ROME : Mary Pierce of France during her second-round match against Kveta Hrdlickova of Czech Republic, at the Italian Open women's clay-court tennis tournament in Rome on Wednesday. Pierce won 6-3, 6-4 — AP/PTI

Hingis, Kournikova advance
ROME, May 6 — Martina Hingis rolled through her first match at the Italian Open yesterday, closing in on potential meetings with her two closest rivals: the Williams sisters.

Fairbrother hopes to finish on a high
LONDON, May 6 — England’s Neil Fairbrother intends to savour every moment of this summer’s World Cup after fearing his days on the international stage were over during the dispiriting campaign of four years ago.

Waugh accepts status of favourites
CARDIFF (Wales), May 6 — The warm-up games haven’t even started but Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has already pencilled the June 20 World Cup final at Lord’s into his tour schedule.

Hockey trials conclude
CHANDIGARH, May 6 — Two sessions of trials to prune down probables from North Zone concluded at the Sector 42 Stadium here this evening.

Rushmi, Shruti move into semis

NEW DELHI, May 6 (PTI) — Top two seeds Radhika Tulpule and Sai Jayalakshmi became casualties as their gritty opponents beat them in contrasting styles in the quarter-finals of the ITF Women's Futures Tennis Tournament here today.

Number one seed Radhika crashed out to Russia’s Anna Nefedova 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes to leave the event wide open. India number three Sai, seeded two here, was involved in by far the longest match of the tournament before succumbing to a gritty Archana Venkatraman 2-6 6-3 5-7 in two hours and 29 minutes.

Rushmi Chakravarthy and Bangalore-leg winner Shruti Dhawan easily cruised into the semifinal with straight set victories.

Imphal National Games gold medallist Rushmi outsmarted Sheetal Gautam 6-3 6-1 in 55 minutes to a set-up semifinal clash with Anna Nefedova, the only foreign face on the Indian ITF circuit.

In the bottom half of the draw, Shruti prevailed over Janaki Krishnamoorthy 6-4 6-3 in just over an hour and will meet upset winner Archana in the other semifinal match.

Unseeded Archana Venkatraman started with a bang despite losing her opening service game in the first set by rushing to 4-2 lead with breaks in second and sixth games. Archana again trounced Sai in the eighth to pocket the set 6-2.

After losing second set, Archana kept her cool at crucial moments and after Sai wasted one matchpoint, Archana took control of the game and romped home 7-5 in the third.

With top seeds falling by the wayside, the Delhi leg of ITF women’s event might throw up a new winner.

The first leg in Mumbai was won by Radhika while Shruti triumphed in Bangalore and the latter is still very much in the contest.

Former junior national champion Janaki, suffering with a slight swelling in her left eye, took 2-0 lead in the first set, but then lost her service in third and seventh games as Shruti, with her powerful groundstrokes that flew all over the court, took control of the proceedings.

Shruti won the first set 6-4 and then opened a crucial 4-3 lead in the second before winning it 6-3 when Janaki netted a backhand return. Shurti, however, struggled with her serve double faulting five times in the match.

In the Radhika-Anna Nefedova match, the Indian committed several unforced errors to hand over advantage to the Russian.

Radhika led 3-1 in the first set but Anna reeled off games in a row to stun the top seed and change the entire complexion of the game.

Radhika, who had beaten the Russian in Mumbai, double faulted four times in the first set and again struggled with her serve by adding two more.

Anna needed just one break in the second set before winning it 6-4 as tired Radhika lobbed a forehand return which fell wide across the court.

In the doubles tournament, top seeded pair of Sai Jayalakshmi and Rushmi Chakravarthy defeated Maharashtra duo of Radhika Tulpule and Janaki Krishnamoorthy 6-2 6-3 to enter the final.

Shruti Dhawan kept a date with Sai/Rashmi pair by reaching final alongside Sheetal Gautam as the pair beat Venkatraman sisters - Arthi and Archana - 6-4 6-0.

Both the doubles semifinals ironically were one-sided affairs. Second seeded pair of Shruti/Sheetal did not give any room to Venkatraman sisters before demolishing them. Archana had just finished her singles match against Sai and looked fatigued under the blazing sun.

Sai, despite her loss and a long tiring match against Archana, looked fresh and combined well with Rushmi in handing Radhika and Janaki their second defeat of the day.

Results:
Singles (quarter-final) — Anna Nefedova b Radhika Tulpule 6-2 6-4; Rushmi Chakravarthy b Sheetal Gautham 6-3 6-1; Shruti Dhawan b Janaki Krishnamoorthy 6-4 6-3; Archana Venkatraman b Sai Jayalakshmi 6-2 3-6 7-5.
Doubles (semifinals) — Sai Jayalakshmi/Rushmi Chakravarthy b Radhika Tulpule/Janaki Krishnamoorthy 6-2 6-3; Shruti Dhawan/Sheetal Gautham b Archana Venkatraman/Arthi Venkatraman 6-4 6-0.

South Africa, Pak, Aussies
start favourites

LONDON, May 6 (AP) — If ever a sport needed reminding that the new millennium is just around the corner it’s cricket.

With a mountain of history and tradition behind it, cricket still evokes scenes of genteel games on village greens, punctuated by ripples of applause and shouts of good show’’, well played.’’

This cricket World Cup will change all that.

The last international cricket championship of this millennium could blast away much of the historical folklore of the game and drag it into the next century.

Whichever of the 12 teams wins the World Cup final at Lord’s on June 20 it isn’t necessary that it will be the best team on the planet. But it will prove to be the strongest in terms of commitment and will to win at the end of a five-week tournament which will bring out the best and the worst in players and fans.

Bowlers will growl at batsmen, National pride allied to blatant intimidation will overwhelm the well-meaning policy of fair play. There could even be cries of "cheat".

Cricket is going through a dark spell right now and badly needs to improve its image.

The finely-poised one-day series between the West Indies and Australia exploded into frightening scenes last month when local fans, angered when an Australian bowler deliberately obstructed a West Indian batsman, threw scores of bottles into the field.

Australian captain Steve Waugh said he feared for his life. And the other worrying aspect was that the incident followed a similar on-field clash the game before when hundreds of fans ran into the field before the match had actually ended.

Allegations of bribery abound in the game and some have been aimed at a current member of the Pakistan team, Salim Malik. The accusations came from big-name Australians, including Mark Waugh and leg-spin star Shane Warne and are still being investigated while the same two Australians were punished by their cricket board for breaking the rules by giving information to a betting company.

Sri Lanka defend the title even though the administration back home is in disarray. A court in Colombo suspended the country’s cricket board because of feuding officials but later lifted the suspension so that the team could travel to England to defend its title.

The nation’s star bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, has to carry the stigma of being branded a thrower by Australian umpire Darrell Hair even though the International Cricket Council has cleared his bowling action as fair.

The English team is going through a depressing spell of form, losing seven one-day games in a row in the buildup to the championship yet the players feel they aren’t being paid enough by the English Cricket Board.

Alec Stewart, who still has to carry the burden of captain, opener and wicketkeeper, hopes that star players such as fast bowler Darren Gough and one-day specialists Neil Fairbrother and Graeme Hick, will win the title and prove they were right.

The West Indies, winners of the first two World Cups in 1975 and ’79, are recovering from their own slide.

A first ever 5-0 thrashing in a series by South Africa was followed by a 2-2 tie with the Australians on home soil with team captain Brian Lara sparking a fightback with some typically attacking strokeplay which included match-winning scores of 213 and 153 not out.

But Lara has lost one of his most experienced players, Middle-order batsman and spin bowler Carl Hooper, who has decided to retire. The West Indies have replaced him with an untried 20-year-old Rickardo Powell yet still rely on the fast bowling prowess of the ageing Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

India’s form at Test level has been disappointing but Mohammed Azharuddin’s team, which also includes another batting genius, Sachin Tendulkar and mesmerising spin bowler Anil Kumble, is always dangerous in one-day competitions. A victory here will spark national celebrations.

The Australians will be out to underline that they are strong at all levels of cricket. With many of them used to English conditions having played here for the counties as well as on tour, they have nothing to fear.

The Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, remain two of the best batsmen around, Big-hitter Tom Moody could be a force lower down the order and a strikeforce of Glenn McGrath, Paul Reiffel and Brendon Julian will revel in the English conditions even if Warne struggles.

New Zealand’s record at Test level is poor but they have players such as all-rounder Chris Cairns who can shine in the one-day game.

The first ever winner of the Commonwealth Games cricket gold medal, South Africa have strength throughout the lineup. They are probably the best fielding side with masses of experience.

Hansie Cronje and Daryll Cullinan star in a strong batting five, Shaun Pollock has joined Jacques Kallis and Lans Klusener as a genuine allrounder and Allan Donald is still a fearsome fast bowler.

Pakistan could be the team South Africa meet in the final.

The hugely experienced Wasim Akram has an immensely talented batting lineup that includes big-hitting Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar and the man at the centre of the bribes allegations, Salim Malik.

And he leads a bowling attack which includes the fastest man around today, Shoaib Akhtar, and wily spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

Of the outsiders, Zimbabwe hope to prove that they are developing as a Test-playing nation while Kenya aim to show that they deserve a place among the elite, especially having upset the West Indies at the last World Cup four years ago.

Scotland managed to persuade talented Yorkshire allrounder Gavin Hamilton play for the team even though he’s aiming to play for England at Test level.

Azhar's luck with coin may be useful

CALCUTTA, May 6 (PTI) — Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin has often been lucky with the coin and would be hoping that the luck factor would continue to assist him in the forthcoming World Cup matches in England where the toss could play a crucial role.

The spin of the coin could become very important in weather interrupted World Cup matches in England where previous Indian captains had not been too lucky when they went out for the toss.

Although Azharuddin has personally been lucky by winning the toss a number of times in various venues of the world, in England he has fared no better than his predecessors.

The Indians, who have featured in 14 World Cup matches in England so far, have won the toss just five times, having a poor success rate of 35.71 compared to two-time champions West Indies, who have a success rate of 50.00 per cent.

Off-spinner Srinivas Venkataraghavan, who led India in the World Cups in 1975 and 1979, could win the toss just twice in the six World Cup matches he captained the country in England.

Kapil Dev, who led India to the memorable World Cup triumph in 1983, won the toss just three times in the eight matches his team played that year.

West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who led his team in three consecutive World Cups in England (1975, 1979, 1983), has been the most successful toss-winning captain having won as many as nine times from 18 matches.

Australia’s Kim Hughes (7), England’s Bob Willis (5), Pakistan’s Imran Khan (4) and New Zealand’s Michael Burgess (4) were the other successful toss-winning captains in the three previous World Cups held in England.

Azharuddin was reasonably lucky in the 1996 World Cup staged jointly by India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka winning the toss three times in the seven matches, enjoying a success rate of 42.85 per cent.

The Indians, seeking to regain the World Cup after a long gap of 16 years, have been clubbed in group ‘A’ along with defending champions Sri Lanka, South Africa, England, Zimbabwe and Kenya in this year’s mega event to be held from May 14 to June 20.

Tendulkar emerging World Cup icon

LONDON, May 6 (PTI) — Even before a ball has been bowled in the coming World Cup, India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar is fast turning into an icon in the "carnival of cricket".

The little master from Mumbai towers like a colossus on the cricket scene. He is the hot favourite of punters, bookmakers, writers, quiz and competition runners alike, fetching top billing on everyone's charts.

From mainline British newspapers, tabloids to exclusive multipace colour World Cup special pull-outs, all sport Tendulkar with one or the other classic batting pose in full-page colour blow-ups, screaming at the readers.

The Daily Telegraph in the first World Cup pull-out labels to the readers — six of the best — has Tendulkar heading the list with comments "will excel with the bat."

The Sun's guide to the big guns, who will light up the World Cup — six hitters — has again Tendulkar leading.

There may be other stars on the 1999 World Cup horizon, like the West Indies run machine Brian Lara, electric Tasmanian Ricky Ponting, speed-merchants Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, fielding giant Jonty Rhodes, but it is Tendulkar who is the World Cup icon.

The Times, running for the first time a fantasy cricket league for the cup asking its readers to pick up a "dream world cricket team", also portrays a giant-size blow-up of Tendulkar attempting a classic offdrive.

The mania is not confined to print, it has also spread to the electronic media, with BBC and Sky Sports getting ready to run massive campaign for ‘the catch of the event’, with most of the publicity blitz having Tendulkar in it.

The punters and bookmakers are not to be left behind. Here also Tendulkar dominates with bets of 12-1 to emerge as the top batsman of the competition as well as being favoured to become the highest scorer in World Cup history.

However, the Indian coach, Anshuwan Gaekwad, said though Tendulkar was aware of the "build up" but he was confident that his star performer would not be affected by all the hype and hoopla surrounding him.

Hingis, Kournikova advance

ROME, May 6 (AP) — Martina Hingis rolled through her first match at the Italian Open yesterday, closing in on potential meetings with her two closest rivals: the Williams sisters.

Back after a month’s layoff, the World’s No. 1 player showed little rust in a 6-1, 6-1 rout of France’s Natalie Dechy on the red clay at the Foro Italico.

“It’s good to be back out there. Physically, I think I’m stronger than probably ever,” Hingis said.

The Swiss teenager hadn’t played singles since winning on clay at Hilton Head, South Carolina, in early April. She has said she relaxed her schedule to be fresh for the French Open, the lone Grand Slam event she hasn’t won and the only one played on clay.

But if Hingis is to defend her Rome title, she knows she may have to get past Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Venus Williams in the semifinals.

The two Americans won their second-round matches on Tuesday, and Hingis said she relishes their challenge.

“It’s always good to play against good players before the Grand Slams,” she said. “I always like playing the best and Serena’s definitely the best right now.”

In the meantime, Hingis has to get past another American, Corina Morariu, who moved into the third round by beating Ruxandra Dragomir 6-2, 6-3.

Morariu (21) has dropped just eight games in two matches, following up her first career WTA title last week in Bol, Croatia, on clay.

Austria’s Sylvia Plischke defeated No. 12 Amanda Coetzer 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

Anna Kournikova, the No. 9 seed and No. 10 Amelie Mauresmo both won under the lights after their matches were interrupted by rain for over an hour.

Kournikova fell behind early against Magui Serna, but took nine of the last 12 games to triumph 6-4, 6-3. Australian Open finalist Mauresmo fought past Elena Dementieva 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match marked by 15 of service breaks.

Others advancing yesterday included reigning French Open champion and No 2 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, No 4 Mary Pierce, No 5 Patty Schnyder, No 7 Nathalie Tauziat, No 8 Sandrine Testud, No 13 Irina Spirlea, and No 15 Conchita Martinez, a four-time winner in Rome.

All triumphed in straight sets. Schnyder said her mother was present there, apparently signalling an end to their months-long estrangement. The player acknowledged that the rift had affected her results on the court.

Hingis picked up her fifth career Grand Slam tournament title at the Australian Open in January, and her three titles overall in 1999 are matched only by Venus Williams. Serena (17), a year younger than Venus, has two crowns. No other player has more than one.

Hingis had a rare chance to scout Serena, who has reached the final at her last three events.

The pair practised together in Rome last week, while Venus was winning her first clay-court title, in Hamburg, Germany.

Hingis said Serena used to have problems finishing matches and winning big tournaments, but that had changed in the last two or three months.

Fairbrother hopes to finish on a high

LONDON, May 6 (AFP) — England’s Neil Fairbrother intends to savour every moment of this summer’s World Cup after fearing his days on the international stage were over during the dispiriting campaign of four years ago.

Until his recent return to favour, the man known as "The General" for his ability to dictate an innings thought his England career had ended when he limped out of the defeat by Pakistan in Karachi during the previous World Cup.

But having re-established himself as an essential cog in England’s middle order, Fairbrother intends to savour what could be his World Cup swansong over the coming few weeks hoping he can finish on a high.

Now 35, he enters this summer’s tournament with experience of two previous World Cups under his belt having been a member of the side beaten by Pakistan in the 1992 final in Melbourne and very much regarded as one of the elder stateman of the squad.

His previous triumphs, though, will fade into the memory if he can provide a successful finale to an international career which boasts 70 one-day international appearances despite being overlooked by England for the best part of two-and-a-half years.

"I thought after the last World Cup that was it, not because of the way I play the game but perhaps because my body would let me down," admitted the Lancashire left-hander.

"I got through Sharjah recently when we had four hard matches in six days and at the moment I feel fine so I’m confident that providing my body holds up I’ll be up to the job.

"I enjoy being regarded as the senior member of the team — it’s been happening at Lancashire for a couple of years now and it’s great to be part of the England set-up, even if it is only going to be for a short while."

Given his importance to England’s World Cup challenge now, it seems incredible that he was completely overlooked by the selectors between the end of the last World Cup and the recent tournament in Bangladesh when the rules stipulated each team could only be made up of players who had already played one-day international cricket.

His battling 56 in the defeat by South Africa in Dhaka proved a turning point both for Fairbrother and England and he became a key player in England’s ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Australia and Sri Lanka last winter.

He said: "When I went out to Bangladesh in October, I was a little bit worried that perhaps I would not be up with the pace but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

"My nerves were settled with a good knock in Bangladesh and I did reasonably well early on in Australia so from a personal point of view everything has been pretty good.

"When I first started playing one-day international cricket I think I tried to play a lot more bigger shots and tried to hit the ball out of the ground, but with experience and age and perhaps less of a fear of failure has altered my game into something else that I’m quite happy with.

"I’m seen as someone who keeps the scoreboard ticking over but I still don’t have a problem trying to hit the ball out of the ground — if I’m around with about six or seven overs to go in the innings with wickets in hand, then that’s what I’ll try to do."

Waugh accepts status of favourites

CARDIFF (Wales), May 6 (AP) — The warm-up games haven’t even started but Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has already pencilled the June 20 World Cup final at Lord’s into his tour schedule.

The Australians, losing finalists to Sri Lanka in 1996, are among the favourites to win the 1999 tournament and while the South Africans and Pakistan have avoided the favourites tag, Waugh is happy to take it.

"I don’t mind being favourite because it shows you’re the form side," he said on Wednesday.

"Winning the 1987 World Cup was the highlight of my career and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of playing at Lord’s

"It’ll be a tremendous feeling to win two World Cups."

The 33-year-old batsman said the Australian squad was the most well-balanced he’s been involved with in 15 years of first-class cricket.

"We cover every option with this squad. There’s nothing that can happen on the field that we can’t cover, so it’s really up to us to do it on the day," he said.

"Our training has been excellent and I think we’ve a pretty good chance."

The Australians arrived on Tuesday in Cardiff after a drama-plagued tour of the West Indies, where they tied both the Test and limited-overs series.

The tour was marred by crowd riots at two games, with Waugh saying he feared for his life when spectators threw bottles and trash on to the field and stormed the pitch.

But the Australian skipper said he was more concerned about winning another World Cup than reflecting on the trouble in the West Indies.

The squad is packed with potential match winners, including Michael Bevan recently rated as the world’s No. 1 limited overs player plus fast bowler Glenn Mcgrath, leading batsmen Mark and Steve Waugh and spin bowler Shane Warne.

Waugh, who along with allrounder Tom Moody is the only remaining member of Australia’s 1987 World Cup winning team, said the Aussies were treating the World Cup as the holy grail’’ of cricket.

We’ve been building up to this for the last 18 months — it’s the ultimate for any one-day cricketer, he said.

The Australians have warm-up matches against Glamorgan, Worcestershire and Somerset before starting their World Cup campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh on May 16.

"We’re peaking at the right time, which I think we did in 1987," Waugh said. "We were underdogs then, but we played good cricket leading up to it and I think we’re in the same frame of mind here."

Warne, who was controversially dropped from the Australian Test team for the final match in the West Indies, said he was returning to his best form and enjoyed playing in the English conditions.

I got dropped for the final Test but I thought my bowling was okay and it was only a matter of time before the wickets came," he said. "Fortunately (the wickets) came in the (subsequent) one-day series."

Warne, the leading spinner in international cricket, said he was fully recovered from last year’s shoulder operation and was looking forward to the World Cup.

"I enjoy the cricket here, I enjoy the conditions," he said.

"It’s a little bit tough for spin bowlers but because it’s tough it gives me an extra challenge".

"I’m sure I’m going to cause the batsmen some trouble."

Bevan, who says he ignores statistics which label him the world’s best at the shorter game, said the crowd unrest in the West Indies was a disappointment. But it had not unsettled his preparation for the World Cup.

"It wasn’t a case of being shell-shocked, it was just disappointing really," he said. "I think it was pretty ugly for the game of cricket but that’s over and now we’re focussed on the World Cup."

Hockey trials conclude
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 6 — Two sessions of trials to prune down probables from North Zone concluded at the Sector 42 Stadium here this evening.

Among those who watched the probables in action were the IHF chief, Mr KPS Gill, the Secretary, Mr K.Jothikumaran, and the selector, Col Haripal Kaushik (retd), besides the Senior Vice-President, Mr Chandrasekhar, the coaches, Rajinder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Satinder Singh and Sushil Sharma. Also present was Col Harcharan Singh of the Services.

In the morning, the probables were divided into different sets of teams as they played against each other in the session that continued for almost two hours. The evening session, too, continued for two hours.

Among the probables attending the camp are goalkeeper Edward Alloysius, fullbacks Rajendra Singh, Bikramjeet Singh, Rajinder Singh, halfbacks Baljit Singh Saini, Ramandeep Singh, Sukhbir Singh Gill, Sandeep Singh, Navsher Singh and forwards Gursewak Singh, Sarabjeet Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Hasrat Quereshi, Baljeet Chandi, Gagan Ajit Singh, Ajinder pal Singh, Baljeet Singh Dhillon, Daljeet Singh Dhillon and Sameer Dad, besides others.

Golf championship postponed

CHANDIGARH, May 6 (TNS) — The second Subjunior and Junior Golf Championship and the first Senior Golf Championship to be held under the aegis of the Chandigarh Golf Association in May has been postponed in view of the extreme hot conditions.

The president of the Chandigarh Golf Club has been requested to fix fresh dates falling in the last week of September or first week of October. The championship will be a two-day competition.

Wrestling meet

GAHRSHANKAR, May 6 (FOSC) — Wrestling competitions were held at Bassi Kalan in which many International & national level wrestlers took part. Following are the results:

Bhola (Hoshiarpur) b. Chander (Garhdiwala), Kuldeep (Garhdiwala) b. Deepa, Balbir (Hoshiarpur) b. Amrik, Tej Bahadur (Hoshiarpur) b. Bittoo, Sucha (Tanda) b. Bhupinder (PAP), Ramphal (PAP) b Daljeet (Hoshiarpur) Sandeep (Phagwara) b Dilawar (Hoshiarpur), Balraj (PAP) b Gajjan (Amritsar) Amarjit (Phagwara) b Jang Bahadur, Lehmbar (Shahkot) b Gurmit (PAP).

The prizes were distributed to the winners by the SSP Hoshiarpur, Mr Rajinder Mittal.