Notebook

Williams sisters won't play much longer

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Richard Williams figures his two famous daughters will be out of tennis in a few years.

"If I had the chance to, I would get them out of tennis right away," he said Wednesday at Wimbledon. "I tried to get Venus to stop playing tennis when she was 9 years old."

Serena, 21, is the defending Wimbledon champion and has won five Grand Slams.

Venus, 23, has won four Grand Slams.

Williams has always bragged he has raised well-bred, well-balanced children -- not just great tennis players.

"The children in my house must understand finance and investment, and they had to learn there's a life beyond the baseline," he said. "The kids who only do tennis and don't know that, I think it's very sad.

"It's time for someone else to come along and carry the torch, and it's time for them to move on and set more goals in business. I would think that at 25 or 26, no later than 27, it'll be time for them to move on."

Edge of tears

The question brought her to the edge of tears.

Was Wednesday's loss at Wimbledon the biggest disappointment of Daniela Hantuchova's tennis career?

It must have been.

The ninth-seeded Slovakian squandered a fast start, blew a 5-2 lead in the final set, failed to convert three match points and lost to Japanese Shinobu Asagoe, 0-6, 6-4, 12-10.

"This tournament means a lot to me, and I really wanted to do well," said Hantuchova, who was also near tears as the final set was slipping away.

"I just didn't take my chances," she said.

Hantuchova was touted as a rising star while reaching the quarterfinals of three consecutive Grand Slam events, including Wimbledon last year. But her past two major tournaments have ended with marathon second-round defeats.

"It's very disappointing to have two in a row like this," she said.

Hantuchova's slender physique has raised questions about her diet and fitness.

The WTA Tour media guide lists her at just over 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and 123 pounds (56 kilograms). She looks much thinner than in a media guide photo, but she has said repeatedly that her health is fine.

And she said stamina wasn't a factor in her latest defeat.

"Physically I felt I could have gone for another two hours," she said. "It's just the mental side I have to work hard on at the moment."

Asagoe, ranked 81st, matched her best Grand Slam showing with the victory. She has reached the third round at only one other major event -- the 2000 U.S. Open.

Martin wants Americans to get more involved

Todd Martin wants his compatriots to get interested in tennis, even when it doesn't involve Americans.

Martin pointed to abysmal TV ratings during the French Open men's final between Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain and Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands.

"It's disappointing to know that a great tournament by two players doesn't get the acclaim that it deserves," Martin said after his second-round victory Wednesday over Gustavo Kuerten.

He also said American clubs and parks needed to do more to promote the game.

"There are obviously shortcomings," he said. "There aren't enough people that are getting attached.

"I think that is part of our responsibility, and part of it is with the clubs and parks of our country to have legitimate programming to retain players who want to keep playing."

Fellow American Andy Roddick had another view after his second-round victory Wednesday over Greg Rusedski, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1), 7-5.

"I do think there has to be an American on top," Roddick said. "You have to have someone to cheer for. It's always fun when you have one of your own to cheer for."

Sex symbol

A female reporter in the back of the press room surprised Andy Roddick with a question on Wednesday.

"You are seen as the new sex symbol of the tennis circuit," she said. "Do you enjoy this status?"

Roddick stayed silent for several seconds, then offered a slow reply: "Do you want to go to dinner later?"

The woman seemed to want a more concrete answer.

"Sorry," said Roddick, "I didn't hear the question. I was just looking at you."

She repeated the question. "You're being seen as a sex symbol."

"To be honest, it's humorous to me," he replied. "I don't see myself as that. I don't try to do it. You know, maybe some people go for it a little bit. It's not really my thing. I don't really care. I'd rather win tennis matches."

Unspanish

Better check Rafael Nadal's passport.

The 17-year-old claims to be Spanish, but he seems to enjoy playing on grass.

"I like the grass a lot," said Nadal, who defeated Briton Lee Childs 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a third-round match with Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan.

"It's different and the fact we only play on it four weeks a year makes it better. I like all the surfaces, I'm just better on clay."

Nadal is the youngest man playing at Wimbledon this season. Widely regarded as a future Grand Slam champion, he missed the French Open with an elbow injury.

This is not just any Spanish clay-court player. Although top Spanish players Alex Corretja, Albert Costa and Carlos Moya withdrew from Wimbledon because they dislike the slippery surface, Nadal relishes the challenge.

"I think the attitude about playing on clay is changing among younger Spanish players. Younger players have started to play on grass and want to play on grass. It helps their overall game."

About the only thing at Wimbledon he hasn't mastered is English, doing all his interviews in Spanish. He has athletic genes, a difficult-to-handle left-handed game and a famous uncle.

Miguel Angel Nadal, a defender known as the "Beast of Barcelona," was the heart of the Barcelona team of the early 1990s that won the European Champions Cup.

Interestingly, he's a fan of Barca's archrival Real Madrid.

Fishing

American Mardy Fish reached the third round for the first time by beating compatriot Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.

Next he faces No. 4 seed Roger Federer of Switzerland.

Fish hit 16 aces and 21 winners and faced only one break point. The 21-year-old Minnesota native had lost his three previous meetings against Gambill, including the final at Delray Beach, Fla. in March.

The unseeded Fish, ranked a career-best 45th, earned his first victory at Wimbledon by beating No. 29-seeded Gaston Gaudio in the opening round. Fish also reached the grass-court final at Nottingham last week, where he lost to Greg Rusedski.

British bookies have installed Federer as the No. 3 favorite behind Americans Roddick and Andre Agassi.

Federer is trying to stay relaxed after having reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon two years ago.

"I know he [Fish] is dangerous," Federer said. "We're the same age [they are both 21], he's got a good hard-court game -- fast surface game.

"I've got to watch out and prepare."

Odds on A-Rod

After his straight-sets victory over Briton Greg Rusedski, the odds on Roddick winning his first Grand Slam were cut from 11-4 to 5-2.

British bookmakers William Hill have 1992 champion Andre Agassi at 3-1, Federer at 5-1, Tim Henman at 8-1 and Mark Philippoussis at 16-1.

Too tall

Don't tell Ivo Karlovic and Max Mirnyi they are too tall for tennis.

The two are into the third round at Wimbledon -- Karlovic at 6-foot-10 (2.08 meters) and Mirnyi a mere 6-5 (1.96 meters).

Karlovic, who ousted defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round, fired 29 aces on Wednesday to reach the third round with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2 win over Australian Paul Baccanello.

Bon Apetit

Here's a guess from officials about what will be consumed during the fortnight:

-- 30,000 portions of fish and chips
-- 22,000 slices of pizza
-- 27,000 kilos (60,000 pounds) of strawberries
-- 7,000 liters (30,000 gallons) of cream
-- 12,000 kilos (26,000 pounds) of salmon
-- 12,500 bottles of champagne
-- 90,000 pints of beer

Burp.

Worst champion

Ted Schroeder, the 1949 Wimbledon champion, has been critical of Lleyton Hewitt's tennis game.

"Hewitt many not be the worst-ever Wimbledon champion but he is certainly the dumbest," said Schroeder, 82. "He has no idea how to get out of a scrape or change his tactics to suit the conditions.

"He just continues to hit the ball as hard as he can. And what can be more dumb than that?"

Hewitt was ousted from the first round of the tournament by unseeded 6-10 (2.08 meters) Ivo Karlovic. The Aussie is only the second defending men's champion to lose in the first round.

Bound for Africa

Serena and Venus Williams are heading to Africa.

Serena says plans call for a trip in the next year or so to South Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

"I hear people of my race say that going there is an awakening experience," Serena said. "They just felt at home and in a connection. I have been desperate to go there and I have an opportunity to feel and see my history. You don't know yourself until you know your history."

Asked by an African reporter at Wimbledon if she knew her roots, Serena replied: "Unfortunately, we don't. It's pretty sad."

0-for-5

Britain had five women playing in the first round -- and all five lost.

The men were slightly better -- three of 10 survived.

"We're not good enough," said David Felgate, the former coach of Tim Henman who now is the tennis directory for the Lawn Tennis Association.

"We're not where we'd like to be. There are no excuses. Those are the facts."

Wimbledon has not had a British women's champion since 1977 -- and the last man to win was Fred Perry in 1936.

British bookmakers William Hill says it's a 50-1 shot that any British woman will win Wimbledon before 2010. That shortest odds are 5-2 that it will happen once before 2061.

 

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