Agassi vs. Krajicek, Rusedski vs. Roddick Today at Queen's Club

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
In a day of oddities Wednesday at Queen's, No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt barely escaped in a third-set tiebreak win over unheralded "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter, No. 12 seed Max "The Beast" Mirnyi was tamed by the likewise-unheralded Cyril Saulnier, qualifier and last year's Wimbledon boy's champion Todd Reid of Australia stunned No. 10 seed Jan-Michael Gambill, Brit wildcard Alex Bogdanovic choked six match points in a loss to Anthony Dupuis, and Todd Martin retired before even stepping on the court against No. 5 seed Sjeng Schalken with a torn chest muscle. "I'm very pleased at the moment," said the Aussie youngster Reid, previously known for winning the first set then getting tight. "To come here and win my first match against a player ranked in the Top 200, and now to beat a player like Jan-Michael Gambill who is a Top 50 player just feels great." The semi-retired Marc Rosset beat No. 9 seed Jarkko Nieminen, almost-semi-retired Richard Krajicek outmaneuvered Jan Vacek in three sets, No. 6 seed Sebastien Grosjean eased by Michael Kratochvil, and Greg Rusedski advanced with a win over Hicham Arazi. Ticketholders today at Queen's get their money's worth with some high-profile match-ups in Rusedski vs. (3)Roddick (the Brit won their only previous meeting at Wimbledon last year), (WC)Krajicek vs. (2)Agassi in a battle of former Wimbledon winners (tied 3-3, with Agassi winning both grasscourt meetings), (1)Hewitt vs. Dick "Not Magnus" Norman, Saulnier vs. (7)Henman (watch this one), (Q)Reid vs. (8)Grosjean, (6)Schalken vs. (11)Dent (Dent leads 2-0), and (8)Malisse vs. Rosset.

In Halle Wednesday there were only four deadly-dull matches, but two involved Germans so the locals went home happy. Also going home was No. 2 seed Rainer "I'm Still Going to Houston" Schuettler, tripped up by Radek Stepanek in three, while unseeded Nicolas Kiefer advanced to the third round of an event for the first time this year with a three-set win over talented Spaniard Federico Lopez. "I had a great start," Kiefer said. "I was 6-0, 1-0 up and then I let him come back. That gave him some confidence and he started to serve better, but I still kept on fighting, waiting for my chances. I was able to win the deciding points in the match. I am happy to have won two matches in a row and I hope it's not over yet. It gives me confidence -- now it starts again." Seeds advancing were (3)Novak (d. Koubek) and (6)Youzhny (d. Bjorkman). Today the entertainment outlook in Halle is not much better, with matches featuring (1)Roger "I Can Lose to Anyone, Anytime" Federer vs. Vicente (first meeting), local flavor Lars "Tennis-X Bottom 10" Burgsmuller vs. (5)El Aynaoui (Lars leads the series 2-1), (8)Clement vs. Ljubicic (first meeting), and an unseeded match-up of old rivals in Santoro vs. Kucera (Kucera leads 8-2). If you have a Thursday grounds pass at Halle, better hope they're serving beer (what are we saying, it's in Germany).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
16-year-old Russian Maria "Jail Bait" Sharapova gave players and fans alike something to talk about Wednesday in Birmingham, not only with her straight-set thumping of No. 5 seed Nathalie Dechy, but with her orgasmic-like grunting that is louder than anything ever emanating from Monica Seles. Sharapova was warned by the chair umpire after Dechy, and even players on other courts, complained about the shrieks that resembled something you'd hear on Cinemax After Dark. "It was one of the loudest (grunts) I have heard," said Dechy, whose complaints could have evoked a point penalty or worse under the WTA hindrance rule. "But I just played my match and tried not to care about it." The Russian for her part was non-plussed. "It's difficult for me because I have been doing this since I was four," Shriek-apova said. "But I have to think about how I can control it...it's not going to be a major concern." You can control it by shutting your yap during points -- save it for the bedroom (...uh, when you're of age. Oh that's right, you're Russian, what's the content age there, 12? We'll have to find Sergei Federov and ask him). Many a seed fell Wednesday, including (7)Stevenson (l. to Razzano), (8)Likhovtseva (l. to Foretz), and (9)Granville (l. to Prerebiynis). Seeds through to the third round are (1)Dementieva (d. (Q)Snyder), (2)Daniilidou (d. (Q)Tu), (3)Maleeva (d. (WC)O'Donoghue), (10)Tanasugarn (d. (Q)Vinci), (11)Mikaelian (d. Ondraskova), and (16)Pisnik (d. Serra Zanetti). On court today are Raymond vs. Tanasugarn, Mikaelian vs. Maria "Orgasmo" Sharapova, Dementieva vs. Bartoli, Pisnik vs. Daniilidou, Vento-Kabchi vs. Razzano, Asagoe vs. Callens, Cho vs. Maleeva, and Foretz vs. Perebiynis.

On the dirt in Vienna, Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem continued her breakout year with a three-set upset of No. 3 seed and defending champion Anna Pistolesi. (5)Fernandez also crashed out (l. to Barna), while moving into the third round were (1)Dokic (d. Grande in a shaky three-setter), (2)Zvonareva (d. (Q)Maret), (4)Farina Elia (d. Klara "Kouky" Koukalova), (6)Suarez (d. Wartusch), (7)Chladkova (d. Husarova), and (8)Matevzic (d. (Q)Fislova in three). The four singles matches on court today are Farina Elia vs. Barna, Chladkova vs. (Q)Sprem, Dokic vs. Suarez (Suarez leads head-to-head 1-0), and Matevzic vs. Zvonareva.

ATP TOP 10 WINNING PERCENTAGE
Felix Mantilla bumps Marcelo Rios out of the Top 10 winning percentages on the year, while Juan Carlos Fererro (with almost twice as many matches) advances on the leaders (minimum 18 matches, through Wed., June 11, 2003):
1. Agassi, Andre (USA) 27-3 .900
2. Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS) 24-4 .857
3. Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 40-7 .851
4. Federer, Roger (SUI) 38-9 .809
5. Moya, Carlos (ESP) 36-11 .766
6. Coria, Guillermo (ARG) 32-10 .762
7. Kuerten, Gustavo (BRA) 25-11 .694
8. Roddick, Andy (USA) 25-11 .694
9. Gaudio, Gaston (ARG) 30-14 .682
10. Mantilla, Felix (ESP) 25-12 .676

TENNIS-X MEN'S BOTTOM 10 RANKINGS
Listed below are the Bottom 10 worst winning percentages on the men's tour in 2003. Andre Sa no longer has the losing streak, but still leads the pack, and Mover of the Week Justin Gimelstob leaps from 10 to No. 6 with a loss at Queen's (minimum 11 matches, results through Wed., June 11, 2003):
1. Sa, Andre (BRA) 1-13 .071
2. Krajan, Zeljko (CRO) 2-10 .167
3. Waske, Alexander (GER) 2-9 .182
4. Enqvist, Thomas (SWE) 4-17 .190
5. Mamiit, Cecil (USA) 3-10 .231
6. Gimelstob, Justin (USA) 4-13 .235
7. Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 5-11 .313
8T. Burgsmuller, Lars (GER) 6-13 .316
8T. Carlsen, Kenneth (DEN) 6-13 .316
10T. Ferrer, David (ESP) 7-15 .318
10T. Voinea, Adrian (ROM) 7-15 .318

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Todd Martin pulled out before his second round match at Queen's with a tear to a chest muscle and is now doubtful for Wimbledon...After a couple 15-year-old fans started giving Younes El Aynaoui some smack during an autograph session at Halle, the Moroccan took them out to a practice court and embarrassed them in some tiebreaks...Nicolas Kiefer won back-to-back matches this week for the first time since October at Halle...Australia's Evie Dominikovic withdrew in Birmingham due to a right quadricep strain...Australian Lleyton Hewitt received his 2002 ATP Player of the Year trophy after his match Wednesday in Queen's from tournament director Ian Wight and ATP Executive Vice President of Europe Zeljko Franulovic. Guess the tour is hoping that he won't go ahead and file a lawsuit against them, yeah right...Tim Henman is complaining that Wimbledon officials are slowing down the grasscourts, and not tailoring them his style of play: "There obviously has been an effort to slow the game down, and I question whether it's gone a little bit too far on grass. If it was a cricket pitch, would it be prepared to the style of our team? I'm sure it would be. Whether that should be the case in tennis I leave to other people to decide." Hey Tim, how about we let you have three serves this year at Wimbledon so you can finally get past the semis?...There is talk of adding another grasscourt week on the ATP calendar by 2006, which would mean the possible addition of a Tennis Masters Series event on grass, which would mean a money-fight between Queen's and Halle for the spot...Aussie junior 2002 Wimbledon champ Todd Reid has overcome a knee injury after Wimbledon and a sprained ankle at the US Open, and admits in the past he also suffered from mental frailty: "I've always gone off in the second set in my mind."...Pete Sampras will not be at Wimbledon for the first time since 1988 (ask Tim Henman, he knows that stat)...Brian Baker, the 18-year-old French Open junior runner-up from Nashville, Tenn., turned pro this week...Charlie Bricker writing for the Sun-Sentinel: "A week ago in this column I wrote that coach Brad Gilbert would be a bad connection for Andy Roddick (who has since hired Gilbert as his coach) because he did a lot of "late-night partying. That's not Roddick, and that's not his family." I have no evidence that Gilbert did a lot of late-night partying and he has asked for an apology. I apologize.".