Agassi, Graf get boost in Wimbledon seeds
Top spots awarded to Sampras, Hingis; Chang snubbed
Posted: Monday June 15, 1998 06:36 PM
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Despite only playing two tournaments in the past year, Graf received the fourth seed (AP) |
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Steffi Graf, a seven-time Wimbledon champion now ranked 91st in the world, received a generous No. 4 seeding Monday for the Grand Slam tournament.
Andre Agassi, the 1992 champion, also was given a boost from the All England Club. He was seeded No. 13, six spots higher than his No. 19 ranking.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament that reserves the right to deviate from the rankings in its seedings. Organizers take into account a player's grass-court expertise and Wimbledon record in determining the 16 men's and women's seeds.
The draw is set for Tuesday, with the tournament starting June 22.
As expected, Pete Sampras, a four-time champion and last year's winner, was seeded No. 1 among the men. Defending champ Martina Hingis was the No. 1 woman.
The biggest casualty was Michael Chang, who was unseeded despite his No. 14 ranking. Chang lost in the first round at Wimbledon the past two years and has never advanced past the fourth round.
The seeding committee stayed with the men's rankings for the first seven players, with Sampras followed by Marcelo Rios, Petr Korda, Greg Rusedski, Carlos Moya, Patrick Rafter and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
On the women's side, Graf is seeded behind Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotna. After Graf comes Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Monica Seles and Venus Williams. Anna Kournikova is seeded No. 12.
Rusedski, who sprained ankle ligaments last week at the Queen's Club tournament, is questionable for Wimbledon.
Cedric Pioline, last year's losing finalist, was bumped up two places to a No. 8 seed, while 1996 champion Richard Krajicek moved up three places to No. 9.
Alex Corretja, a Spanish clay-court expert who lost to Moya in last month's French Open final, was seeded No. 10, two places below his world ranking.
Agassi, who tumbled out of the top 100 earlier this year, has surged in the rankings in recent months. However, he was ousted in the first round of the French Open.
The Wimbledon committee also did a big favor for Goran Ivanisevic. A two-time finalist who has dropped to a No. 24 ranking, he was seeded at No. 14.
Britain's Tim Henman, ranked No. 17, was seeded No. 12. Albert Costa, ranked No. 15, was unseeded. Spain's Alberto Berasategui, a clay-court specialist ranked No. 16, did not enter.
On the women's side, Wimbledon stayed with the rankings, except in the case of Graf.
The German, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery a year ago and missed Wimbledon, dropped out of the WTA Tour rankings on June 1 after playing only two tournaments in a year.
However, she re-entered the rankings this week after reaching the semifinals of the DFS Classic in Birmingham. The tournament was abandoned Monday because of rain.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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