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Sports Line Archive
July - Dezember 2004
Sunitha Rao nets doubles title Down Under
(November 15) 19-year-old Sunitha Rao of
Bradenton, Florida teamed up with West Australia's Casey Dellacqua
to beat the Australian sister pair of Evie and Daniella Dominikovic
in the doubles final of the 25,000 Dollar Challenger tournament
in Port Pirie, South Australia.
Dellacqua and Rao won the championship match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
(6) after saving four match points against the Dominikovic
sisters, who were hoping to capture their fourth consecutive
title on the Uncle Tobys Tour. This was the American’s
first-ever ITF doubles title.
Second seed Rao also advanced to the quarterfinals in the
singles draw before losing to eventual winner Tiffany Welford
of Queensland in a closely fought match under very windy conditions
on Thursday.
Rao heads to Nuriootpa, South Australia this week for her
third of five women’s ITF Challenger tournaments in
Australia. The ITMS Sports client has been one of the standouts
on the Uncle Tobys International tennis circuit reaching the
singles finals in Mackay and Rockhampton before winning the
doubles title in Port Pirie.
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Rao has to retire after reaching second straight
final
(October 25) American prospect Sunitha Rao
(18) experienced an unfortunate end to her outstanding two-week
run at the $25,000 Challenger tournament in Rockhampton, Australia.
After reaching the finals at the Queensland hard court event
of the Uncle Tobys Tour, the ITMS Sports client was forced
to retire with a glute injury in the second set of the championship
match.
Just a day earlier, Rao had reached her second final in as
many weeks after defeating doubles partner Cindy Watson (AUS)
6-3, 1-6 and 6-1. Sunday’s match also marked the second
time the young American saw her title hopes come to an end
against top seed Evie Dominikovic, the former Top 70 and Australian
Fed Cup player.
Still, by recording her second finals appearance of the year,
Rao has now advanced to the semi-finals or further in five
of the tournaments she has entered and looks to break into
the Top 200 in next week's WTA Tour rankings.
In doubles, Rao and Watson fell to the top seed Australian
Duo
Dellacqua/Sewell in the semi-finals on Saturday.
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Perebiynis moves into quarters
(October 22) Fifth seed Tatiana Perebiynis
(21) has reached the
quarterfinals of the $50,000 Challenger event in St. Raphael,
France. In her second round match-up, she defeated Lenka Nemeckova
of the Czech Republic 6-4 and 6-3.
Next up for the ITMS Sports client is an encounter with Tunisian
product Selima Sfar, who upset third seed Virginie Razzano
(WTA 59) of France 0-6, 6-4, 3-1 ret.
In other second round action, top seed Barbora Strycova (CZE)
also advanced to the quarterfinals.
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Rao remains on fire
(October 22) Rising US tennis prodigy Sunitha
Rao (18) continues her recent hot streak at the Uncle Tobys
Tour for women. With four victories over the past two days,
she has reached the semi-finals in both singles and doubles
at the $25,000 Challenger event in Rockhampton, Queensland.
In singles, Rao has been dominating her opponents as of late.
Through three matches in Rockhampton, the ITMS Sports client
has dropped no more than two games per set, displaying great
confidence and skill from start to finish. Next up for Rao
is sixth seed Australian Cindy Watson, pinning her against
her doubles partner in a semi-final showdown on Saturday.
Together, the two have also reached the semi-finals in the
doubles draw. After a first round upset over 4th seed Ilke
Gers (NZL) and Napaporn Tongsalee (THA), the pair cruised
through its quarter-final match, beating the Australian duo
of Kate Pinchbeck and Adriana Szili in straight sets.
In other action, top seed Evie Dominikovic (AUS) has advanced
to the semis in both draws as well, beating No. 7 Tomoko Yonemura
(JPN) in singles and teaming up with sister Daniella to advance
in doubles.
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Rao takes first hurdle in Rockhampton
(October 21) 18-year old ITMS Sports client
Sunitha Rao (WTA 230) has advanced to the second round of
the $ 25,000 Challenger event in Rockhampton, Queensland.
After a dominating performance, she defeated Tiffany Welford
(AUS) 6-1 and 6-2 and will now prepare for a second round
match-up with Australian Dubravka Cupac (WTA 452).
In other first round action at this second stop of the Uncle
Tobys Tour for women, third seed Casey Dellacqua (AUS) was
upset by Lauren Breadmore (AUS) in three hard fought sets.
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Perebiynis with successful start
(October 20) ITMS Sports Client Tatiana
Perebiynis is off to a good start at the $ 50,000 Challenger
event in Saint Raphael, France.
Seeded 5th, the Ukrainian wasted little time during her first
round
encounter with Pascale Leroy of France and took a 6-2 and
6-2 decision into the next round. There, Perebiynis will battle
Lenka Nemeckova (CZE) for a place in the quarterfinals.
In other first round action, top seed Barbora Strycova (CZE)
and 4th seed Stephanie Foretz (FRA) also advanced.
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Improving Sunitha Rao stopped in Aussie final
(October 18) Sunitha Rao’s quest for
the title at the $25,000 Challenger event in Mackay, Queensland,
came up just short on Sunday. After a convincing 6-1, 6-3
victory over Kate Pinchbeck of Australia in the semis, the
18-year-old American fell to No. 1 seed Evie Dominikovic (AUS)
in the championship match.
Rao’s 5-7, 3-6 loss to the former Top 70 and Australian
Fed Cup Team player marked her first singles final appearance
in an ITF Challenger this year having previously reached three
semifinals earlier in the season. The ITMS Sports client has
been steadily improving since the US Open compiling a 10-4
record and will see an additional 18 points bolster her WTA
Tour singles ranking next week.
Next stop for Rao will be the $25,000 event in Rockhampton,
Queensland, which starts today. The tournament is part of
the Australian Uncle Tobys Tour for women and the American
will again be seeded second behind the 24-year-old Dominikovic.
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Rao prevails in Mackay quarters
(October 15) Second seed Sunitha Rao (18)
has advanced to the semi-finals of the $25,000 Challenger
event in Mackay, Queensland. The ITMS Sports client came back
from one set down to beat Australian qualifier Daniella Dominikovic
6-7, 6-2 and 7-5. Next up for Rao is Kate Pinchbeck (AUS),
who moved past Cindy Watson in straight sets.
The Mackay semi-finals will feature three out of the top
four players in the tournament, as top seeded Evie Dominikovic
(WTA 206) and No. 3 Casey Dellacqua (both from Australia)
also advanced.
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Rao in action in Australia
(October 14) ITMS Sports client Sunitha
Rao (18) is currently on a
five-tournament stint in Australia. The Unlce Tobys Tour,
which consist of five $25,000 challengers, will run until
the end of November and brings Rao to the conclusion of her
first full year on the professional tour.
In her first action this week, Rao has so far shown impressive
form. Seeded second in Mackay, Queensland, the young American
has advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set and
will now face Australian qualifier Daniella Dominikovic for
a spot in the semis.
Currently ranked No. 230 in singles and No. 231 in doubles,
Rao hopes to break into the Top 200 in both rankings by the
end of the year.
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Smashnova stopped by injury
(October 8) ITMS Sports client Anna Smashnova’s
run at the $650,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt
(GER) was prematurely halted in her second round encounter
with Fabiola Zuluaga (WTA 25) of Colombia. A left groin strain
forced the 28-year old Israeli to retire after the first game
in the second set.
The injury marks the latest setback for Smashnova, who had
just returned to form after four injury-plagued months. It
is unclear how much time she will miss this time around, and
it remains to be seen whether Israel’s number one player
will be able to return in time for next week’s Kremlin
Cup in Moscow ($1,300,000).
Smashnova is also scheduled to play at the WTA Tour Swisscom
Challenge in Zurich ($1,300,000) later this month.
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ITMS Sports’ Anna Smashnova scores upset win
(October 5) ITMS Sports client Anna Smashnova
(WTA 31) had a successful start to the $ 650,000 Porsche Tennis
Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany. In her first match since
the 2004 US Open, she defeated No. 8 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan
6-3 and 7-6 (3).
The straight set defeat of Sugiyama marked Smashnova’s
first win in four career meetings. Just last year, she had
succumbed to the Japanese standout on the exact same occasion.
“I am relieved to finally feel 100 % healthy again”,
said Israel’s No. 1 player. “Beating a player
like Ai on her preferred surface makes me especially happy.”
Next up for Anna Smashnova is a second round encounter with
either Fabiola Zuluaga (COL) or Marlene Weingartner (GER).
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ITMS Sports clients back in tennis action in Belgium
and Korea
(September 27) Two of ITMS Sports'
tennis clients return to action on the WTA Tour this week.
Tatiana Perebiynis plays in her first tournament since the
US Open at the Gaz de France Stars tournament in Hasselt,
Belgium. The 21-year old Ukrainian faces a stiff test in the
first round against the tournament’s sixth seeded Silvia
Farina Elia of Italy. Perebiynis is seeded second in doubles
together with Australian Lisa McShea.
18-year old Sunitha Rao of the United States finds herself
in top form this week having qualified for her first WTA Tour
event of the year in Seoul, Korea. She easily handled her
three qualifying matches at the Olympic Park Tennis Courts
over the weekend never once losing more than three games a
set to earn a spot in the 2004 Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships.
Rao will now face Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia in the first
round on Tuesday. The 25-year old Slovakian has been steadily
ranked in the 20s and 30s in the world for most of her ten
years on tour but slipped recently to her current world ranking
of 79. The match should prove to be a good test for the American
prodigy as she gets to measure herself against one of the
most experienced players on the WTA Tour. The winner of this
first round encounter will earn a center court appearance
against the tournament’s biggest draw and top seed Maria
Sharapova.
The 17-year old Wimbledon champion already has the entire
nation in a tennis frenzy and tournament organizers hope that
the Russian’s appeal will spark a lasting tennis fever
in Korea. All of her matches will be telecast nationwide on
KBS Channel 9.
Bringing the Russian star, ranked seventh in the world, to
the inaugural Korea Open has been the Korea Tennis Association's
most coveted project as part of its latest efforts to increase
the sport's popularity. "It wasn't easy to get her, but
I believe this will be a tremendous boost for the sport in
this country," said Lee Jin-Soo, director of the Korea
Open. The weeklong event has already shown signs of being
wildly successful. Of the 50,000 tickets made available online,
nearly 70 percent were sold as of last Thursday.
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Rao reaches Quarterfinals
(September 16) ITMS Sports’ client
Sunitha Rao (WTA 240) has reached the Quarterfinals of the
$25,000 ITF Pro Circuit challenger in Beijing, China.
The 18-year old Florida native has shown impressive form
in her first
tournament since the US Open, defeating sixth seed Shiho Hisamatsu
(WTA 230) of Japan and Chinese prospect Yan-Chong Chen (WTA
539) without dropping a set. Next up for Rao is second seed
LI Na from China.
Currently on an extended trip to the Far East, Rao plans
to enter the WTA Tour Tier II China Open (also in Beijing)
next week. After that, she is also scheduled to compete at
the Tier III events in Seoul (South Korea) and Tokyo (Japan)
Rao, who has improved her doubles ranking by more than 300
spots since the beginning of the year, is hoping to reach
a Top 200 ranking in both singles and doubles by the end of
2004.
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Though losses for ITMS Sports duo
(September 3) The 2004 US Open, the fourth
and last Grand Slam event of the year, is underway. Since
Monday, the world’s best tennis players are battling
it out on the courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in
Flushing, NY.
Among the 128 players in the women’s draw were also
ITMS Sports Clients Tatiana Perebiynis and Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.
However, their stints at the world’s largest tennis
tournament were short-lived, as both suffered through tough
three set losses.
Twenty-one year old Ukrainian No. 1 Tatiana Perebiynis exited
the Open on Monday after a heartbreaking three set loss to
American wild card Angela Haynes. Perebiynis, who had shown
good form throughout the summer, was unable to convert on
four match points before falling to Haynes 6-7, 6-1, and 7-6.
A young American prospect, Haynes than backed up her outstanding
performance with a dominating 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 22
seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria.
Another seed to fall in the first round was No. 24 seed Anna
Smashnova-Pistolesi. Israel’s No. 1 player came up just
short in her three set loss to Japanese product Shinobu Asagoe
(WTA 62). Despite the loss, Smashnova-Pistolesi’s valiant
effort in the first two sets gave plenty of reasons to be
encouraged, before heat and humidity took their toll on the
injury plagued Israeli.
The 2004 US Open will continue today with second and third
round matches. The women’s final will be played next
Saturday, better known as Super Saturday, the biggest day
in professional tennis every year.
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Rao wins first round at US Open
(August 26) Sunitha Rao scored a
creditable victory yesterday to advance to the second round
of the US Open Qualifying Tournament in Flushing, N.Y.
The American, who earned a last-minute wild card for this
event, posted an unchallenged 6-3, 6-2 win over South African
Natalie Grandin, currently ranked 157 in singles. Despite
the 105-place differential in the pair's current rankings,
it was the hard-hitting Bradenton-based Rao who dominated
play on the ruthless hard courts at the USTA National Tennis
Center in Flushing Meadows Park.
The 18-year-old now runs into experienced opposition in the
shape of Austria’s Patricia Wartusch who is more than
eight years her senior and formerly ranked 65 in singles.
Wartusch upset the 22nd seeded Samantha Reeves on Wednesday.
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Sunitha Rao set to play in US Open qualifying
(August 24) The US Open Qualifying Tournament,
which will be held August 24 - 27, is set to start today at
the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Amongst the players competing for one of the coveted spots
into the main draw of this year’s US Open will be American
Sunitha Rao. The 18-year-old Rao of Bradenton, Florida was
awarded a last minute wild card spot for the qualifying draw
on Monday.
Rao, top ranked throughout her junior career, was not initially
slated to receive one of the 17 wild card entries that the
USTA awards its top prospects for either the main draw or
qualifying of the US Open. She was awarded the spot after
another American wild card entry moved into the qualifying
draw based on her ranking.
Rao is due to face Natalie Grandin of South Africa, ranked
157 in the world, in her first match tomorrow. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
of Germany, ranked 85 in the world, is the top seed in the
128-player women’s field. Players have to win three
qualifying matches to earn entry into the main draw of the
US Open.
Rao, ranked 262 in singles this week, reached the final round
of qualifying at two Grand Slam tournaments last year, defeating
Ashley Harkleroad at the Australian Open and Claudine Schaul
at Wimbledon. Currently ranked 219 in doubles, Rao has improved
her doubles world ranking by more than 300 spots this year
and hopes that the USTA will now consider her for one of the
US Open doubles wild cards.
The USTA awarded main draw women’s singles wild card
entries to Ashley Harkleroad, Alexandra Stevenson, Angela
Haynes, Jamea Jackson, Jessica Kirkland, Amber Liu, Bethanie
Mattek and Kelly McCain. In addition to the eight US Open
main draw women’s singles wild cards, the USTA also
awarded nine wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying
Tournament.
The 2004 US Open Tennis Championships, will be played August
30 - September 12 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing,
N.Y.
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Injury forces Smashnova-Pistolesi out
(August 19) Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi of Israel
withdrew from next week's Pilot Pen Open Wednesday because
of a hamstring injury, allowing Jennifer Capriati into the
tournament without having to use a wild card.
The 19th-ranked Israeli is however optimistic that she will
be able to play the US Open, which will be played August 30
- September 12 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing,
N.Y.
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ITMS Sports athletes compete for gold in Athens
(August 16) The world's finest tennis players
took to the blue courts in Athens on Sunday as they compete
for gold at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Among the 64 entries in this year's Games are ITMS Sports
clients Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi and Tatiana Perebiynis.
No. 13 seed Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, visibly suffering from
a leg injury, lost to Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-2, 6-1 on
Monday. Garbin stunned defending champion and top-ranked Justine
Henin-Hardenne in the second round of the French Open in May.
Tatiana Perebiynis won her opener against Dally Randriantefy
6-3, 6-4 and will now face No.8 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan
on Tuesday.
Perebiynis has come to Athens to play tennis, but is making
sure she doesn't miss out on her first Olympic experience.
"The opening ceremonies were absolutely incredible. It’s
difficult to even describe how excited I was... Being surrounded
by so many great athletes was just awesome,” said Perebiynis
still excited about being in Athens a day after the Games
officially got under way.
The first round of women’s Olympic singles and doubles
play began on Sunday, Aug. 15. The final and bronze-medal
matches for singles and doubles will be played on Aug. 21.
The women’s doubles final will be held on Aug. 22, the
final day of Olympic tennis competition.
Tennis was one of the original nine sports played at the
Olympic Games back in 1896 in Athens. It continued as an Olympic
event all the way until 1924. After a 60-year absense, it
returned to the Olympics in 1984 as a demonstration event
and was returned as a full medal sport at the Seoul Games
in 1988.
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Bitter defeat for Sopot Champ
(August 12) No.2 seed Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi
lost her Idea Prokom Open title at the first hurdle Wednesday,
falling to Polish wildcard Marta Domachowska 7-6, 6-1.
Smashnova-Pistolesi has been hampered by a right hamstring
injury and had to pull out of her last tournament in Stockholm
last week.
The Israeli remains hopeful that she’ll be able to recuperate
in time for the Olympic tournament next week. Smashnova-Pistolesi
is seeded 13th for the 64-player tournament, which has been
weakened in recent days by the withdrawal of Americans Serena
Williams and Jennifer Capriati. Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne
is the top seed, followed by Amelie Mauresmo of France.
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Germany overwhelming in Baseball European Championships
(August 10) Germany's baseball national
team is back in Europe's A-Pool after a convincing 9-3 victory
over Slovenia in the finals of the European Championships
(B-Pool) held in Regensburg and Fuerth, Germany last week.
The German team opened the tournament with a 12-2 win over
Switzerland and followed that with an incredible 32-0 win
over Israel. In the Tuesday win, Head Coach Greg Frady's team
hit nine home runs among the 29 hits. On Wednesday, the German
team demo-lished Slovenia by an eye-popping 23-0 score with
five more home runs. That made it 55 consecutive runs scored
in two
games without allowing a run scored!
They continued their dominance and crushed Hungary on Thursday,
23-1. Th German team scored the first 13 runs in Thursday's
win to run the streak to68 consecutive runs scored without
allowing a run against them.
In the semifinals, the German squad started the fireworks
with a 16-run first inning en route to an impressive 23-1
victory against
Serbia-Montenegro to move into the Sunday final in Regensburg.
In the Championship game against Slovenia, Germany found
itself behind for the first time when Slovenia scored three
runs in the first inning. But, Coach Frady's team responded
with nine runs without allowing another one to claim the trophy
and Championship of the B-Pool.
Through the six games of the European Championships, Germany
outscored its opponents by a combined 122-7 They scored 23
or more runs in four of the five games and batted .456 for
the tournament with 21 HR's and 24 doubles. The pitchers combined
to post a 0.82 ERA for the tournament.
Germany will now move back to the important A-Pool next year.
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Smashnova-Pistolesi hopes to defend Sopot title despite
injury
(August 9) 2003 champion Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi
returns to defend her title at the Tier III Idea Prokom Open
and hoping to overcome an injury. As the top seed last week
in Stockholm, Smashnova-Pistolesi suffered from right hamstring
tendonitis in her second round match against Sandra Kleinova
and was forced to retire from the match.
The Israeli player is hoping to be fully recovered by the
time she must take on either Polish wildcard Marta Domachowska
or Martina Sucha in her second round match. Smashnova-Pistolesi
won her first title at the event last year when she defeated
Klara Koukalova, 6-2, 6-0 in the championship match.
Smashnova-Pistolesi is seeded second behind World No.3 Anastasia
Myskina. Fresh off her semifinal performance at the Rogers
Cup in Montreal, Myskina will be making her third appearance
at the event, where she has compiled a 4-2 mark on two previous
stints at the tournament. The Roland Garros champion had her
best performance in 2000 when she reached the semifinals before
losing to eventual winner Anke Huber. She returned to the
event last year, but was ousted in the quarterfinals by Petra
Mandula.
The top player from Russia will have a bye in the first round
before facing the winner of Zuzana Ondraskova vs. Stephanie
Cohen-Aloro in the second round.
This is the seventh year of the Idea Prokom Open, which serves
as a joint WTA Tour-ATP event. Nagyova claimed the tournament's
first title back in 1998 when she defeated Elena Wagner in
the final. Other title winners include Conchita Martinez (1999),
Anke Huber (2000), Cristina Torrens Valero (2001), Dinara
Safina (2002) and Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (2003).
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Molik beats Perebiynis for Stockholm title
(August 9) Alicia Molik captured her second
WTA Tour singles title and second doubles title on Sunday
at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Sotckholm, Sweden.
The 23-year-old from Melbourne won her first singles title
of the 2004 by defeating Ukraine's Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-1
6-1, and followed by teaming with Austria's Barbara Schett
for her second career doubles title.
Molik, who won her first WTA Tour title back in 2003 at Hobart,
came close to another title earlier this year in Vienna before
losing to Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi in the final.
Molik came to Stockholm this week following her biggest victory
of the year in San Diego, where she defeated world No.3 Amelie
Mauresmo in the second round. With her title at Stockholm,
the Australia player improves to 28-16 on the year. The Australian
Molik had very few problems during the entire week, not dropping
a set en route to the Swedish title.
Perebiynis also did not drop a set en route to the final.
The 21-year-old Ukrainian was appearing in her first WTA Tour
final and improved her record on the year to 17-13. Perebiynis
upset No.4 seed Iveta Benesova in the first round and followed
with victories against qualifier Patricia Wartusch, Maria
Elena Camerin and Sandra Kleinova to reach the final.
In doubles, Molik and Schett paired up for the very first
time and defeated Emmanuelle Gagliardi and Anna-Lena Groenefeld,
6-3, 6-3, to grab the doubles title.
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Perebiynis in Stockholm Final
(August 7) Ukraine's Tatiana Perebiynis
is recording her best career tournament, reaching her first
WTA Tour singles final at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in
Stockholm, Sweden. The 21-year-old Ukrainian defeated Sandra
Kleinova 7-5, 6-3 in the semis and has yet to lose a set this
week. She will play No. 3 seeded Alicia Molik in the finals
on Sunday.
Alicia Molik exhibited strong play with a 7-5, 6-3 win over
No.2 seed Silvia Farina Elia to advance to her second WTA
Tour final this year.
Earlier this season, she reached the finals of Vienna, falling
to Smashnova-Pistolesi. The Australian currently holds her
career-best ranking of No.29 and looks to improve that standing
even more so following this week's event in Stockholm.
Perebiynis' prior best result was a quarterfinal finish at
Tashkent in 2002. She suffered a wrist injury at the end of
last year, which kept her out for several months. The hard-hitting
Ukrainian returned to the tour in March and has shown good
form recently reaching the third round at both Roland Garros
and Wimbledon this summer.
The finalists have met on three previous occasions, with
Perebiynis holding the upper hand leading the series 2-1.
However, Molik won their last meeting at New Haven last year
in a tightly contested three-set match, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi was this tournament's top seed and
defending champion. However, she was forced to retire from
her Thursday match against Kleinova because of tendinitis
in her right hamstring.
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Top-seeded Smashnova-Pistolesi withdraws with injury
(August 6) Top-seeded and defending champion
Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi was forced to retire because of tendinitis
in her right hamstring during Thursday's second-round match
at the $140,000 Nordea Nordic Light Open.
The unseeded Kleinova will next meet Henrieta Nagyova in
Friday's quarterfinals. Nagyova, of the Slovak Republic, ousted
crowd favorite Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 7-5.
In other matches, Tatiana Perebiynis topped Patricia Wartusch
6-0, 6-4 and will face Maria Elena Camerin in the quarterfinals,
and Severine Beltrame rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third
set to oust Barbara Schett 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Third-seeded Alicia
Molik beat Silvija Talaja 6-3, 6-1 and will now face No. 6
Denisa Chladkova in the round of eight.
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Sammy Sosa ties Reggie Jackson on home run list
(August 5) It had been a night of uncharacteristic
small ball in Denver, as the Rockies led the Cubs by three
in the seventh inning.
But Sammy Sosa doesn't play small ball.
With men on first and second, Sosa clubbed his 563rd home
run, tying Reggie Jackson for eighth on the all-time home
run list. The 437-foot shot off Scott Dohmann into the left-field
bleachers also tied the game.
"It's an honor to tie Reggie Jackson, no question about
it," Sosa added. "I never would think I would tie
Reggie Jackson. Mr. October. He's the man."
The home run sparked a series of events later in the inning.
Dohmann and manager Clint Hurdle were both ejected when Dohmann
threw too close to the next batter, Aramis Ramirez. Reliever
Steve Reed then came in to finish the inning and allowed a
single to Ramirez, who then moved to second on Derrek Lee's
single. Todd Walker then drove Ramirez home on a double, sparking
the Cubs to a victory that moved them into sole possession
of first place in the Wild Card race.
The homer was Sosa's 24th of the year, and with nearly two
months left in the season, Sosa can now set his sights on
Harmon Killebrew, next on the all-time list with 573.
"I'm not really looking for that," Sosa said of
the next career milestone. His sights are set on the immediate
future, helping his team to protect and expand their newly
claimed Wild Card lead.
"I want to go up there and contribute, try to win some
games every day and everything will be OK," Sosa said.
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Smashnova-Pistolesi posts easy win in Stockholm
(August 5) Top-seeded and defending champion
Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi and second-seeded Italian Silvia
Farina Elia recorded easy victories Wednesday at the $140,000
Nordea Nordic Light Open.
Smashnova-Pistolesi blew past Hungarian Melinda Czink 6-2,
6-1 in opening- round action on the hardcourts at Stockholm
Stadium.
The Israeli Smashnova-Pistolesi captured this event on a
clay court in Helsinki a year ago by beating Croat Jelena
Kostanic in the final.
Up next for Smashnova-Pistolesi will be Czech Sandra Kleinova.
Farina Elia highlighted Wednesday's second-round winners
with a routine 6-2, 6-3 decision against German Julia Schruff.
This week's titlist will claim $22,000.
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Smashnova-Pistolesi opens defense of title today
(August 4) This week's top seed and defending
champion of the Nordea Nordic Light Open, Israeli Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi,
will open defense of her title against Hungarian Melinda Czink
later this afternoon. Smashnova-Pistolesi defeated Croat Jelena
Kostanic in last year's final in Helsinki. This year’s
event is being held on hard courts built especially for the
tournament inside the 92-year-old Olympic Stadium in Stockholm.
Second-seeded Italian Silvia Farina Elia snapped a string
a first round losses by winning her opening match on Tuesday.
The No.2 seed, who suffered surprising first round losses
in Los Angeles and San Diego, recovered with a trip back to
Europe and defeated Russian qualifier Anna Chakvetadze, 7-6,
3-6, 6-3.
Only one seeded player was eliminated on Day 2, with No.4
seed Iveta Benesova falling to Tatiana Perebiynis, 7-5, 6-3.
Other Day-2 winners were Australian Alicia Molik, Austrians
Patricia Wartusch and Barbara Schett, Italians Mara Santangelo
and Maria Elena Camerin, German Julia Schruff, Czechs Denisa
Chladkova and Sandra Kleinova and Croat Silvija Talaja.
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ITMS Sports athletes compete at the US Open
(August 30) The stage is set for the final
Grand Slam tournament of the year. The 2004 US Open (August
30 – September 12) will begin play today at the USTA
National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Among the 128 entries in the women’s draw are ITMS
Sports clients Anna Smashnova- Pistolesi and Tatiana Perebiynis.
No. 24 seed Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi hopes to return to form
after suffering from a leg injury over the last couple of
months. First-round action will see her match up against Japanese
product Shinobu Asagoe, currently ranked 62nd on the WTA Tour.
The match, scheduled for Tuesday, will be the first head-to-head
meeting between the two.
Already in action today, Ukrainian No. 1 Tatiana Perebiynis
will face
American wild card Angela Haynes in her first-round encounter.
Perebiynis, who has shown good form this summer, will battle
Haynes (WTA 185) for a spot in the second round, possibly
facing No.22 seed Magdalena Maleeva from Bulgaria.
The 2004 US Open are the world’s largest annual sporting
event and will feature a record setting prize money total
of nearly $ 15,000,000.
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