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French Open gets under way today
Published on Sunday, May 25, 2008
From Beacon Journal wire services
Gustavo Kuerten kept smiling that wide-open smile of his and snickering at his own jokes as he spoke about the final tournament of his career.
One thing always has been clear about the three-time French Open champion and former No. 1: The guy everyone calls ''Guga'' knows how to have fun.
Chronic hip problems are forcing him to retire at 31, depriving the sport of one of its true characters. If some consider the occasion sad, do not count him among them.
''What better way could there be for me to say goodbye?'' he asked, looking ahead to facing 18th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu when the clay-court Grand Slam begins today. ''I see it in a very positive way.''
There are better players than Kuerten at the moment, men who are ranked far higher and consider themselves contenders to win the French Open.
No. 3 Novak Djokovic, for example, the Australian Open champion who also plays today, against Denis Gremelmayr of Germany. Or No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who is 21-0 at Roland Garros and begins his title defense Monday against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil. Or No. 1 Roger Federer, who will begin his bid for a 13th major championship, but first in Paris, on Tuesday against Sam Querrey of the United States.
Kuerten, though, carries a joie de vivre with him everywhere he goes. It's an attitude fans sensed right away in 1997, when he was 20, ranked 66th and without a single title to his name before winning the French Open.
Kuerten is scheduled to play on Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium at Roland Garros and the site of his finest moments as a professional, including victories in the 1997, 2000 and 2001 French Open finals.
''I know what I did here in the past, and I don't need to live this again,'' he said Saturday. ''I'm fine with my career. I'm really happy and proud of what I did, and I don't need to live these moments anymore.''
Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew from the tournament on Saturday because of an injured right knee and will have surgery next week. Tsonga said his injury occurred before he pulled out of France's Davis Cup quarterfinal loss to the United States in April.
''Since then, it was a test to see whether it would hold up,'' said Tsonga, who withdrew from his semifinal in Morocco on Friday. ''I reached the critical time when I needed an operation before it's too late.''
Nicolas Kiefer of Germany and Fabio Fognini of Italy also will miss the tournament.
Tsonga will be replaced in the draw by Luis Horna of Peru. Also joining the main field are Marc Lopez of Spain and Josselin Ouanna of France. Lopez will face 26th-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the first round, and Ouanna will play Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Horna plays Scoville Jenkins of the United States.
More tennis: Davydenko wins title
• Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko won the Hypo Group International for a third time, beating defending-champion Juan Monaco 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in Poertschach, Austria. Davydenko won his 13th ATP Tour title overall and second of the season.
• Agnieszka Radwanska beat top-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-3, 6-2 to win the Istanbul Cup in Turkey and become the first Polish woman to surpass $1 million in career earnings on the WTA Tour. The No. 2-seeded Radwanska earned $30,500 for her third career title.
Soccer: Revolution blank Crew
• Kheli Dube's goal in the 89th minute helped the New England Revolution defeat Columbus 1-0, handing the Crew their first home loss of the season. New England (6-3-1) moved into a tie with Columbus for first place in the Eastern Conference.
• U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber has a torn meniscus in his right knee that needs an operation and will miss Wednesday's exhibition game against England in London. Feilhaber is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.
Other: Sella takes Giro stage
• Emanuele Sella won the 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia after breaking away on a steep climb 34 miles from the finish, and Gabriele Bosisio took the overall lead in Alpe di Pampeago, Italy. Sella completed the 121-mile mountain stage from Verona to Alpe Di Pampeago in 5 hours, 37 minutes, 15 seconds. Vasil Kiryienka was 4:38 back in second. Bosisio finished 10:37 behind Sella, but that was enough to edge into first place overall.
• Ricky Hatton prevailed in a lopsided decision over Juan Lazcano to retain his IBO light welterweight title in Manchester, England. Hatton won easily on all three judges' scorecards: 120-110, 118-110, 120-108. It was his first fight since he lost a WBC welterweight bid against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December in his first loss in 44 career fights.
• Stanford senior David Sender did just enough on the pommel horse to edge Jonathan Horton for the title at the U.S. gymnastics championships in Houston. His 13.75 gave Sender 180.7 points for the two-day meet, a mere 0.25 ahead of Horton, who was fourth in the world last year.
Correction
• Walsh Jesuit's regional baseball game will be played Thursday at Heminger Field at Tiffin University. An incorrect location was reported in Saturday's editions.
From Beacon Journal wire services
Get the full article here.
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