Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Sports briefs

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 4, 2001

Capriati: Seles' grunting "is like interference"

Jennifer Capriati cried foul after losing 6-3, 6-3 to Monica Seles in the Acura Classic quarterfinals, claiming Seles' famous grunting on each shot "is like interference."

Capriati committed 24 unforced errors in the 52-minute loss to her former doubles partner, who has won three of their last five meetings and leads the rivalry 9-4.

"I never really got in a groove. From the first point, she was really aggressive and she was screaming at the top of her lungs," said Capriati, a career-high No. 2 in the world this week.

"This is the loudest she's ever been. It was extremely hard to concentrate."

Capriati complained about Seles' vocalizing to chair umpire Denis Overberg after she trailed 2-1 in the second set. WTA Tour supervisor Clare Wood appeared on court after Capriati trailed 3-2.

Wood monitored Seles, but did not tell her to quiet down.

"I didn't feel it was a deliberate hinderance," Wood said. "In my opinion, the grunting was at a level that was acceptable."

Wood said, however, she would mention Capriati's complaint to Seles and also sit courtside for Seles' semifinal today.

No. 2 seed Venus Williams beat sixth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat 6-2, 6-2, and No. 4 Lindsay Davenport struggled to a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5) victory against 12th-seeded Sandrine Testud. They meet in today's semifinals.

MORE TENNIS: Boris Becker will come out of retirement next week to play doubles alongside Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic. The 33-year-old German, winner of 49 singles titles, has received a wild card to play at his first ATP event since July 1999. ... Andrei Pavel upset teenage star Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Tennis Masters Series-Canada in Montreal. Ninth-seeded Patrick Rafter also advanced, beating fourth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. ... Sixth-seeded Cristina Torrens-Valero defeated qualifier Martina Mueller 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals of the PreCon Open in Switzerland.

COLLEGES: Jacksonville attorney Eric Block said he expects to decide by the end of August whether to file a civil suit against Florida's Jabar Gaffney. Block is representing Mary Barlow, the mother of 15-year-old Justin Paul Barlow, who allegedly was assaulted by the sophomore wide receiver as he tried to steal Gaffney's motor scooter. In July, Florida Attorney Bill Cervone decided not to file charges against Gaffney, citing a lack of evidence. Mary Block said Gaffney punched and kicked her son in March after he was caught stealing the motor scooter outside of Gaffney's apartment. Despite the state's decision, Block is reviewing the medical evidence. ... Nick Clinard was named Central Florida men's golf coach, replacing Brian Craig who left for a similar position at Kentucky. ... Kevin Paul was named assistant volleyball coach at Jacksonville. ... Duke forward Carlos Boozer scored 18 points as the United States defeated Croatia 88-69 on the opening day of the World Basketball Championship. ... Allegheny (Pa.) County police planned to drop a charge against Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Bryant. Bryant was arrested July 23 at Pittsburgh International Airport upon his return from Florida, where he participated in a youth clinic in Carol City. His ticket was paid for with a stolen debit card number belonging to Heather Levine of Broward County. ... Nebraska linebacker Randy Stella was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons. Stella was suspended in the spring for undisclosed team rule violations. Punishment for kicker Josh Brown and running back Thunder Collins, both arrested on assault charges in separate incidents this summer, will not be determined until Collins' legal case is resolved.

BOXING: After being stripped of his title, former WBA super-bantamweight champion Clarence "Bones" Adams takes on Paulie Ayala tonight in Las Vegas.

HORSES: City Zip remained unbeaten in four Saratoga starts, beating Speightstown by a length in the $125,000 Grade II Amsterdam Stakes. ... Allamerican Ingot set a stakes record and gave driver John Campbell his fifth victory in the Woodrow Wilson, winning the $700,000 race for 2-year-old pacers in 1 minute, 51.3 seconds at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. The time was a fifth of a second faster than the stakes record shared by American Pastime (1992) and Magical Mike (1993). It also tied Grinfromeartoear's track record for 2-year-old pacers, set in 1998.

SOCCER: U.S. under-20 national team goalkeeper D.J. Countess signed with Major League Soccer and its Project-40 development program. ... Ante Razov signed a multiyear deal and joins Chicago for its MLS game today in Colorado. ... New York's Christie Pearce tore knee ligaments Thursday. She will be lost for the rest of the WUSA season.

SWIMMING: Grant Hackett set a world record in the 800-meter freestyle on the first day of the Australian short-course championships in Perth. The 21-year-old clocked 7 minutes 25.28 seconds to take 9.63 seconds off the mark set by former Australian teammate Kieren Perkins eight years ago in Sydney. It was his fifth world record this year.

TRACK AND FIELD: Khalid Khannouchi's attempt to win a gold medal in his first race representing the United States turned into a disappointment. Running less than a month after incurring back spasms, Khannouchi couldn't finish the marathon in the World Championships at Alberta, and watched as Olympic champion Gezehenge Abera of Ethiopia beat Simon Biwott of Kenya by a second in the closest finish in the meet's eight-year history. Abera was timed in 2:12:42.

VOLLEYBALL: South Korea beat the United States 25-7, 25-23, 25-23 at the Women's World Grand Prix in Thailand.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright