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Jacket racket Fan tries to get Kournikova souvenir
Posted: Tuesday January 04, 2000 11:32 AM
GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) -- Russian draw and second seed Anna Kournikova won her second-round match Tuesday but nearly lost her jacket at the Australian women's hardcourt tennis championships. Tournament organizers played down security fears for the 18-year-old who was signing autographs after a walkover in her first match at Royal Pines Resort when a female fan stole the white and purple zip-front jacket from her bag at courtside. "It's no big deal, I got it back," Kournikova said, playing down the incident, caught by a television camera. Tournament director Liz Smylie said the fan would not be prosecuted. "Anna is happy, everybody is happy, the jacket is back," she said. "I think since the incident with Monica Seles, people are very aware because before that you would've thought players were safe." Seles needed a two-year break at the peak of her career after being stabbed in the back by a spectator at a tournament in Germany in 1994. Kournikova, ranked 12th in the world, had an easy time Tuesday when her opponent, German qualifier Jana Kandarr, pulled out with a thigh strain after losing the first set 6-1, 30 minutes into their second-round match. Third seed Conchita Martinez also advanced to the third round through injury. German opponent Barbara Rittner pulled out with a strain in her left Achilles tendon after losing the first game of the second set. She lost the opening set 6-1. Earlier, Croatia's No. 1 player, Silvija Talaja, downed Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 to advance to a third-round match against Kournikova. In another match, Russian Tatiana Panova beat Australian Rachel McQuillan 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.
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