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Finally, the seeds are planted
Posted: Monday June 18, 2001 6:47 PM
Updated: Tuesday June 19, 2001 10:29 AM
By Marc Lancaster, CNNSI.com
OK, can we just play tennis now? The seeds have finally been doled out at Wimbledon, and while that may not end months of controversy over the process, at least we have something to look at on paper.
The winner in the great grass-court jump of 2001, by the way, was Vladimir Voltchkov, who soared from 30th in this week's entry system to the No. 16 seed. The Vladiator reached the semifinals at the All England Club last year, but has never won a single match at any other Grand Slam tournament.
Patrick Rafter's luck was even better, in terms of having a real effect on the draw. The popular Aussie, in what will likely be his final Wimbledon, was bumped up from 10th to the No. 3 seed. That seeding, a reward for his runner-up finish last year and advancing to at least the fourth round in each of the last five Wimbledons, will keep him away from big guns Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Marat Safin until the semifinals.
In the end, the seedings seem to be fairly logical. The only serious gripe may come from Juan Carlos Ferrero, who at No. 8 is seeded four slots below his ranking. Then again, he hasn't played a match on grass the past two years, so it's difficult to argue with a relatively minor drop.
It would have been interesting to see where Gustavo Kuerten and Alex Corretja fell among the seeds, but neither is playing, so we were spared the drama.
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King Lleyton |
Love him or hate him, you have to admire what Lleyton Hewitt has been able to do at Queen's Club the past two years. The 20-year-old Australian topped his achievement of last year, when he whipped Sampras in the final, with a spectacular doubleheader performance on this year's final day. With rain forcing the semifinals and final to be played Sunday, Hewitt merely rallied to beat Sampras in three sets, then handily took out heavy crowd favorite Tim Henman for the championship. Now all he has to do is avoid a repeat of last year's misstep at Wimbledon, where he fell in the first round.
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For old time's sake |
She tends to stay below the radar screen on the WTA Tour, but Nathalie Tauziat claimed a little bit of the spotlight back last week as she cruised to the title in Birmingham. Tauziat won two matches Sunday, then took down Miriam Oremans in Monday's rain-delayed final for her eighth career championship on tour. The 33-year-old Frenchwoman says this will be her final season, and the DFS Classic win has her in good shape entering Wimbledon, where she first played in 1984 and made the final in 1998.
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Dollars -- in millions -- that Martina Hingis is seeking in a lawsuit against Sergio Tacchini, which used to supply her shoes and clothes. Hingis says the shoes were "defective." |
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ACE
Thomas Johansson The Swede is up to No. 16 in the rankings after his run to the title at the Gerry Weber Open last week. He could be a dark horse at Wimbledon, with the No. 11 seed.
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DOUBLE FAULT
Samantha Stevenson Alexandra's mom tore down newspaper clippings at the DFS Classic because they focused on her daughter's loss to Tauziat the day before. How 'bout we lock Mom in a room with a mongoose and Marcelo Rios and see what happens? |
ACE
Seda Noorlander At age 27, she finally made it to her first career WTA final, losing to Bianka Lamade in Tashkent. |
DOUBLE FAULT
The Flat Four ATP standouts Arnaud Clement, Sebastien Grosjean, Nicolas Kiefer and Nicolas Lapentti got on stage with German girl group No Angels last week, singing a couple of songs with the ladies. Fellas -- stick to the courts! |
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Short honeymoon for French Open darling Michael Russell. The obscure American, who had Kuerten dead to rights in Paris before crumbling, lost in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying Monday. He was the top seed in the 128-player qualies, but lost in three sets to Italy's Cristiano Caratti.
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Amid a flood of withdrawals from Wimbledon, perhaps the most disappointing was German giant Alexander Popp bailing out with a virus. Grass is about the only surface the 6-foot-7 bomber can dominate on. Oh well -- we'll wait 'til next year.
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Ah, it's nice to have tennis back in England... A full day of play at the DFS Classic and Stella Artois Championships was put on hold because of rain Saturday on the big island. |
Speaking of the aforementioned Rios, he'll be on the shelf for at least two months after he slipped while lifting weights over the weekend and tore a ligament in his ankle. He was scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Santiago.
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Bjorn Borg, winner of 11 Grand Slams, now has a street named after him in Sodertalje, Sweden. |
The Hewitt-Henman final brought some celebs out to Queen's Club, including Oscar winner Ralph Fiennes and another star of the big screen -- Emma Bunton (that's "Baby Spice" to most of you).
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"She's a fabulous lady. I'm happier than I've ever been." |
Chris Calkins on his new relationship with Hingis. Calkins was the lead attorney prosecuting Dubravko Rajcevic, who was convicted of stalking the player earlier this year.
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"I'm beyond floored, I'm flabbergasted. I just want Tom Hanks to play me in the movie."
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Rajcevic's attorney, Frank Abrams, on the new romance. |
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This week - ATP Tour |
Wimbledon preparation winds down with a pair of tournaments. Jan-Michael Gambill is the top seed at Nottingham, while Hewitt and Rafter lead a stronger field at Den Bosch for the Heineken Trophy. |
This week - WTA Tour |
Lindsay Davenport is finally back in action after a long layoff, serving as the top seed in Eastbourne. Jennifer Capriati pulled out of the women's Heineken Trophy, leaving Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin as the favorites. |
Next week - ATP Tour |
The Championships get under way at the All England Club. |
| Next week - WTA Tour |
An injury-depleted Wimbledon begins in London.
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Come back every Monday for a new Tennis Week at a Glance.
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