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Notebook Henman could be fined for outburstPosted: Thursday July 03, 2003 10:15 AMWIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Greg Rusedski was fined US$2,500 last week for swearing at the chair umpire. Fellow Briton Tim Henman may also get a slap on the wrist for using profanity with chair umpire Carlos Ramos in Wednesday's rain-stopped quarterfinal against Sebastien Grosjean. The British tabloids were filled with accounts of the incident. "Mr. Clean's four-letter outburst," said a Daily Mail headline. "Timmy's tantrum, said the Express. The Oxford-born Henman has a squeaky clean image and a boyish face in England. A soap powder manufacturer is running a series of ads during Wimbledon, playing off his wholesome reputation. The future Martina Navratilova has put the pressure on James Blake and Andy Roddick and the rest of the young group of American men. "We need new blood," said the 46-year-old, nine-time Wimbledon singles champion. "It's possible with Andy and James. They've got the looks and they've got the goods. If they start winning, tennis is going to be more popular again in the U.S. The game there waxes and wanes with how the Americans are doing. "The rest of the world isn't as affected by the nationality of top players as America." Russian business Former No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov is involved in a sporting business deal with Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who bought the London-based Chelsea soccer team this week. Chelsea is 80 million pounds (US$134.4 million) in debt and one of England's most storied teams. Abramovich also owns the Russian ice hockey team Avangard in the Siberian city of Omsk. Abramovich and Kafelnikov are reported to be developing sports opportunities in Russia and are also looking at building golf courses in the Moscow area. Looking ahead Looking ahead to the possible women's finals, the Williams' sisters have the edge no matter which way you look. And Serena Williams has a 6-5 edge in matches played against her sister. Serena has won five straight matches against Venus. Venus' last victory was in the U.S. Open final almost two years ago. In possible match-ups in the final: Serena Williams is 7-1 against Kim Clijsters; Clijsters is 8-6 over Justine Henin-Hardenne; Venus is 7-1 over Henin-Hardenne; Serena is 4-3 against Henin-Hardenne; Venus is 4-2 vs. Clijsters. 52,000 That's how many tennis balls will be used during the Wimbledon fortnight. Wimbledon's official ball maker Slazenger insists the balls are identical, although players always select carefully among three or four before they serve. "There is no difference between one ball and another. It is simply an affectation by the players," Slazenger spokesman Graeme Derby said. The voice On rainy days at Wimbledon, the most listened-to voice is that of All England Club chief executive Chris Gorringe. His upper-crust British accent adds calm to the most stormy Wimbledon weather conditions. Thursday, for instance, as 30,000 milled around undercover waiting for a 2 1/2-hour rain delay to end, Gorringe's comforting voice came over the public address system. "The good news is, we hope to resume play on Centre and No. 1 Court in 15 minutes time," he said, polite applause sounding across the grounds. "As far as the outside courts are concerned, they have been uncovered and are currently being inspected and I'll let you know when play can start on the outside courts. "Again, thank you for your patience."
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