Clijsters, Seles advance, play suspended
PARIS, May 28 (UPI) -- Battling the rainy conditions as much as their foes, last year's runner-up Kim Clijsters and three-time champion Monica Seles advanced Tuesday to the second round of the French Open.
But last year's semifinalist, fifth seeded Justin Henin of Belgium, fell to Hungarian qualifier Aniko Kapros, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, under drizzly skies.
Rain and finally darkness left several first-round matches unfinished on Tuesday.
Clijsters, the fourth seed, made her first appearance here since she lost to Jennifer Capriati, 1-6, 6-4, 12-10, with the longest third set ever at a French Open women's final. On Tuesday, the Belgian overcame Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, in just under two hours. The match was one of several that was scheduled for Monday, but postponed due to rain and darkness. It was stopped for over an hour with Clijsters leading, 2-1, in the third set.
Seles rallied past Angeles Montolio of Spain, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0, after dropping the first five games of the match. The 26-year-old American did not drop a game after the rain delay at 3-3 in the second set.
After taking a sizable lead to start the match, Henin had a hard time closing out the first set and suffered a complete collapse to the 179th-ranked player in the world in the next two sets. She was wearing a brace on her left thigh and was visited by the trainer while trailing, 4-1, in the second set. Henin was considered a favorite to reach the final weekend at this event after winning the German Open and appearing in the finals in Rome before arriving in Paris.
In a men's match postponed from Monday, fifth seed and 1996 champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov snapped a six-match losing streak with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 victory over German qualifier Tomas Behrend. The 28-year-old Russian notched only his second win in his last 11 matches.
Capriati began defense of her French Open crown against American Marissa Irwin on Tuesday, but the match was suspended with Capriati leading in the opening set, 4-2. The 26-year-old American displayed the same fighting spirit that brought her a title here this season at the Australian Open when she completed a record comeback for a women's Grand Slam tournament by saving four match points in her championship victory over Martina Hingis. It was her third career Grand Slam crown.
Third-seeded Serena Williams of the United States hopes to continue her hot streak against Martina Sucha of Slovakia. But their first-round encounter never got underway before the suspension of play.
Also, seventh seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia has yet to play. Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi and No. 9 Silvia Farina Elia, who beat Dokic in the final Sunday at Strasbourg, France, must wait to face 19-year-old Russian Elena Bovina.
On the men's side, No. 8 Roger Federer of Switzerland was upset by Morocco's Hicham Arazi, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, while No. 11 Juan Carlos Ferrero, a two-time semifinalist from Spain, defeated French wild-card Jean-Rene Lisnard, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
Second seed Marat Safin of Russia, who is battling a back ailment, was scheduled to play Michael Llodra of France in the first round before play was suspended.
Billy Tubbs AD at Lamar
BEAUMONT, Texas, May 28 (UPI) -- Bily Tubbs, who ended his coaching career this past season, returned to his alma mater on Tuesday to become director of athletics at Lamar University.
Easily the most publicized graduate of the university, Tubbs coached Lamar for four of his 28 seasons, going 75-46 from 1976-80. In his final season, Tubbs led the small Southland Conference school to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Sparked by his success at Lamar, Tubbs moved on to coach at Oklahoma for 14 seasons, where he helped the school reach the NCAA title game in 1988.
Tubbs spent the past eight seasons, rebuilding the basketball program at Texas Christian. He resigned after this past season when the Horned Frogs went 18-11. In 28 seasons overall on the bench, Tubbs posted a 597-293 coaching record.
Bonds leads NL All-Star voting
NEW YORK, May 28 (UPI) -- Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants is the leading vote-getter in early balloting for the 73rd All-Star Game to be played July 9 at Milwaukee, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday.
The reigning National League Most Valuable Player, Bonds has 231,890 votes and is vying for his ninth election as a starting outfielder.
After setting a single-season record with 74 home runs in 2001, Bonds is tied for the major league lead with 18 this season and has 585 in his career, one behind Frank Robinson for fourth place on the all-time list. Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs also has 18 home runs and is second among outfielders with 201,353 votes.
Two members of the New York Mets--catcher Mike Piazza (219,072) and second baseman Roberto Alomar (171,155) -- and two members of the Philadelphia Phillies--third baseman Scott Rolen (90,778) and shortstop Jimmy Rollins (74,874) -- lead at their respective positions.
The other leaders are outfielder Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos (138,772) and first baseman Jeff Bagwell (113,890) of the Houston Astros.
First returns in American All-Star balloting will be announced Wednesday.
Pivotal Game Five for Kings, Lakers
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 28 (UPI) -- The Sacramento Kings try to brush off the disappointment of a tough loss Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night in Game Five of the NBA Western Conference finals.
Sacramento was on the verge of grabbing a 3-1 lead series, but blew a 24-point lead in a 100-99 loss in Game Four that evened the series at two games apiece. The Lakers never led until a three-pointer by Robert Horry at the buzzer.
The Kings built a 40-20 lead after one quarter on Sunday but were stifled in the final three quarters by tremendous defense by Los Angeles. Vlade Divac scored 23 points and Bibby added 21, but Bibby managed just two points in the fourth quarter as he was defended by Kobe Bryant.
Shaquille O'Neal collected 27 points and 18 rebounds and Bryant added 25 points on 12-of-26 shooting as the Lakers' dynamic duo kept the team close in the second half. Horry added 18 points and 14 rebounds as Los Angeles ended Sacramento's five-game road playoff winning streak.
The Lakers also avoided a three-game losing streak, which would have been the first in the playoffs by a team coached by Phil Jackson.
Sacramento will again be without All-Star forward Peja Stojakovic, who has yet to make an appearance in the series. He has been nursing a severely-sprained right ankle. The team has indicated that he might be ready for Game Six on Friday, which will be played in Los Angeles.
Seles moves on at Roland Garros
PARIS, May 28 (UPI) -- Battling the rainy conditions as much as their foes, last year's runnerup, Kim Clijsters, and three-time champion Monica Seles advanced Tuesday to the second round at Roland Garros.
But one of last year's semifinalist, fifth-seeded Justin Henin of Belgium, fell to Hungarian qualifier Aniko Kapros, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, under drizzly skies.
After taking a sizable lead to start the match, Henin had a hard time closing out the first set and suffered a complete collapse to the 179th-ranked player in the world in the next two sets. She was wearing a brace on her left thigh and was visited by the trainer while trailing, 4-1, in the second set. Henin was considered a favorite to reach the final weekend at this event after winning the German Open and appearing in the finals in Rome before arriving in Paris.
Clijsters, the fourth seed, made her first appearance here since she lost to Jennifer Capriati, 1-6, 6-4, 12-10, in the longest third set ever at a French Open women's final. The native of Belgium overcame Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, in just under two hours.
The match was one of several that was scheduled for Monday, but postponed due to rain and darkness. It was stopped for over an hour with Clijsters leading, 2-1, in the third set.
Seles rallied past Angeles Montolio of Spain, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0, after dropping the first five games of the match. The 26-year-old Seles did not drop a game after the rain delay at 3-3 in the second set.
Capriati begins defense of her French Open crown against American Marissa Irwin On clay this season, Capriati has reached the semifinals at Charleston and at the German and Italian Opens.
On the men's side, in a match postponed from Monday, No. 5 seed and 1996 champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov snapped a six-match losing streak with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 victory over German qualifier Tomas Behrend. Also, sixth-seeded Tim Henman of Britain beat Spain's Galo Blanco, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).
Carolina tries to close out Toronto
TORONTO, May 28 (UPI) -- Toronto Coach Pat Quinn said he is fit to fly to North Carolina for Game Seven of the NHL Eastern Conference finals. But first, there's the small matter of winning Game Six Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs will have their coach back behind the bench Tuesday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in another must-win game.
With Quinn back in Toronto recovering from an irregular heartbeat, the Leafs held on for a 1-0 in Game Five, improving to 4-0 in elimination games this year. The Maple Leafs survived a third period that was dominated by the Hurricanes.
Curtis Joseph made 15 of his 27 saves over the final 20 minutes and tied Clint Benedict for second place on the all-time list with his 15th career playoff shutout. Joseph has had to be on his game because Toronto has scored just five goals in the first five games of the series.
While the Hurricanes failed to close out the series at home, history is on their side. Carolina wrapped up each of the first two rounds on the road in Game Six, eliminating New Jersey and Montreal.
Blue Jackets re-sign Vyborny
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 28 (UPI) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday re-signed right wing David Vyborny to a one-year contract.
Vyborny, who turns 27 on Sunday, finished tied for fourth on the club with 13 goals each of the last two seasons. Last season, he collected 31 points in 75 games, including six power play and two game-winning goals.
Following the season, Vyborny represented the Czech Republic for the sixth time in the last seven years at the World Hockey Championships and recorded a goal and three assists in seven games.
In the 2000-01 season, Vyborny set an NHL record by becoming the first rookie to score on multiple penalty shots with his tallies against Chicago's Rob Tallas and Nashville's Tomas Vokoun.
Wisconsin WR Evans has knee surgery
MADISON, Wis., May 28 (UPI) -- Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans has undergone successful surgery on his left knee.
Evans sustained ligament damage in his left knee while making a catch in the spring football game on April 20. He will undergo an intensive two-week rehabilitation period beginning as soon as possible.
At the time of the injury, it was felt that his playing status for this fall was in doubt. However, the doctor who did the procedure would not commit to that.
Evans set a Big Ten Conference record for receiving yards in a season in 2001 with 75 receptions for 1,545 yards. He was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver.
Since he played as a true freshman in 1999, Evans does have the option of redshirting next season and returning for his fourth year of eligibility in 2003.
England gets Beckham in fold
SAITAMA, Japan, May 28 (UPI) -- David Beckham, the England captain and 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year finalist, looks set to start for his country against Sweden on June 2 in its opening match of the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, said Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson on Tuesday.
Eriksson, a Swede, expressed confidence after consulting with England's medical staff. He seemed doubtful for the Group F clash after breaking a bone in his left foot on April 10 in Manchester United's quarterfinal second-leg match against Deportivo Coruna in the Champions League.
That began a flood of English injuries, which sidelined midfielders Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy, and defender Gary Neville for the duration of the world's biggest single-sport event. Eriksson also has been forced to contend with injuries to goalkeeper David Seaman and midfielders Nicky Butt and Kieron Dyer.
Considered by many the finest free-kick specialist in the world, Beckham propelled the 1966 World Cup winners into the 2002 competition, which begins Friday. On Oct. 6, Beckham curled home an injury-time free kick to lift England into a 2-2 home draw with Greece and into the World Cup.
