Agassi, Roddick Ejected in D.C.; Coria Wins 14th Straight; Belgians to Battle in San Diego

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Fans were not surprised to see former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt get better and better during the week at LA to reach the final, easily defeating unseeded Nicolas Kiefer Saturday in the semifinals, but they were surprised when tour veteran and 31-year-old No. 7 seed Wayne Ferreira awoke from his malaise to beat No. 5 seed Mark Philippoussis (Wayne's World is now 6-2 career vs. The Scud) to reach his first final of the year. "He's pretty fit, he's moving pretty well," said Philippoussis of the South African. Ferreira, who is going with the bearded look, won his last title three years ago at the TMS-Stuttgart where he beat a young Hewitt in the final. Hewitt leads the career head-to-head 2-1 in this all-IMTA, all-anti-ATP final. The all-unseeded doubles final will be Eagle/Schalken vs. Gambill/Parrott.

In Washington Saturday everything went awry for the Americans, with(10)Henman beating (2)Roddick 7-6 in the third, saving a match point, and (4)Gonzalez surprising (1)Agassi 7-6 in the third. "I feel healthy again," Henman said. "I feel ready to pick up when I left off, before I got hurt." It is Gonzalez's first final of 2003 and first career hardcourt final, and he leads the head-to-head with the Brit 2-1. The fan-displeasing doubles final will be Haggard/Hanley vs. Healey/Kerr.

In Sopot Sunday, No. 3 seed Guillermo Coria (d. Horna in the semis) will compete for his third consecutive title in the final against unseeded Spaniard David Ferrer (d. Ramirez Hidalgo in three in the semi). No player has won three consecutive titles in the same year since Thomas Muster in 1996. Coria will have his hands full in the final, between the exhaustion of his third straight final and Ferrer, who he lost to in Umag last year (head-to-head tied at 1-1). The doubles final will be (1)Cermak/Friedl vs. (WC)Fyrstenberg/Matkowski.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The waffle sisters set up yet another all-Belgian final Saturday at San Diego, when (2)Clijsters handled (4)Davenport 6-3, 6-3, and (3)Henin-Hardenne punished the unseeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3. Clijsters leads the head-to-head with H-H 8-6. The doubles final will be (2)Clisters/Sugiyama vs. (3)Davenport/Raymond.

No. 3 seed Anna Pistolesi crushed unseeded Klara "Kouky" Koukalova 6-2, 6-0, Saturday to win the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot, putting tennis fans out of their misery. It was the first career final for Kouky, and the seventh career title for Pistolesi, who is 7-0 career in finals. In the doubles final, Perebiynis/Talaja beat (Q)Ani/Prusova for the title.

TENNIS-X MEN'S BOTTOM 10 RANKINGS
A deadlock at the top remains for the worst on tour through Saturday, with former world Top 10 Thomas Enqvist losing ground after a win this week, but hanging on gamely at No. 5.
Moving out: former No. 2 world-ranked Magnus Norman
Moving in: Argentina's Mariano Puerta
(minimum two matches a month, through Aug. 2, 2003):

1T. Krajan, Zeljko (CRO) 2-14 .125
1T. Waske, Alexander (GER) 2-14 .125
3. Sa, Andre (BRA) 4-18 .182
4. Mamiit, Cecil (USA) 3-13 .188
5. Enqvist, Thomas (SWE) 6-20 .231
6T. Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 5-15 .250
6T. Beck, Karol (SVK) 5-15 .250
8. Mathieu, Paul-Henri (FRA) 5-13 .278
9. Voinea, Adrian (ROM) 8-20 .286
10. Puerta, Mariano (ARG) 4-10 .286

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Daniel Bedingfield, Monica, and Smash Mouth are scheduled to perform at the 2003 U.S. Open's Arthur Ashe Kids' Tennis Festival on Aug. 23 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, according to Billboard.com. Andre Agassi, Anna Kournikova, Andy Roddick, and co-hosts Olympic Gold Medalist and TV personality Summer Sanders and MTV VJ Quddus are scheduled to appear...Seven months into 2003 and Kim Clijsters has reached the semifinals or better in all 13 tournaments she has competed in -- No. 1 is just a couple weeks away with Serena out...Clijsters is 61-7 thus far in 2003...Justine Henin-Hardenne is 4-1 in finals this year...Saturday in Montreal New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will join Roger Federer and others for some for a little game of "ball hockey", whatever that is...From the funny files, Simon Larose offered this remark in the Montreal Gazette upon learning he'll face Gustavo Kuerten in the first round: "I think it's a good draw...Guga hasn't played that much on hardcourts and I feel good about the way I'm playing. We play Brazil in Davis Cup in September and this will serve as a good scouting report." Simon says...you will lose.