Sprem Upsets Hantuchova Waratahs Meet Davenport, Mauresmo Reach 3Rd Round Western Force

Friday 11th April, 2008 13

Super 14 Rugby Sprem upsets Hantuchova Waratahs meet Davenport, Mauresmo reach 3rd round Western Force

AMELIA ISLAND, stunned No. 10 Hantuchova going for every shot and Chakvetadze, No. 6 Dinara Florida (AP) - Croatian for the third top-10 win of almost everything going Safina, and No. 7 Agnieszka on Saturday qualifier Karolina Sprem her career, and first since inside the court. Today she Radwanska were winners. WELLINGTON, New Zealand boosted her comeback from 2004. Hantuchova, who was just too good." No. 5- Sprem will next play three- (AP) - The New South Wales Waratahs a wrist injury by upending lost to Sprem on clay four seeded Patty Schnyder and time champion Lindsay and Western Force meet Saturday in third-seeded Daniela years ago, won the second No. 9 Sybille Bammer also Davenport, who polished off an Australian derby which will have a Hantuchova 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in set to force a third, where were ousted, but No. 2 Anna fellow American Jill strong bearing on each team's Super the second round of the she missed five break points. Craybas 6-1, 6-4. Another 14 playoff chances and the test hopes Bausch & Lomb However, Sprem grabbed her former champ, Amelie of several key players. Championships on only break chance in the Mauresmo, beat Sorana The Force are the highest-placed Wednesday. Sprem eighth game and served out. Cirstea of Romania 7-5, 6- Australian team in this year's compe- injured her wrist at the "I don't think I did too many 1 It's the seventh tour- tition, in fifth place with 23 points, Italian Open in May, and did- things wrong," Hantuchova nament in eight this and the Waratahs climbed to sixth, a n't return to the tour until said. "She was year that Mauresmo has point behind, with last week's 37-14 two weeks ago, when she just playing reached the third round. win over the Auckland Blues. lost in qualifying at Key incredi- She has yet to advance Of the competition's top-four Biscayne. The former top-20 ble, any farther. teams, the Canterbury Crusaders and Daniela Hantuchova, of player's ranking dropped to Next up will be Slovakia, tosses the ball to Sharks are both well-placed to main- No. 296. This week she won Radwanska for the first serve to Karolina Sprem dur- tain unbeaten records in round nine. two qualifying matches, time. ing their tennis match at the Both teams face lowly-placed oppo- beat Japanese veteran Mauresmo, seeded 11th Bausch and Lomb nents - the Sharks open the round Championships, Wednesday, against Otago, which posted its first Ai Sugiyama in her this week, won the Bausch & April 9, 2008. main draw Lomb in 2001 and reached win in round eight, and the Crusaders opener, the final on her last appear- verting seven breaks of host the Lions, who also have only one then ance in 2004. Morita's serve. For win to their credit. Schnyder, a three- Chakvetadze, fixing her Those teams are likely to retain time quarterfinalist at serve was now a priority. their top two places but the winners of Amelia Island, was "If it's a very tough the Force-Waratahs clash at Perth has upset by Elena Vesnina match, like a third set and the chance to enter the top four if the of Russia 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in you're making nine double third-placed Auckland Blues stumble. their first meeting, and faults, that matters a lot," The fourth-placed Waikato Chief miss the round with a bye. Bammer was outserved by Chakvetadze said. "I just The Sydney-based Waratahs come Alize Cornet of France 6-1, have to control myself more." into the match with the stronger 6-3. Russian compatriot recent form, buoyed by their win over Chakvetadze beat Safina defeated Tatiana Auckland, while the Force followed a Japanese qualifier Ayumi Perebiynis of Ukraine 6-3, 6- home loss to the Stormers with a one- Morita 6-3, 6-1. 3. Radwanska edged Gisela Karolina Sprem, of point win over the lowly Bulls. Croatia, serves to "I didn't really play that Dulko of Argentina 6-2, 1-6, "It is a game we're looking forward Daniela Hantuchova consistent and that well as I 7-6 (1). to," Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie during their tennis wanted to play," Chakvetadze No. 12 Katarina Srebotnik match at the Bausch said. "We have been there (Perth) said. "But I think for the first of Slovenia swept Lucie & Lomb before and won, so it's not like we match in this tournament Safarova of the Czech Championships, don't know Subiaco (Stadium). We Wednesday, April 9, and the first match on green Republic 6-2, 6-4, while have won there before. 2008, in Amelia clay, it was OK. I could do Dominika Cibulkova of Island, Fla. "This is the most difficult one, worse." Slovakia beat No. 14 Victoria (AP Photos/Phil going from the Blues to the Force, Chakvetadze overcame Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 4-6, Coale) because both those teams are right at 6-2 and will play nine double faults by con- the top of the comp. Chakvetadze next.

Man United beat Roma by Paul Fletcher a strike from a tight angle. Carlos Tevez struck as Manchester But Hargreaves was a revelation down United defeated Roma to seal a the right for United, using his superb Champions League semi-final match-up athleticism to run on to passes from mid- with Barcelona. field, and he delivered two telling cross- Roma should have taken the lead from es. the penalty spot after a foul by Wes The first was met by Giggs while Brown but Daniele de Rossi smashed the Anderson drilled a low strike from the ball high over the crossbar. second - both efforts drawing saves from Edwin van der Sar denied Mirko Doni. Vucinic as Roma threatened but Ryan But Roma should have forced their Giggs and Owen Hargreaves forced saves way back into the tie when referee Tom from Doni. Hennin Ovrebo ruled that Brown had And Tevez scored with a diving head- failed to make any contact with the ball er from Hargreaves' cross to seal the tie. while trying to tackle Mancini. The Argentine struck after 70 minutes De Rossi buried his head in his shirt and it was a goal that punctured any lin- after blazing the spot kick way over the gering hopes Roma harboured of a dra- crossbar but Roma took confidence from matic comeback. winning the penalty and enjoyed a spell The Italians had been left stunned of possession that saw them end the half after their 2-0 defeat in Rome but, after on top. enduring a poor start to the second leg, And Roma maintained their sense of they showed great spirit to rattle their momentum after the break - Marco opponents. Cassetti just failing to pounce on a News conference: Man Utd boss Sir rebound, Mikael Silvestre blocking from Alex Ferguson Rodrigo Taddei and Van der Sar saving a And they might have ensured an Juan header. extremely nervous evening for United It was in stark contrast to the early had De Rossi not been so wasteful with minutes when United dominated, howev- his penalty kick after 29 minutes. er a relatively mundane period of play, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had in which the home team enjoyed a rea- shown great faith in his squad prior to sonable spell of possession, settled Sir kick-off by leaving Wayne Rooney and Alex Ferguson's team. Cristiano Ronaldo out of his starting And after Tevez headed home another line-up. excellent Hargreaves cross the tie was They were two of five changes from effectively settled. the team that drew at Middlesbrough on Further good news for the buoyant Sunday. home fans arrived with 10 minutes left Changes or not, United had more than when Gary Neville came on for his first enough opportunities to kill off the tie appearance since picking up an ankle in the first 10 minutes. injury on 17 March 2007. Park Ji-Sung shot wide after superbly holding his run to stay on-side, Brown com- pletely lost his marker from a corner but then headed over while Doni denied Hargreaves after Giggs brilliantly played the midfielder through on goal. Having resis- ted United's early advances, the Italians underlined the threat they possessed when Manchester United's Carlos Tevez celebrates scoring dur- i th Ch i L t fi l d l