Men's Tennis
Results/Schedules
ATP Rankings
Players
Women's Tennis
Results/Schedules
WTA Rankings
Players
 Wednesday, September 8
Creatine the cause of rash of injuries?
 
Associated Press

 NEW YORK -- With world No. 1 Pete Sampras sidelined and seven men's draw matches ending prematurely, everyone is trying to explain the rash of injuries at this year's U.S. Open.

The long season and busy schedules that most players keep are among the most common causes suggested, but John McEnroe has his own explanation. The four-time U.S. Open champion turned television analyst points to creatine, a substance used to build muscles and aid in training.

McEnroe made the point during Tuesday's broadcast on USA Network, shortly after Magnus Norman retired in his fourth-round match against fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten. He did not single out any player in particular, but noted that the use of creatine also leads to cramping and muscle pulls -- two of the factors leading to the numerous sudden endings this year.

"I've never taken it. I'm actually against it," said Norman, who confirmed that other players do use the substance, which is not banned by the ATP Tour. "I don't want to speak for other players who take it. Maybe it's good for them. I've never taken it and I'm never going to take it."

Norman's reasons for not using creatine have nothing to do with ethics and everything to do with his body.

"Creatine is something that builds your muscles up," he said. "I think I alreay have enough muscles. I need to lose some weight. That's my problem."

Kuerten has some late-rising supporters

Fifth-seeded Kuerten has attracted considerable support from the Brazilian community, anxious to cheer for a countryman at the U.S. Open.

"They help me a lot," he said. "Against Goran Ivanisevic, it was great atmosphere. A lot of people there. They were going crazy."

On Tuesday, however, when he played the day's first match against Norman, Kuerten was on his own.

"It's too early," he said. "Brazilians all party yesterday. Nobody came."

Getting ready to go Down Under

Australian Open officials used the setting of the last Grand Slam tournament of the millennium to discuss plans for the first major of the 21st century.

Paul McNamee, the tournament director since 1994 who recently took over the role of Australian Open chief executive, briefed the media on two important developments for the 2000 event -- a new, secondary stadium court equipped with a sliding roof and plans for a night men's semifinal match.

Construction is underway on Melbourne Park's multi-purpose venue -- or MPV, as McNamee called it. The structure is scheduled to be completed by December 17, one month before the start of the tournament.

"It brings the tournament in line with the other three Grand Slams," McNamee said. "Wimbledon, with its new Court 1, which is magnificent, Suzanne Lenglen at Roland Garros, and the updated Louis Armstrong Stadium here.

"The other three Grand Slams had that big second court, around 10,000 spectators, which we really lacked. It was a bit of a missing link for us. For us to build this new stadium, it's a biggy for us."

McNamee said the venue will be used for basketball, cycling, concerts and other forms of entertainment when not hosting the Australian Open.

The night semifinal, the first in tournament history, will be held on Thursday, January 27, increasing the number of tournament sessions to 24. The match will start at 7 p.m. local time.

"I think the night atmosphere is great," McNamee said. "I think it is one of the features of a Grand Slam. Players are used to playing in those conditions all of the time."

Woodies' run coming to end
The run of the "Woodies" is nearing an end.

Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, the dominant doubles team of the decade, lost in the quarterfinals to the team of Alex O'Brien and Sebastien Lareau and later talked about the end of their relationship.

"I'm hoping to stop at the end of 2000," said the 33-year-old Woodforde. "I know I'm stopping because I'm quite a bit older. I'm prepared to finish up then. I think that's long enough for me. Then it's up to Todd, whether he chooses to continue to 2000."

Asked his thoughts for the future, the 28-year-old Woodbridge was less revealing.

"That's something we have to talk about," he said. "We're not going to have a conversation about something like that at a press conference."

Senior ball boy

The oldest ballboy at the U.S. Open is 82-year-old Manny Herskowitz of Reston, Va., who was assigned to a first-round boys match between University of Georgia freshman Lesley Joseph and Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei.

Herskowitz, who plays tennis twice a week and competes in the Senior Olympics in both tennis and track, began his ballboy duties in an ATP Senior Tour event in Washington, D.C., in May and worked at the ATP event there last month.

The combined age of the two players in the match he worked at the Open was 34.

Tuning in and out

Weekday television ratings for the U.S. Open fell 11 percent in the first week of the season's final Grand Slam tournament, but weekend numbers were higher.

USA Network reported a 0.6 rating representing 490,000 households for its daytime coverage and a 1.0, or 800,000 households, for its primetime shows. Last year, the daytime rating was 0.7, or 543,000 households and the nighttime was 1.1 or 830,000 households.

CBS, which covers weekend matches, said its rating for the first Saturday was 2.5, up 25 percent from last year's 2.0. Sunday's rating of 2.7 was the second-highest Sunday rating this decade, topped only by a 4.5 in 1990.

Fast company

Gustavo Kuerten's victory over Magnus Norman put him in the quarterfinals of a third straight Grand Slam. He got that far in both the French Open and Wimbledon before losing.

What's more, the victory tied Kuerten with Andre Agassi at 46 victories for the year, second only to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who has 47.		 


ALSO SEE
Hingis, Venus breeze to Open semifinals

Kuerten benefits from injury epidemic at U.S. Open