| | MELBOURNE, Australia -- Mark Philippoussis was fined $750
for angrily smashing his racket during his fourth-round loss to
Andre Agassi.
The 16th-seeded Australian wrecked his racket Sunday after
losing the second set even though he had been 4-1 up in the
tiebreak. Top-seeded Agassi won 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3.
Bill Gilmore, a Grand Slam supervisor, announced the fine late
Sunday night.
"I had to let some frustration out otherwise I was going to
kill someone -- better the racket," Philippoussis said after the
match.
Said Agassi: "The guy can make a racket look like a toothpick,
you know. I was just thinking, 'I'm glad I'm not the racket.' "
New and improved appearance
Lleyton Hewitt's dad shaved his head and his coach
hasn't shaved in weeks because of his success.
Glyn Hewitt promised to shave his scalp if his 18-year-old son,
the last Australian player in the men's singles, won a tournament
earlier this month in Adelaide.
Long-haired Lleyton won that, then another tournament in Sydney
and now faces No. 12 seeded Magnus Norman in the fourth round of
the Australian Open.
The 13-match winning streak has gotten the better of coach
Darren Cahill, though he's not complaining. Cahill promised before
Adelaide that he wouldn't shave until Hewitt's loses.
Only problem is, the scruffy-looking Cahill is getting married
in two weeks.
Close ties
Players and their coaches are closely aligned
among the women contesting the fourth round in the top half of the
draw.
Top-seeded Martina Hingis is in Australia with coach Melanie
Molitor, who also is her mom. No. 12 Sandrine Testud, who will face
Hingis, is coached by her husband, Vittorio Magnelli
Third-seeded Serena Williams is coached by parents Richard and
Oracene Williams, her mom traveling to Australia with her. Williams
takes on Elena Likhovtseva, although the Russian isn't related to
her coach Tomas Malik.
In the clash between Barbara Schett and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario,
sixth-seeded Schett is coached by fiancee Thomas Prerovsky, the No.
13 Spaniard is coached by her brother, Emilio Sanchez.
Fellow Spaniard Conchita Martinez, who is up against American
Kristina Brandi, is coached by her doubles partner Patricia
Tarabini. Brandi is coached by her father, Joe Brandi.
Hitting hard and smart
When asked which of the top women was the most
difficult to play against, Anna Kournikova said it was impossible
to decide.
The Russian, who has yet to win a title on tour and was ousted in the fourth round by No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, said of No. 1 Martina Hingis, Davenport and Serena and Venus Williams, "they have
different games."
"Martina plays smart, Lindsay plays hard and smart, and Venus
and Serena, they hit also very hard," Kournikova said. | |
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