Graf Looks To Aussie
Recovering from a knee injury, Steffi Graf will skip the season-ending Chase Championships in New York and concentrate on the Australian Open in January.
“This time, it’s a very long break,” said Graf, adding the first Grand Slam event of 1998 is a “real goal” for her return to major competition.
Speaking in a German television interview broadcast Sunday, Graf said it was “unrealistic” for her to think about playing in the Nov. 17-23 Chase championships, where she is defending champion.
Graf, winner of 21 Grand Slam singles titles and 103 singles titles, has not played since losing to Amanda Coetzer in the quarterfinals of the French Open on June 3.
A week later, she had surgery on an irritated tendon near her left kneecap. The 28-year-old German, who holds the record for most weeks ranked No. 1, has dropped to No. 13.
Graf said she would play a few tournaments and exhibitions before the Australian Open.
Naoko Kijimuta beat Kimberly Po of Incline Village, Nev., 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to give Japan a 4-3 victory over the United States in the Sony-Life Cup in Kobe, Japan.
Japan won two singles and two doubles in the three-day exhibition event, and received $250,000 in prize money.
The United States won three singles - two by Monica Seles and one by Jennifer Capriati. The American team won $125,000.
Tim Henman outdueled Marc Rosset of Switzerland to win the President’s Cup tournament Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the second ATP Tour title for the young British player.
Henman, the No. 2 seed, defeated Rosset, who was seeded third, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. Rosset started strong, breaking Henman’s serve in the first game, but then lost his serve in the fourth game while double faulting three times.
Top seed Albert Costa defeated No. 2 Alberto Berasategui 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Spanish final of the $328,000 Marbella Open in Spain.
Felix Mantilla beat fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-2 to capture the Samsung clay-court tournament in Bournemouth, England. It was Mantilla fifth tournament title this season - all on clay.