Williams and Blake win for United States
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PERTH, Australia -
Top-ranked Serena Williams
and teammate James Blake
overcame jittery starts in sin
gles before combining Mon
day to give the United States a
3-0 win over Uzbekistan in its
opening Hopman Cup match.
Williams, making her
debut in the - international
mixed teams competition, lost
her opening service game
before overpowering Iroda
Tulyaganova 6-3, 6-2 to give
the United States a I -0 buffer.
Blake dropped the first set
before he rallied to beat Oleg
Ogorodov 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 to
clinch
t h e
match.
The
Ameri
can pair
then
c o m -
bined for
a 6-3, 6-1
win in
t h e
mixed
doubles.
Williams saved mree
break points in the final m&me,
before completingdtajjp?re5p
with a strong bactJpi^T volley
on her first match point.
Earlier, Kim Clijsters
steered Belgium to a 2-1 win
over defending champion
Spain, showing glimpses of
the form that took her to an
upset win over Williams at the
WTA Championship final in
Los Angeles last month.
Williams, who won majors
at Wimbledon and the French
and U.S. Opens this year, was
held to 3-3 in the first set of
her singles match here until,
she reeled off seven of the
next eight games.
Tulyaganova twice needed
treatment for an injured
^jibetrtSFr before Williams
clinched the result in 36 min
utes, beginning her quest for a
maiden Australian Open
crown in emphatic style.
"I am all rejuvenated and
all refreshed, and I have had a
long break," she said. "My
main dream now is the Aus
tralian Open. 1 have never
been able to win (a title) here,
and I would like to try and
let's see what happens."
The Australian Open starts
Jan. 13 in Melbourne, where
Williams will be bidding to
win a fourth consecutive
Grand Slam title.
Clijsters needed only 43
minutes to establish a 1-0 lead
over defending champion
Spain, but the rest of the
matches en route to Belgium's
2-1 victory were not as easy.
The 19-year-old Clijsters
beat Virginia Ruano Pascual
6-1, 6-0 but Clijsters' team
mate and world No. 25 Xavier
Malisse lost to Tommy Robre
do 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 to level
the IjparTrf-three match going
into the deciding mixed dou
bles.
Clijsters and Malisse lost
the first set before rebounding
for a 2-6, 7-5, 10-7 win, need
ing a super tiebreak to decid
ed the Group A match. The
Belgians were a set and 4-2
down before coming back to
beat the defending champi
-Olli
Clijsfrrs
mi.t i
James Blake
Hill
from page Bl
of which to be proud. 1 also
looked at my situation kind of
like a teacher might look at
his or her job. Sure, it's good
to work for a huge school,
with record-setting enroll
ment, but it's more rewarding
to teach at a school that's
small enough to give the
teacher a chance to build rela
tionships with his or her stu
dents. I hope to build a good
relationship with the readers
of The Chronicle.
I have a few ideas floating
around in my head about what
will be covered in The Chron
icle each week. The sports
section will have more junior
varsity and peewee sports
coverage, along with stand
ings. 1 would also like to add a
column that's dedicated to
introducing players, coaches
and other sports personalities
of Winston-Salem to the com
munity, along with profes
sional and collegiate athletes.
We will also try to get
more varsity and college
sports stories in the newspa
per. The Chronicle always
tries to inform the community
of news and activities that
may occur in the area. Our
sports section will continue
that sentiment. We will do our
best to inform readers of the
history of the day ? which is
Clijsters will play
Williams on Friday when the
United States and' Belgium
meet in the final round-robin
match of the tournament.
Clijsters, ranked No. 4,
has been in Australia since the
beginning of December with
world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt,
her boyfriend. She said the
extra time here could be a big
boost to her Australian Open
chances.
"I think 1 have a bit more
of an advantage because I've
been in Australia already for a
month almost," she said.
"I think that's definitely
good and I'm feeling very; fit
at the moment. After winning
L.A. this year 1 really wanted
to work hard again to get fit
ter and to get stronger." ;
Clijsters said she believed
she could beat the Williams
sisters regularly.
"It is just a matter of being
a little bit more consistent
than I was at the beginning of
the year," she said. "If 1 keep
my consistency up I believe I
am capable of doing it."
known as sports. A wise man
once said that if you don't
know your history, then you
don't know much. You're like
a leaf that doesn't know it's
part of a tree. I will also write
editorials that deal with local
sporting issues, as well as
some national conflicts.
My main goal is to give
readers what they're not get
ting from other area newspa
pers. I'd also like to shed a -
broader light on the issues
other publications may not
cover. So, when you read this
publication you will definitely
get a product worth having
and you might even find out
something the other guys
failed to mention.
Winners
from page B1 ?
Loser
? Nebraska - Had first non
winning conference record since
1968. Lost six regular-season
games,, most since 1961 team
went 3-6-1. Road record against
ranked teams under coach Frank
Solich fell to 1-7.
PRO FOOTBALL
Winner
? Tom Brady - Went from
backup quarterback to. Super
Bowl MVP with the New Eng
land Patriots. Play forced trade
of longtime No. 1 quarterback
Drew Bledsoe to Buffalo. In first
full season as starter, led NFL in
TD passes through 14 weeks.
Loser
? Kurt Warner - Two-time St.
Louis Rams MVP lost Super
Bowl, then went 0-4 before
breaking finger. Lost two more
games on return and broke hand
again, ending season. .
BASKETBALL
Winner
? Los Angeles Lakers - Cap
tured third straight NBA champi
onship, sweeping New Jersey.
Completed NBA three-peat
without coach Pat Riley, who
coined the term when the team
won two straight titles in 1986
87.
Loser
? New York Knicks - Missed
playoffs for first time in 15
years. Latrell Sprewell broke
hand before training camp. and
was suspended and fined nearly
a half-million dollars. Lost Anto
nio McDyess for the season with
a broken kneecap in a preseason
game. . :
BASEBALL
Winners
? Anaheim Angels - Reached
World Series for first time in 42
year history. Won championship,
rallying from a 5-0 seventh
inning deficit while facing elimi
nation in Game 6, then took
Game 7.
? Barry Bonds - Unanimous
winner of record fifth MVP
award. Pushed past 600 career
home runs, fourth on all-time
list. At 38. became oldest first
time batting champion in history
with .370 average, record 198
walks and record .582 on-base ?
percentage.
? Randy Johnson - Unani
mous choice for fourth straight
Cy Young Award, fifth overall.
Won pitching triple crown, lead
ing NL with 24-5 record, 2.32
EjtA and 334 strikeouts.
Loser
? Livan Hernandez - Consid
ered unbeatable in October with
a 6-0 record in previous postsea
son action, lost both World
Series starts for San Francisco,
never making it past the fourth
inning and finishing with an
ERA of 14.29.
TENNIS
Winners
? Serena Williams - Won
?
French Open, Wimbledon and
U.S. Open, three-quarters of a
Grand Slam. Finished year
ranked No. 1 after 18-match
winning streak ended in WTA
championships.
? Lleyton Hewitt - Won sea
son-ending Masters Cup to fin
ish No. 1 for second straight
year, first player since Pete Sam
pras in 1997 to successfully
defend the top ranking.
File Photo
Slugger Barry Bonds at the 2002 World Series.
Loser
? Anna Koumikova - Tennis
heartthrob stretched her winless
streak through 25 more events.
Now winless in 122 career tour
naments.
AUTO RACING
Winners
? Michael Schumacher -
Five-time Formula One champi
on won a record 11 races as Fer
rari won 15 of 17 events. Fin
ished in the top three of every
Grand Prix event with most
points in a season (144), largest
winning points margin (67) and
most career wins (64).
? Tony Stewart - Won first
Winston Cup championship.
Blew ehgine and finished last in
season-opener at Daytona,
becoming first NASCAR driver
to go from bottom to top in same
season.
Loser
? CART driver Paul Tracy
lost Indianapolis 500 to Helio
Castroneves in disputed finish.
Appealed outcome and was
turned down by final arbiter
Tony George, president of rival
Indy Racing League.
CYCLING
Winners
? ? Lance Armstrong - Won
fourth straight Tour de France,
six years after battling testicular
cancer, which spread to lungs
and brain.
, ? Mario Cipollini - Ended
short retirement to win world
championship road title. Fin
ished 159 miles in 5 hours, 30
minutes, 3 seconds. Announced
retirement in July after not being
invited to the Tour de France, but
later said he would continue to
compete.
Loser
? Stefano Garzelli - Banned
two years for doping after appeal
was rejected. Tested positive for
a banned diuretic after second
stage of Giro d' Italia. Won Giro
in 2000 and was race leader
when he was banned.
HOCKEY
Winners
? Canada - Scored an
Olympic gold medal sweep,
defeating USA for championship
in both men's and women's com
petition. Men's gold was first for
country since 1952. Women
reversed gold medal loss to Unit
edfStates at Nagano in 1998. ?
? Scotty Bowman - Won
Stanley Cup for ninth time,
coaching Detroit to champi
onship, third in six years for Red
Wings. Also coached five Cup
champions in Montreal and one
in Pittsburgh.
Loser
? Theo Fleury - Ended trou
bled three years with New York
Rangers, which included treat
ment for substance abuse.
Signed free agent contract with
Chicago Blackhawks but was
suspended by NHL 25 games for
violating terms of substance
abuse aftercare program.
TRACK AND FIELD
Winners
? Tim Montgomery and Mar
ion Jones - Both ranked No. 1 at
100 meters. Live and train
together and have each other's
names tattooed on their arms.
Shared Jesse Owens Award as
top track and field athletes of the
year. Montgomery clocked
world's fastest 100 at 9.78 sec
onds. Jones is aiming for Flo
rence Griffith-Joyner's record of
10.49. .
- Loser -
? Maurice Greene - Called
"Slo-Mo" by British news media
after a disappointing season was
capped by losing his 100 record
to Montgomery. Beaten badly in
most meets, troubled by family
problems.
HORSE RACING
Winner
? Azeri - Wire-to-wire win
ner of Breeders' Cup Distaff, her
seventh straight victory and 10th
in 11 career starts. Strong Horse
of the Year candidate.
Loser f
? War Emblem - Won Ken
tucky Derby and Preakness but
Triple Crown bid ended badly
with stumble at start of Belmont.
Beaten by long-shot Volponi in
Breeders' Cup Classic, and lost
three of last four races of career.
4* Annual
. Sunday, January 19th 2103^^
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