Agassi, Serena , Sampras win openers
LONDON, June 24 (UPI) -- After having his request denied to have his first-round match delayed to Tuesday, seven-time champion Pete Sampras shook off sore ribs Monday and beat Britain's Martin Lee, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 at Wimbledon.
A Wimbledon champion 10 years ago, Andre Agassi was given the honor of gracing Centre Court first on the opening day of the grasscourt Grand Slam event and cruised to an easy victory over Israel's Harel Levy, 6-0, 6-4, 6-4.
The defending men's champion at this grasscourt Grand Slam event is traditionally bestowed the right to open the festivities at Centre Court, but for the first time since 1931 both finalists were absent. Last year's surprise champion Goran Ivanisevic is out with a shoulder injury and runnerup Pat Rafter is taking an extended break from competition.
Tournament organizers turned to Sampras, who is considered by many to be the best grasscourt player ever, but Sampras pulled out of an exhibition match last Saturday due to sore ribs and asked for his first-round match here to be pushed back to Tuesday.
However, since Sampras' half of the draw already was slated to play on Monday, that could not be arranged. After receiving more treatment for an injury described as an "acute strain in the lower right ribs," the sixth-seeded Sampras played the third match of the day on Centre Court and beat Lee in two hours and 15 minutes.
Sampras, 30, won his record seventh Wimbledon singles championship in 2000, but hasn't won a title anywhere since--a drought of 29 tournaments. Yet he is hard to dismiss as a contender on grass. He had won 56 of his previous 57 Wimbledon matches before losing to Roger Federer in the fourth round last year. He has 63 career titles but has been in just one final this year.
The third-seeded Agassi was especially sharp on Monday, considering he hadn't played a match on grass this year and hadn't played at all since a quarterfinal loss at the French Open. He took the first set in 18 minutes, firing five aces with a 74 percent success rate on first serves. He had six more aces in the second set and raced to a 5-2 lead in the third set. After Levy broke Agassi's serve at love and won the next game, Agassi closed out the match on serve.
The women took over Centre Court for the second match of the day and second-seeded Serena Williams made it a quick one, dismissing Australia's Evie Dominikovic, 6-1, 6-1, in 42 minutes. It was Williams' first match since she won her second Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month, beating her older sister Venus in the final.
Third seeded Jennifer Capriati had a little time in her first round match, beating Janette Husarova of Slovakia, 6-1, 6-4. After breezing through the first set, Capriati dropped the first two games of the second set.
As the defending women's champion, top seed Venus Williams will open play on Centre Court on Tuesday against 344th-ranked Jane O'Donaghue of Britain. Williams is trying to become the ninth female to win three straight Wimbledon singles crowns and the first since Steffi Graf from 1991-93. She has won four of the last eight Grand Slam titles, including the last two U.S. Opens.
South Korea meets Germany Tuesday
SEOUL, South Korea, June 24 (UPI) -- A three-time winner, Germany will take the field in a World Cup semifinal for the 10th time Tuesday, when it battles co-host South Korea, which has reached this stage for the first time.
Despite posting a 1-0 quarterfinals win on Friday, the Germans admitted to being outplayed by the feisty Americans and have advanced to the final four in part due to a favorable draw.
Unlike past World Cups, when Germany was able to rely on sheer skill, talent and confidence, this time luck played a role.
Oliver Kahn, arguably the world's best goalkeeper, also had a terrific performance in Germany's 1-0 round-of-16 success against Paraguay.
Even when fielding a comparatively weak team, Germany still manages to enjoy success in soccer's showcase event. However, coach Rudy Voeller's men need to raise their level of play, and not lean on Kahn to bail them out, if they are to make a record seventh finals appearance.
Midfielder Michael Ballack seems to be involved in Germany's best scoring opportunities and Oliver Neuville has performed well at the World Cup. Christian Ziege has turned provider at key times and Miroslav Klose must find the back of the net, which he has not done since the first round. Klose, who has collected five goals, is the joint goal-scoring leader in the tournament. Ballack and Ziege top the assist list with four and three, respectively.
Expect this semifinal to feature many scoring opportunities and a lot of physical play. Germany has recorded a tournament-high 72 shots and South Korea is not far behind with 63. Meanwhile, these sides top the list of fouls committed.
South Korea's initial hopes at this World Cup involved getting the monkey off its back by winning its first World Cup match and simply reaching the second round. No matter the contentious circumstances in which they qualified for the semifinals, anything can happen in this match.
South Korea is the first Asian country to compete in a World Cup semifinal. After recording its first-ever World Cup victory against Poland in group play, with the help of tremendous hometown support, South Korea worked out a draw against the United States and upset traditional European soccer powers Portugal in the first round, Italy on a golden goal in the round of 16 and Spain on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.
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.
Turkey ready for Brazil on Wednesday
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."
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.
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.
Alomar maintains lead at second
NEW YORK, June 24 (UPI) -- Roberto Alomar of the New York Mets has a narrow lead over Jose Vidro at second base in balloting for the National League All-Star team.
Alomar, who is seeking a record 10th appearance as a starting second baseman, holds a 17,825-vote lead over Vidro in the closest vote. Alomar ishitting .264 with five homers, 24 RBI and eight stolen bases, while Vidro is batting .334 with seven home runs and 53 RBI.
Fans have the opportunity to cast their final votes for the 2002 All-Star starters via the Internet through Thursday.
The second-closest position is at third base where Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Phillies is 29,551 votes ahead of Mike Lowell of the Florida Marlins.
Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies continues to pull away from Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros at first base. Helton trailed by nearly 45,000 votes two weeks ago and is now more than 109,000 votes ahead of Bagwell. Helton was the starting first baseman for the NL in the 2001 All-Star Game in Seattle and is bidding for his third straight appearance.
San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds continues to be the leading NL vote-getter for the 73rd All-Star Game to be played July 9 at Milwaukee. The reigning NL Most Valuable Player, Bonds has 1,055,812 votes and is vying for his ninth selection as a starting outfielder.
Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs (960,225) and Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos (617,965) are second and third in outfield voting.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the Giants is a surprising fourth in the voting, more than 131,000 votes behind Guerrero but ahead of far superior players like Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones.
Mike Piazza of the Mets is a virtual lock to start at catcher again with 943,466 votes, nearly triple the amount of Montreal's Michael Barrett.
Jimmy Rollins (382,391) tops all shortstops. He is hoping to become the first Phillies shortstop to start in an All-Star Game since his manager, Larry Bowa, in 1979. Rich Aurilia of San Francisco is second, more than 91,000 votes behind Rollins.
The latest returns in American League All-Star balloting will be announced on Tuesday.
