opponent and needed to save six break
points in the ninth game of the final set. In the 12-minute
game, Hewitt saved one of the breaks with a second-serve ace.
"I've hit a few now and then," Hewitt said. "That
was a big one, and I went for it and it paid off. Sometimes
you lose matches, maybe because of it. But it felt right at
the time and I hit it perfect." Of Norman the Australian
said, "I don't think anyone at Wimbledon is going to
serve much better than that. It helps when you're coming down
from six-foot-eight, too."
The Belgian Dick Norman scored a 7-6, 7-6 victory over American
Mardy Fish in the first round and went through 6-3, 7-6 against
Brazil's Andre Sa in the second round to set up the center
court encounter with three-peat Defending champion Lleyton
Hewitt.
Back
to Top
Pistolesi tops Schett in Vienna opener
(June 11) Defending champion Anna Pistolesi
was an easy opening-round winner Tuesday at the Wien Energie
Grand Prix tennis tournament. The third-seeded Pistolesi pummeled
Austria's own Barbara Schett 6-1, 6-2 on the red clay at Ernst-Happel-Stadion.
Pistolesi, formerly Smashnova, defeated Uzbekistan's Iroda
Tulyaganova in last year's Vienna final. The Israeli will
meet Croatian Karolina Sprem in the second round today. The
winner of this $170,000 event will claim $27,000.
Back
to Top
Pistolesi to face nemesis Mauresmo
(May 15) Anna Pistolesi topped Flavia Pennetta
6-4, 7-6 (4) yesterday to advance to the third round of the
$1.3 million WTA Rome Masters and set up her third encounter
in three weeks with Amelie Mauresmo of France. Pistolesi came
from behind in both sets to beat the Italian crowd favorite.
Pistolesi, seeded 16th in the tournament, who lost both her
previous encounters with the fourth-seeded Mauresmo, hopes
to reverse her fortunes against the 23-year old French player
who reached back-to-back finals at the Foro Italico in 2000
and 2001.
Back
to Top
Sunitha Rao loses to Anna Kournikova
(May 9) Sunitha Rao lost to second-seeded
Anna Kournikova 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Cloister
Cup at Sea Island, Ga. today. Playing her third match in three
days, Rao was able to frustrate the Russian star who showed
her frustration at times, slamming down her racket on one
occasion, yelling in Russian in disgust on another. But when
she needed to win points, Kournikova did, finishing the first
set with back-to-back aces, then winning the final three games
of the second set to take the match. Rao now moves on to Europe
where she will try to qualify for the Open de España
in Madrid next week.
Back
to Top
Anna Pistolesi reaches third round in Berlin
(May 8) Anna Pistolesi advanced yesterday
to the last 16 of the $1.2 million German Open in Berlin after
cruising past Anca Barna of Germany 6-3, 6-2. On Tuesday Pistolesi
demolished Tatiana Panova of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in the first
round of the tournament.
Pistolesi broke Barna's serve in the third game and again
in the fifth to clinch the first set and went on to break
the German's serve again in the first game of the second set.
Pistolesi, who is seeded 16th, will meet fifth-seeded Amelie
Mauresmo in the next round after the French player beat Jelena
Kostanic of Croatia 6-1, 6-4. Pistolesi was beaten by Mauresmo
in the quarterfinals of the Warsaw Cup last week. Last year
Pistolesi made the semifinals of the German Open where she
lost to Serena Williams.
Back
to Top
Pistolesi reaches quarterfinal at J&S Cup
(April 30) Anna Pistolesi continues to be
successful at the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland. With a straight
6-0, 7-5 win over Jill Craybas, the seventh-seed Pistolesi
advanced to the quarterfinal round at the WTA tournament,
where she will meet the winner of the second round match between
Amélie Mauresmo from France and Renata Voracova from
the Czech Republic.
Back
to Top
Pistolesi breezes in Warsaw
(April 28) Seventh-seeded Anna Pistolesi
defeated former top-10 player Barbara Schett of Austria, 6-4,
6-2, in first-round action Monday of the $700,000 J&S
Cup at Warszawianka Tennis Centre.
Schett made the early running, holding off two breakpoints
in the first game and two more in the third for a 4-1 lead.
With penetrating groundstrokes, the Austrian appeared to be
heading for a quick victory. Several careless errors, however,
opened the door for Pistolesi, who broke in the seventh game
and won five straight games for the set. In the second set,
the Israeli broke Schett twice more to close of the match
in two sets.
"I kept on fighting and doing what I do best, which
is running every ball down," Pistolesi said. "I
broke her momentum at 4-1 and just kept on going, going, going
for every single ball."
The event previously offered just $170,000 prize money, but
upgraded this year to replace the canceled Hamburg tournament.
The winner alone earns $103,500 this year.
Back
to Top
Rao ousts Kutuzova in Challenger
(April 18) Viktoriya Kutuzova's ride in
her first pro tournament came to an end Thursday when the
14-year-old Ukrainian was defeated by Sunitha Rao of Bradenton,
Fla., 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Trustmark/USTA Challenger at River
Hills Club.
New ITMS Sports client Rao, 17, advanced to the quarterfinals
where she will meet qualifier Tina Schiechtl of Austria. Schiechtl
defeated Tanner Cochran of Dublin, Ga., 6-2, 6-3.
Back
to Top
Lucinda Ruh breaks spin record on NBC
Today Show
(April 7) Lucinda Ruh, the 23-year-old Swiss
figure skater, set an official world spinning record at Chelsea
Piers/Sky Rink in New York City last Thursday. Earlier in
the day, Ruh had appeared on the NBC Today Show where she
put on a skating and spinning exhibition at the Rockefeller
Center Ice Rink.
Representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records were
on hand to verify that Lucinda shattered the previous record
for most continuous spins on one foot with 115 revolutions.
The previous record was 60, set by Neil Wilson of the United
Kingdom in 1997.
The Swiss skater who skating icon Scott Hamilton calls “simply
the best woman's spinner that ever lived" arrived in
Bad Nauheim, Germany this morning where she is scheduled to
skate in ITMS Sports’ Stars on Ice show on Thursday,
April 10. The ITMS Sports performance marks the beginning
of a cross-Germany tour and the skaters will be rehearsing
in the famed resort for the three days leading up to their
premiere on Thursday evening. The live presentation in Bad
Nauheim will also be taped to air as a National television
special on Easter Monday, April 21, 2003, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm.
Back
to Top
Denkova and Staviyski win bronze at
worlds
(March 29) After previously winning four
bronze and one silver World medal, it was gold this year for
Canadian ice dancers Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz at
the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships in Washington,
D.C. Russians Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh won the silver,
and Bulgarians Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski took the
bronze.
Denkova and Staviyski are the first Bulgarians to ever win
a World figure skating medal. “We are proud to be the
first,” Denkova said. “Our medal at Europeans
was also a first for Bulgaria, and I hope this continues.”
She said they had great season and enjoyed the reception the
American audience gave them. The couple had opted for an unusual
Egyptian themed dance and completed intricate footwork, strong
lifts with changes of position, lift out of a spin and an
excellent dance spin. Their marks were as high as 5.8 for
both technical merit/required elements and presentation.
Denkova and Staviski will now travel to Germany to skate
in ITMS Sports’ Stars on Ice show in Bad Nauheim on
April 10. The live presentation in Bad Nauheim will also be
taped to air as a National television special on Easter Monday,
April 21, 2003, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm.
Back
to Top
Takeshi Honda defends bronze in Washington
(March 28) Repeat was the word of the night
at the men’s free skate at the World Figure Skating
Championships in Washington, D.C. Russsia’s Evgeny Plushenko
won his second gold medal, while American Timothy Goebel and
Takeshi Honda of Japan each won their second silver and bronze
World medals respectively. It was a consensus among the medalists
that it is nicer to win the second time.
Honda had some trouble landing his first quad toe and his
triple Lutz. One of Honda’s quads was a planned combination
with a triple toe, but he didn’t do the triple then
repeated the quad toe later in the program. “I’m
a little upset about the first quad,” he said. “Then
I forgot the combination on the second quad. I don’t
know what happened.”
Honda will now travel to Germany to skate in ITMS Sports’
annual top figure skating production Stars on Ice in Bad Nauheim
on April 10.
Back
to Top
Takeshi Honda challenges Plushenko at
worlds in Washington
(March 26) Evgeni Plushenko
won the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships
in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night with American Tim Goebel
and Japan's Takeshi Honda following closely behind.
Plushenko, the Olympic silver medalist and only former champion
in the field, finished first with eight of the nine judges.
Goebel, the Olympic bronze medalist and 2002 world silver
winner, skated one of the best short programs of his career
to finish second. Honda, the 2002 bronze medalist, cut a quad-triple
combination to a quad-double. But he did a superb triple lutz
and his footwork was both intricate and impressive. With the
short program accounting for 30 percent of the total score
it will all come down to a showdown between the three in Thursday
night's free skate.
Earlier, Canada's Shae-Lynn Bourne and Viktor Kraatz won
their compulsory dance group, while Russia's Irina Lobacheva
and Ilia Averbukh took the other. Bulgaria’s Albena
Denkova and Maxim Staviyski finished third. Bourne and Kraatz
have won four bronze medals and one silver at worlds. Lobacheva
and Averbukh are the defending champions. Denkova and Staviyski
won the silver medal at this year’s European Championships.
Takeshi Honda and Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski have
signed to come to Germany immediately after the World Figure
Skating Championships to skate in ITMS Sports’ Stars
on Ice extravaganza in Bad Nauheim on April 10, 2003.
Back
to Top
Shaughnessy upsets Venus Williams in
Miami
(March 25) Venus Williams overcame eight
match points but couldn't sustain a last-ditch rally and lost
to fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 7-6 (2), 6-1 Monday
night at the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Shaughnessy fell behind 3-0 and then began to dominate, whipping
shots into the corners that put Williams on the defensive.
Shaughnessy won the final four points in the tiebreaker, then
raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before Williams dug
in. She saved four match points in the sixth game, then four
more in the next game. "You don't want to know what was
going through my mind," Shaughnessy said with a laugh.
"I definitely took too long to finish it there. I was
a little nervous and didn't go for a couple of shots."
In other matches, third-seeded Clijsters beat 15th-seeded
Israeli Anna Pistolesi 6-1, 6-1 to set-up a quarterfinal match
against Yugoslavian Jelena Dokic.
Back
to Top
Pistolesi wins at Nasdaq-100 Open
(March 24) Fifteenth-seeded Anna Pistolesi
of Israel topped No. 22 seeded American Lisa Raymond 4-6,
6-2, 6-4 Sunday at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami to advance
to the fourth round. Pistolesi will next face off against
third-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium in a match scheduled
for the Grandstand court this afternoon. The 2003 winner of
this event will claim $393,000.
Back
to Top
Tina Fischer’s LPGA Tour comeback
successful
(March 17) The cold wind and rain in Tucson,
Arizona were not enough to dampen Tina Fischer’s comeback
after missing most of the 2002 season due to illness. The
German tour veteran found herself in the 14th spot after shooting
her second four-under-par 66 of the tournament on Saturday.
She went on to lose some of her momentum in the final round
and ended up with a 72-hole total of five-under 275 (66-66-70-73).
Fischer and the LPGA Tour move on to Phoenix this week for
the Safeway PING Presented by Yoplait event, March 17-23 at
Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix.
Back
to Top
Strong season start for Tina Fischer
on 2003 LPGA Tour
(March 14) Germany’s Tina Fischer
got off to a solid start after firing a 66 (-4) in round one
of the Welch’s/Fry’s Championship in Tucson, Arizona.
Fischer, who missed most of the 2002 season due to illness,
is attempting a comeback at the first season stop of the 2003
LPGA Tour. The 32-year-old birdied a total of six holes to
finish tied for the 24th spot after the first round. Canada’s
Lorie Kane leads the field after posting a career best score
of 61 on day one.
Back
to Top
Anna Pistolesi ranked 15th in the world
on WTA Tour
(February 6) Despite losing to Stephanie
Cohen-Aloro in the first round of the Open Gaz de France,
Anna Pistolesi reached her best ranking position ever this
week. The wear and tear of playing consecutive weeks in New
Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe showed as Pistolesi succumbed
to both Cohen-Aloro and illness and was forced to pull out
of next week’s WTA event in Antwerp, Belgium.
In January, Pistolesi, now ranked 15th in the world, reached
the third round of the Australian Open to equal her best showing
there in eight years and best Grand Slam finish in the last
ten events.
The Israeli will take four weeks off to rest and revitalize
her game for the winter US tour. She will next start at the
Tier I event in Indian Wells on March 3.
Back
to Top
Shaughnessy advances while Anna crashes
out of Australian Slam
(January 20) Attempting to
beat her nemesis Amanda Coetzer for the first time, 14th seed
Anna Pistolesi just wasn't on her game on Saturday and went
out in the third round of the first Grand Slam of the New
Year in Melbourne, Australia. Losing the battle on all fronts,
Pistolesi committed more unforced errors and hit three double
faults to Coetzer's none. Still in getting to the third round,
the 26-year-old Israeli was able to match her best performance
at the Australian Open (1995) and earned a total of 92 points
for the tournament. Pistolesi now heads to Tokyo to play in
the Tier I event Toray Pan Pacific Open commencing January
27. More fortunate in the Australian Open 2003 was Meghann
Shaughnessy who had an easy time with Qualifier Klara Koukalova
of the Czech Republic, winning in straight sets, and now faces
Elena Bovina of Russia, a surprise winner over 11th seed Magdalena
Maleeva.
Back
to Top
First tennis Grand Slam under way in
Melbourne
(January 14) Anna Pistolesi, seeded 14,
beat American Meilen Tu in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, in opening-round
action Tuesday at the year's first Grand Slam event in Australia.
The Israeli next faces 49th ranked Maja Matevzic of Slovenia
in the second round. Also advancing to the second round was
Meghann Shaughnessy who took out Spanish Qualifier Nuria Llagostera
Vives 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. The 23-year-old American who is coming
of her third career WTA Tour title, winning in Canberra last
week, will now face Ludmila Cervanova of Slovakia in the next
round of the Australian Open. Not quite as fortunate was Dick
Norman of Belgium who lost in straight sets to fifth seeded
Carlos Moya on Monday.
Back
to Top
Injury forces Anna out
(January 3) Defending champion Anna Pistolesi's reign
as the ASB Bank Classic came to an end today when she retired
mid-way through her match against Cho Yoon-Jeong. The score
was 7-6(2), 2-2 in Cho's favor when Pistolesi had to retire
due to cramps. "It’s always disappointing to lose
a match, but it happens," Pistolesi said. "It’s
the first time I’ve ever had to pull out of a match with
cramps."
Back
to Top
Pistolesi moves on
(January 2) Top seed and defending champion Anna Pistolesi
moved into the semifinals of the ASB Bank Classic with a 6-3,
6-1 win over Jill Craybas today.
Back
to Top
Sports Line Archive >>
|
