PHOTO OF THE DAY No. 6 seed Serena Williams did not have a good day against No. 4 seed Jennifer Capriati. Capriati won their quarterfinal match 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. GRAND SLAM SNIPPETS Seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras will make his grass-court season debut next week at the Stella Artois Championships, organizers of the Queen's Club tournament said on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 and winner of a record 13 Grand Slam singles crowns, will return to Queen's in a bid to regain the title he lost last year to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt. Lleyton Hewitt said he was sorry if comments he made during a French Open fourth round victory over Guillermo Canas caused offense. TV microphones picked up the Australian calling chair umpire Andreas Egli a "spastic" over a disputed line call in the five-set match. "When I was out there in the heat of the battle, I didn't realize I said it. If I did say it, it is something I'm not proud of, that's for sure. I apologize to whoever it may be," Hewitt said on Tuesday after losing to Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals. Hewitt was fined $1,000 by French Open organizers for the outburst. The Spastic Centre of Australia called on Hewitt to visit one of its centers to see what people with cerebral palsy can do. "It's a great shame that having spasticity, which is one of the major conditions associated with having cerebral palsy, should be used in such a derogatory way," Rob White, chief executive of the Spastic Centre, told The Australian newspaper on Tuesday. U.S. Open ticket-buyers might get to hit a few balls with Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe when the tickets go on sale Sunday at the United States Tennis Association box office. Buyers will be picked at random to hit with McEnroe. Those buyers who stick around will be able to watch the French Open men's final on the big screen. Individual session tickets for the Aug. 27-Sept. 9 Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., will go on sale at 9 a.m. Tickets also can be purchased online at USTA.com, by calling 866-OPEN-TIX or through any Ticketmaster outlet. Lucky charm Russian No. 7 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov has proved a lucky charm for clay specialist Gustavo Kuerten, who beat him in the Roland Garros quarterfinals 12 months ago and in 1997, going on to win the title on both occasions. Kafelnikov thinks Kuerten also will retain his crown this year. "I said whoever won the match today would win the tournament," Kafelnikov said. "It's a big, big paradox for me. The guy who beats me always gets huge, huge confidence because they know it's not an easy thing to accomplish, beat me in a Grand Slam. "Normally, when they do that, they go on and take the title. Hopefully, he will do that again. Otherwise, I'll be very ashamed." History also suggests that the hat trick is a real possibility. The last person to win the French Open three times was Czech Ivan Lendl, in 1984, 1986 and 1987, and on each occasion he beat the same player, Ecuador's Andres Gomez, in the quarterfinals. AROUND ROLAND GARROS Tissue anyone? A clay-court tournament it might be, but the French Open can be a terrible place for hay fever. Set in the woods of the Bois de Boulogne on the edge of Paris, the leafy Roland Garros tennis complex gets more than its fair share of visitors suffering from sneezing and sore eyes. "We've dealt with a lot of cases this year. It's been worse than normal because the spring was so wet," said Doctor Jacqueline Broquie, who has run the first aid operation at Roland Garros for 30 years. She has fond memories of treating Romanian former tennis great Ilie Nastase, who still comes to see her every year he visits. "I don't think I'm betraying any medical secrets if I say he suffers from hay fever," Broquie said. Smoke signals: This being France, it's no surprise to see spectators lighting cigarettes in the stands. Cigarettes are also on sale at two booths inside the Roland Garros complex, both run by a major international tobacco company that has a hospitality room at the tournament. The operation is above board, but the company concerned refuses to talk about it because of a French law that bans publicity for tobacco and spirits at sporting events. So why do it? "Public relations," said a representative of the company concerned. "The people we invite are tobacconists." All-star fun: Guest striker Jean-Pierre Papin struck a hat trick in the traditional soccer match between French and foreign tennis players at the French Open. The retired former France international helped his compatriots to a 6-4 victory at the Parc des Princes, home of French first division club Paris St Germain on Monday night. The rest of the world team included American Michael Russell, who came within one point of beating men's top seed Gustavo Kuerten in the French Open fourth round on Monday. American former No. 1 John McEnroe and PSG coach Luis Fernandez also played on the losing team. OVERHEARD JUSTINE HENIN On playing fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the semifinals: "Kim and I are close friends ? but a match is a match and if I have to play against her I will do my best to win." JUAN CARLOS FERRERO On his plans before his semifinal with Gustavo Kuerten: "I'll take a boat trip down the Seine and maybe go to the Asterix Park. I certainly won't play any tennis tomorrow. I'll just do 20 minutes or so jogging." MARTINA HINGIS On having her mother back as coach: "I still have my privacy and I still make my own decisions, but I know she will always back me up if I need to do something."