Roddick Hopes for Passing of the Torch with Win over Agassi in Queen's

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Andy Roddick is red-hot again under the tutelage of veteran coach Brad Gilbert, advancing to his fourth final of the year with a third-set tiebreak win over countryman Andre Agassi at Queen's. It was A-Rod's first win over Agassi in five tries, and was highlighted by a match point saved in the tiebreak. A-Rod fired 27 aces in the match, one tying the 149 m.p.h. record previously held by Greg Rusedski. "Brad just told me to go for it," said Roddick of Gilbert's coaching gems, such as "Don't wear the visor." "Even though he coached Andre for so long, it doesn't mean there's any holes in his game. You've still got to go out and beat one of the best players of all time, so there's no magic potion." In the other semi, Britain warmed up for being disappointed at Wimbledon when Tim Henman was beaten in rather routine fashion by Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, who used a combination of pinpoint service returns and off-speed rallies to confound the Brit. Henman received treatment for his overworked shoulder during the match. In the final between the two Boca Raton, Florida residents, Roddick will have his hands full against an opponent he edged in a third-set tiebreak earlier this year in Indian Wells, while Grosjean won their first encounter on clay last year in Davis Cup play. The doubles final will be contested between (2)Bhupathi/Mirnyi and (1)Knowles/Nestor, who recently beat Bhupathi/Mirnyi in the Hamburg final.

Unseeded Nicolas Kiefer thrilled the homecountry fans in Halle Saturday, upsetting No. 8 seed Arnaud Clement in three sets to reach his first final since last year's Halle event. In the final he will face top-seeded Roger Federer, who held off the assault of Russian and No. 6 seed Mikael Youzhny in three sets. "I feel very good after this week on the grass in Halle," said Clement after the loss. "Maybe today was my best match, but Kiefer played well also -- it's tough to beat him because he has a big first service, plays good volleys and very good returns." It is the first career grasscourt final for Federer, who lost to Kiefer last year in the Halle semifinals. Kiefer leads the career head-to-head 3-1. The doubles final will be Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. Damm/Suk.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
In Vienna, No. 6-seeded Paolo Suarez stemmed the seed-killing tide of Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem, outlasting the teenager with a 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-4 for her first title on the year. "I came here to do well and to try and regain some points after the French Open as it was my last tournament on clay," said Suarez, who dropped from 31 to No. 51 after Roland Garros, "So I was really focused." Suarez saved eight set points in the opening set, while Sprem blew a 5-1 lead, and ran out of gas in the third in the 95 degree temperatures. "I stepped up my game in the second set and the third set was very close," said Sprem, playing in her second consecutive final after Strasbourg. "We both played well and it was a matter of points. I also felt tired near the end, so I made a few unforced errors which cost me the match. Now I'll rest a few days and start practicing on grass for Wimbledon. I am very excited because I'll be playing my first Grand Slam and I won't have to play qualies." In the first all-Chinese WTA doubles final, Tian Tian Sun/Ting Li beat Zi Yan/Jie Zheng 6-3, 6-4. Try to say that three times fast. "It was hard to play against our friends Zi and Jie," Tian Tian said. "We spend a lot of time together, we travel together, practice together, go out together. It would have been a sweeter victory, if it were other players, but we're still very happy."

In the Birmingham grasscourt final, (3)Magdalena Maleeva (d. (2)Daniilidou in three) will face unseeded Shinobu Asagoe, who ended the run of 16-year-old jail bait qualifier Maria "The Shrieker" Sharapova in a third set tiebreak. Maggie is an unimpressive 9-10 in career finals (this is her first on grass), while this is the first final for the No. 103-ranked Asagoe. Maleeva won their only previous meeting in 2001. The unseeded doubles final will be contested between wildcards Alicia Molik/Martina Navratilova and Els Callens/Meilen Tu.

2003 TENNIS-X TOP TITLE CHOKERS (Singles)
Players on the ATP and WTA Tours with more losses than wins in tournament finals in 2003. Andy Roddick is working at Queen's to even his record in finals at 2-2 (minimum two runner-up efforts, through June 9, 2003):

Position/Player/W-L in finals:
1. Monica Seles (USA) 0-2
2. Lindsey Davenport (USA) 1-3
3T. Guillermo Coria (ARG) 1-2
3T. Agustin Calleri (ARG) 1-2
3T. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 1-2
3T. Andy Roddick (USA) 1-2
4. Kim Clijsters (BEL) 3-4

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
During the Agassi-Roddick semifinal at Queen's, a Roddick mis-hit was caught in the stands by coach Brad Gilbert...Queen's finalist Sebastien Grosjean won the grasscourt title at Nottingham in 2000...Boris Becker will be back in court over charges that he failed to provide $1.78 million to pay off the debts of bankrupt Internet site Sportsgate as agreed upon in a July 2000 contract, according to the Associated Press. Becker barely avoided jail time last October on tax evasion charges...Becker plays Stefan Edberg today in an exhibition between the singles and doubles finals at Queen's.