Agassi, Serena among first-day Wimbledon winners
LONDON, June 24 (UPI) -- A not-so-enthusiastic Andre Agassi was able to overcome his anger Monday to win his opening match at Wimbledon by scores of 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 over Harel Levy of Israel to begin the 2002 Championships.
Agassi was asked to provide the official opening match for The Championships because of the unavailability of the defending champion, Goran Ivanisevic, who is recovering from a shoulder operation.
In the non-competitive first set rout, Agassi pounded five aces past Levy, who had played just five matches this year because of injury.
"It was very special for me. It was a big honor today," Agassi said. "The court was playing beautifully. Hitting aces certainly made things a lot easier."
Also on day one, No. 2 Marat Safin dumped 1997 runnerup Cedric Pioline, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 6-3; and, in a battle of hard-servers, unseeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia, who is a wild-card entry this year, beat Julien Boutter of France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; and 1996 champion Richard Krajicek, playing in his second match of the year after a lengthy injury absence, got past Franco Squillari of Argentina, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
"I'm just happy to be back, and I'm happy that I had a few aces again, so I know how that feels," Krajicek said. "I didn't miss much."
In women's play, top-seeded Venus Williams encountered little resistance in a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Evie Dominikovic of Australia; No. 3 Jennifer Capriati rolled past Janette Husarova of Slovakia, 6-1, 6-4; and Mary Pierce, who has been battling back problems, took another step along the road to recovery with a 6-4, 4-6, 8-6 victory against Alicia Molik of Australia.
Lightly-regarded Anna Kournikova of Russia was ousted in her first-round match by an 18-year-old countrywoman, Tatiana Panova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Red Sox get Embree from Padres
SAN DIEGO, June 24 (UPI) -- The Boston Red Sox obtained lefthanded specialist Alan Embree Sunday as the centerpiece of a four-player trade with the San Diego Padres.
Locked in a tight battle with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East, the Red Sox also got righthander Andy Shibilo while sending minor league righthanders Brad Baker and Dan Giese to San Diego.
Embree is 3-4 with two saves and a 0.94 ERA in 36 relief appearances. He has been particularly effective against lefthanded batters, who are hitting just .203 against him.
"I don't want to be (labeled) as a left-handed specialist just yet,'' said the newest member of the Sox, who has recorded 38 strikeouts in 28 innings this year. "It's a great situation. I've enjoyed being (in San Diego) and I had a chance to really get things going. Hopefully, I can help this team in any way they want me to.''
Embree is eligible for free agency at the end of this year, but his contract made him quite appealing. The Sox will be responsible for only $270,000 of Embree's $500,000 base salary. The Sox are also responsible for a $250,000 assignment fee Embree is due for being traded, putting the entire economic cost of the deal at roughly $520,000.
Snead withdraws from U.S. Senior Open
FAR HILLS, N.J., June 24 (UPI) -- A day after becoming only the 11th player to win a Senior PGA Tour event beyond the age of 60, J.C. Snead withdrew from the U.S. Senior Open Championship because of exhaustion.
Snead notified tournament officials of his withdrawal Monday morning.
He won the Greater Baltimore Classic on Sunday with a 12-foot par putt on the final hole, carding a 2-under-par 70 for a 54-hole total of 13-under 203.
Alfred Cotton was added to the U.S. Senior Open field because a spot was being saved for the winner of the Greater Baltimore Classic if he was not already previously exempt.
Snead was already exempt for being in the Top 50 on the money list of the Senior PGA Tour in 2002.
The alternate who will replace Snead is Rick Talt, who competed in sectional qualifying on June 17.
Snead, the nephew of golf legend Sam Snead, who died last month from complications following a stroke, J.C. earned his fourth Senior title on Sunday and first since 1995. At 60 years, 8 months and 8 days, he became the sixth-oldest player to win on the elder circuit and the first 60-something since Jim Colbert at last year's SBC Senior Classic.
Snead's last win had come at the 1995 Senior Players Championship. He won twice that season and was in position to claim the money title before breaking three ribs in a motorcycle accident.
He earned eight titles on the PGA Tour between 1971-87.
Tough-talking Turkey ready for Brazil
SAO PAULO, Brazil, June 24 (UPI) -- Turkey and Brazil are preparing to butt heads for the second time in World Cup action and the underdogs from Ankara like their chances against the four-time champs, despite their first-round loss to the boys from Ipanema.
"We certainly have no fear of Brazil. It's just the name that's big," Turkey midfielder Umit Davala told reporters. "Brazil has won the World Cup four times but we're not afraid of them or any team. Brazil has to fear us."
Davala's bravado goes against popular opinion -- and history -- regarding Wednesday's match up, as many see it more or less as a fine-tuning for Brazil leading up to the finals. Brazil has not advanced to the finals after entering the semis only once in cup history, way back in 1938.
On the other hand, Turkey hasn't participated in World Cup play since 1954 -- its only previous appearance -- and has never gotten this far in the tournament.
The two teams meet for the second time Wednesday at Saitama Stadium in Japan. The victor goes on to the finals to play the winner of Germany vs. Spain.
Despite a 2-1 loss to Brazil in their first-round match, Turkey seems poised to erase the memory of that controversial defeat in their tournament opener. A late penalty kick converted by Brazil's Rivaldo was the result of what many considered a flubbed call by Korean referee Kim Young Joo.
Then, with opportunities for an equalizer ticking away, Turkey was apparently shafted again, this time by Rivaldo's acting, rather than athletic, prowess.
Rivaldo later admitted faking a blow to the face when Turkey's Hakan Unsal kicked the ball toward him, hitting him in the leg.
"The ball didn't hit my face, it hit my leg," admitted Rivaldo. "He kicked the ball against me and this is something that should not be allowed."
"He really deserved to be expelled," he added in justification of his act. "I obviously exaggerated so that he would be expelled."
Unsal had already received a yellow card for an earlier infraction, a warning that leads to expulsion from the game if issued a second time during the same contest.
Soccer's ruling body, FIFA, has since fined Rivaldo for his exaggeration and warned him not to try it again.
Turkey's coach, Senol Gunes, expressed his dismay with the Brazilian's playacting and maintained his team had managed to contain the Brazilian's handily during play, though could not control the game's referee.
Contain Brazil they must if Turkey hopes to upset the oddsmakers' favorite to win it all and add to Brazil's legacy of World Cup dominance.
The fates, however, have been kind to Turkey leading up to Wednesday's rematch. Ronaldinho, the 22-year-old phenom whose early second period goal against England helped secure their triumph, was red-carded minutes later and forced to sit out the semifinals.
Brazil's superstar, and heart-and-soul, Ronaldo is hampered by injury and is day-to-day. Spending more time in the pool than the pitch to rehab a leg injury, his absence come Wednesday could give Turkey just the spark it needs to pull an upset.
The tough-talk by Turkey has not gone unnoticed by Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who insists his boys are not taking the rematch lightly and have been studying their opponent in game films for the rematch.
