Defending titlist Todd Martin faces a tough opening round clash against Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev in the Sydney adidas International tournament
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Defending titlist Todd Martin faces a tough opening round clash against Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev in the Sydney adidas International tournament, which starts Sunday at the 2000 Olympic tennis venue in Homebush Bay. Defending titlist Todd Martin faces a tough opening round clash against Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev in the Sydney adidas International tournament, which starts Sunday at the 2000 Olympic tennis venue in Homebush Bay. The American world No 8, who beat Alex Corretja of Spain in last year's adidas International final at White City, said he'd have to be extra cautious of Medvedev in the Olympic test event or risk being unprepared for the upcoming Australian Open."It's a tough one to start off with - the French Open finalist isn't exactly a warm-up match," said Martin, who is an early favourite for the first Grand Slam of the Millennium starting January 17 in Melbourne."More important than getting a couple of tough matches is getting a couple of matches," he said. "They have put Thailand into the limelight and are excellent models for Thai children and youth."Chuan also placed a call to Tamarine on Friday after she defeated Austria's Barbara Schett.Hopman Cup mixed team tennis resultsFinalSouth Africa 2, beat Thailand 0Amanda Coetzer, South Africa, beat Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thailand, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, beat Paradorn Srichiphan, Thailand, 7-6 (14-12), 6-3.. The march of Paradorn and Tamarine through qualifying by knocking off the sport's giants to reach the final is seen as a tennis triumph and has been front-page news all week.Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai sent his congratulations Friday to the Thai tennis duo and said all of Thailand's 61 million people would be supporting them Saturday."It is already historic, in its way," Chuan said. The Thai was unable to convert two set points, and Ferreira eventually claimed the opening set on his sixth set point.Disappointed at his failure to gain a winning start, Srichiphan's challenge faded in the second set after Ferreira broke for 2-0.Despite their defeat, Tanasugarn and Srichiphan have been elevated to superstar staus in Thailand.
"I didn't know what to do at the start."Tanasugarn held a point to lead 4-0, and although she allowed Coetzer to rally and level the match and then build a dominating 5-1 lead in the third, Tanasugarn kept the spectators on the edge of their seats as she staged a dramatic comeback.After receiving attention for an ailing back when down 1-4, Tanasugarn stormed back to 4-5 and held two points to level at 5-5 before Coetzer edged through.Knowing South Africa had an opportunity to finally lift the trophy after finishing as runners-up to the United States three years ago, Ferreira was in stunning form against Srichiphan.The experienced South African held seven games to love, and outside of the tiebreaker dropped just nine points on his serve.Although Srichiphan used his own firepower to keep himself in contention, the turning point came in the dramatic 26-point tiebreak. South Africa won the Hopman Cup in its eighth attempt when it defeated surprise finalists Thailand in a thrilling championship today in the mixed teams tennis tournament in Perth. Amanda Coetzer, partnering Wayne Ferreira for the fifth time, held off a gallant challenge from Tamarine Tanasugarn to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and then Ferreira resisted two set points to overcome Paradorn Srichiphan 7-6 (14-12), 6-3.Tanasugarn, who had already defeated four players with a higher ranking this week, had Coetzer on the ropes after taking the first set and building a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve in the second.With Coetzer patrolling the baseline, Tanasugarn often dictated from the net, and her ability to hit into the corners and keep Coetzer on the run made her look a likely winner against a perplexed opponent."She made me feel uncomfortable and I couldn't execute very well," said Coetzer. South Africa won the Hopman Cup in its eighth attempt when it defeated surprise finalists Thailand in a thrilling championship today in the mixed teams tennis tournament in Perth. I hope I can repeat it and beat her in a Grand Slam now," said Capriati after posting her first ever win over Hingis.In a match riddled with service breaks - 18 in total - both players stayed on the baseline and slugged it out for close to two hours.Capriati had the opportunity to wrap up the first set when she was leading 5-2. But she dropped her service game twice as Hingis fought back to 6-6.However, the American held her nerve to win the tiebreak.She then lost her next four service games as the 19-year-old Hingis won the second set.Capriati, 23, began poorly in the deciding set by trailing 3-1. But she recovered her composure to break Hingis in the sixth and eighth games and then served out the match for a superb victory."All the hard work at home is paying off. I'm pretty happy with my form now, but I'm going to take it one tournament at a time and not look too far ahead," said Capriati.Hingis said the defeat was a good wake-up call."It is better to lose here than in Australia," said Hingis.Both players left late Saturday for Sydney, Australia, where they will play in a curtain-raiser tournament to the Australian Open next week..
A resurgent Jennifer Capriati of the United States upset World No 1 Martina Hingis 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 today to win the Watson's Water Millennium Cup tennis tournament in Hong Kong. A resurgent Jennifer Capriati of the United States upset World No 1 Martina Hingis 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 today to win the Watson's Water Millennium Cup tennis tournament in Hong Kong. The 23rd-ranked Capriati, who is on a comeback trail after tumbling out of the top 100 in 1998, had advanced to the final by beating World No 5 Mary Pierce of France in the semi-finals in the exhibition tournament."I couldn't feel much better It is great. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball well enough to be able to push him out there but he's No 4 in the world so you'd say the odds were in his favour."Hewitt showed his trademark spirit to recover from the first-set loss, stifling Escude's aggressive style and forcing the eighth-seeded Frenchman into errors.His first break came in the fourth game of the second set, Escude double faulting at 0-15 then hitting long twice to give Hewitt all the points and a 3-1 lead.The second break followed at Escude's next serve, the game going to Hewitt when the Frenchman's lob was smashed into the corner of the court at 30-40."I was struggling in the second set, he could have got a break up on me in the first couple of games there but once I got that break his game started to fall apart and he gave me a lot of cheap points," Hewitt said.AAPT Championships resultsSemifinalsThomas Enqvist (1), Sweden, beat Magnus Norman (3), Sweden, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.Lleyton Hewitt (6), Australia, beat Nicolas Escude (8) France, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.. Hometown boy and former champion Lleyton Hewitt will face 1999 winner Thomas Enqvist of Sweden in the final on Sunday of the AAPT tennis championships in Adelaide after semi-final wins Saturday. Hometown boy and former champion Lleyton Hewitt will face 1999 winner Thomas Enqvist of Sweden in the final on Sunday of the AAPT tennis championships in Adelaide after semi-final wins Saturday. The Adelaide 18-year-old forced his way into the final - for a record third time in a row - with a dogged come-from-behind victory over Frenchman Nicolas Escude.Defending champion Enqvist earned his chance at back-to-back titles by overcoming fellow Swede and good friend Magnus Norman in a three-set battle.Sixth-seeded Hewitt's 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Escude was his 13th victory in 14 matches at the men's hardcourt event since his 1998 debut when he became the lowest-ranked player to win a tour title."I think if I play my best tennis I'm in there with a chance," Hewitt said of Sunday's final.
