Venus, Kuerten advance at French
PARIS, May 27 (UPI) -- Venus Williams, the women's second seed, showed some of the effects of her recent wrist ailment in a 65-minute, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Germany's Bianka Lamade.
"I think as long as I keep my practice down and don't push myself and hopefully keep the number of sets down, I should be able to last," Williams said. "That's not a guarantee. I think once I get an opportunity just to rest it and really not have to go hard on it, it will heal completely."
Williams tried to pick up one too many bags before her second-round match at the Italian Open two weeks ago and was not able to train fully for the year's second Grand Slam, which
began Monday at Roland Garros in Paris.
Playing the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier, Williams hit 13 winners and five aces, but committed 41 unforced errors and six double faults against a 19-year-old German playing only her third match of the season.
The two-time defending champion at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open leads the WTA Tour with four singles titles. In February, she rose to the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the first time in her career. The 21-year-old American attributes her success this year to a low course load last fall at the fashion school she attends in Florida.
"I didn't have as many classes in the fall, normally I had six classes. This time I only had two and that helped a lot. I had time to practice. That has helped a lot going into this year," said Williams, whose best results at the French Open are a pair of quarterfinal efforts. "It's been a pretty good start. It might have been my best start ever and I'd like to keep it rolling until the end of this tournament."
On the men's side, the No. 1 seed, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, got past Andre Sa of Brazil, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5, and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, who has been slowed by hip surgery in February, rolled to a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland.
Playing on his least favorite surface, Hewitt was happy to emerge from the two-hour, 40-minute match victorious after falling in the opening round at the Australian Open, where he
was still recovering from a bout of chicken pox.
The 21-year-old U.S. Open champion had a solid European claycourt season, reaching the semifinals at Barcelona and the quarterfinals at the Tennis Masters Series event in Hamburg. He was a quarterfinalist at the French last year.
"It's tough when you don't put your claycourt shoes on for 10 months of the year and then wack them on," said Hewitt, whose game was honed on the hardcourts of Adelaide. "I feel like it takes me more time to get used to the claycourt surface and get better on it. It's tough when most of these other guys grow up on the surface. They're used to sliding and the tactics and strategy of playing on clay, whereas I have to change it a little bit. It takes me a little bit more time. The more matches I get under the belt, the better off and more comfortable I'll feel."
Kuerten, the seeded seventh, is trying to become only the fifth man, and the second in the Open Era after Bjorn Borg, to win the French Open three straight years. He has claimed the crown at Roland Garros three of the last five years.
"Every time I play on central court it is something that is much more special than any other place," Kuerten said. "I was a little bit nervous at the beginning. I think it's normal when you play a first round. After the first set, I could enjoy it a bit more and at the end I felt a good vibration. Probably I'll play better next match. Every match you win, you start to play a little bit better and put yourself into the tournament."
Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, the ninth seed, topped Argentina's Franco Squillari, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Other winners included two-time finalist Alex Corretja of Spain and No. 16 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco.
Also on the women's side, 10th-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France beat countrywoman Camille Pin, 6-4, 6-1; No. 11 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia dispatched Cara Black of Zimbabwe, 6-2, 6-3; and 1997 winner Iva Majoli, the 29th seed from Croatia, defeated Kristina Brandi of the United States, 6-4, 6-3.
Nets try to recover at Boston
BOSTON, May 27 (UPI) -- The New Jersey Nets return to the FleetCenter in Boston on Monday afternoon to play the Celtics in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference finals, two days after one of the most monumental collapses in NBA history.
The Celtics' unlikely comeback Saturday was stunning. They recovered from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off the Nets, 94-90.
In grabbing a 2-1 series lead, Boston set an NBA playoff record for biggest deficit overcome after three quarters. New Jersey's collapse marked the first time in 172 postseason games that a team holding a lead of more than 18 points entering the final period did not win.
Instead of practicing at the FleetCenter on Sunday, the Nets stayed in their hotel to hold meetings and watch tape.
"We don't need practice," said Nets Coach Byron Scott. "What am I going to accomplish by running them up and down the court and beating them up a little bit? That's not going to achieve anything."
Meanwhile, a three-pointer by Robert Horry at the buzzer on Sunday capped a huge comeback from a 24-point deficit, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a season-saving 100-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings that evened the Western Conference finals at two games each.
Game Five is Tuesday night in Sacramento.
Wings, Avs resume latest grudge match
DETROIT, May 27 (UPI) -- Detroit and Colorado, the top two seeds in the NHL Western Conference finals, have split the first four games of their best-of-seven series, and Game Five will be played Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.
Neither team has been able to establish consistent momentum.
"Momentum has switched so many times, it's unbelievable," said Colorado Coach Bob Hartley. "I really think both teams will be looking for a good start (Monday). They'll try to get some energy in this building. We'll try to get a good start, hopefully get the first goal to develop solid momentum on our side."
The defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche have scored first in all four games, but they've also squandered seven one-goal leads.
On Saturday, Colorado let another early advantage slip away before Joe Sakic and Chris Drury scored in the third period to give the Avs a 3-2 victory.
"The most important thing and the only thing that really matters in the playoffs is the score at the final buzzer," Hartley said. "Sometimes it's not pretty, but you have to learn to survive. Talking about survival, we should maybe write a book. We find some ways, and that's a sign of good people."
The Red Wings have outshot the Avalanche in all four games and by a 138-95 margin in the series, but goalie Patrick Roy stopped 71 of 75 shots in the two games in Denver.
While Sergei Fedorov ended a nine-game scoring drought on Saturday, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan have failed to find the net in this series after combining for nine goals in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
"We have some people that have stepped up and we got others that are probably being checked a little more," Bowman said. "That happens."
Zindane to miss part of World Cup
SEOUL, South Korea, May 27 (UPI) -- The president of the French Soccer Federation said Monday superstar Zinedine Zidane would be unable to play in his country's first two games of the World Cup, but Zidane said he would miss only one.
The status of Zidane became the World Cup's biggest story as the start of the sport's month-long spectacle drew near.
Zidane led France to the World Cup title four years ago, scoring two goals in the championship match against Brazil. He is the chief reason the French have been installed as the favorites in the tournament which will be co-hosted by South Korea and Japan beginning Friday night.
But he left in the first half of a tune-up match against South Korea Sunday with what was called a thigh strain.
"I have very worrying news," French federation chief Claude Simonet said Monday. "The medical staff has given me the results of the x-ray tests and Zinedine Zidane will be out for the first two games.
"But when we want to be champions, we have to prepare to play without one of our stars."
As defending champions, France will play the first match of the tournament Friday night in Seoul against Senegal. The French will then play Uruguay on June 6 and Denmark on June 11. They are expected to emerge from Group A with or without Zidane.
The top two teams in each of the eight groups advance to the round of 16, which begins June 15.
Zidane admitted he would likely miss the game against Senegal, but insisted there was no danger of him being out for the entire competition.
"All I know is that there is something there," he said. "But it's only a very minor thing. The x-rays showed a small lesion. I will be out for at least one match. I hope to play the second match. I must rest for three or four days. I need to let nature do its work."
Injuries are always a major story in advance of the World Cup and first-time participant Slovenia survived a scare when leading scorer Zlatko Zahovic went to a hospital in Japan complaining of back pains.
Slovenia's first game will be against Spain on June 2.
Syracuse wins lacrosse title
PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 27 (UPI) -- Syracuse overcame an early deficit and held off Princeton to become the first school to win eight NCAA lacrosse championships.
Michael Powell had four goals and three assists and Brian Solliday scored three goals to lead Syracuse to a 13-12 victory for its second title in three years.
Second-seeded Syracuse (15-2) beat Princeton (10-5) for the second time this year and avenged a loss in last year's title game.
The Orangemen trailed throughout most of the most quarter, but scored the first three goals in the second to take the lead for good.
Sean Hartolfilis scored three goals for the Tigers, who knocked off top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the semifinals on Saturday.
Princeton fell to 4-5 all time in the NCAA playoffs against Syracuse. The Tigers, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped, own a 20-0 record against all other schools in the playoffs.
FSU named top seed in NCAA baseball tournament
INDIANAPOLIS, May 27 (UPI) -- The field of 64 teams competing for the 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, as well as the 16 regional sites, was announced Monday by the NCAA.
The top eight seeds are Florida State University (56-12); Clemson (47-14); Alabama (48-13); Rice (47-11); Texas (48-14); South Carolina (48-14); Wake Forest (44-11-1) and Stanford (40-16).
All 16 regional sites will be on the campus of the host team except the Arizona State and Wake Forest regionals. The Sun Devils home field is undergoing renovations, so the regional will be played at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. The Wake Forest regional will be conducted at Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem, N.C.
In addition to Arizona State, the other 15 host schools are: Florida State, Notre Dame, Southern California, Stanford, Texas, LSU, Rice, Clemson, Wichita State, Nebraska, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia Tech and Alabama.
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences in the number of teams in the championship field with seven, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Conference USA with five each.
Forty of the 64 teams also were part of the 2001 field, and five teams made the baseball championship for the first time in school history: Central Connecticut State University, Elon, Louisville, New Mexico State, and University of San Diego. The other 59 teams all have been in the field at least once since 1992.
The University of Miami (Fla.) is in the field for the 30th consecutive year, extending its own record. Florida State is making its 25th straight appearance, second all-time.
Each of the 16 regionals feature four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from May 31-June 2. Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be determined and announced on Monday, June 3, at 2 p.m.
The best two-of-three super regionals will be played June 7-9, and the 56th College World Series begins play Friday, June 14, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Ne.
