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| Friday, January 28 | |||||
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andre Agassi has talents off the
court, as a fundraiser.
In a syndicated newspaper column, former pro Pam Shriver paid
tribute to the No. 1 seed for staging a charity concert last year
in his hometown, Las Vegas, that raised almost $4 million.
"He has won humanitarian awards for helping disadvantaged
youth," Shriver said. "It is an admirable record of putting other
people first in a sport where you live and survive by what you
achieve."
Agassi faces third-seeded Pete Sampras in the semifinals
Thursday.
Halard-Decugis as measuring stick Julie Halard-Decugis is the yardstick by which Australian Open champions can be measured, according to her husband and coach, Arnaud Decugis. Decugis said Lindsay Davenport should be the clear favorite to win the opening Grand Slam of the year after thrashing ninth-seeded Halard-Decugis 6-1, 6-2 in a quarterfinal. "Julie was beaten by (Monica) Seles in the quarters here in '93 and Seles went on to win the title," he said. "In '94, she was beaten by (Arantxa) Sanchez-Vicario here, and she went on to win it." "And you know what? She was beaten today by the woman who is going to win the title here this year." The amazing Australian duo Winning back-to-back doubles titles to open the year, Australian duo Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge are in good shape to snare their ninth Grand Slam doubles title and their 55th as a combination. The Woodies, as they're known Down Under, are chasing the record of 57 doubles titles shared by Peter Fleming-John McEnroe and Bob Hewitt-Frew McMillan. The pair also have an unparalleled Davis Cup doubles record of 14-2. Their record-chasing run may be coming to an end, with Woodforde, 34, retiring from Davis Cup after Australia's triumph last year and decreasing his workload on the tour this year.
Bad days | ALSO SEE Hingis moves closer to defending Aussie Open title Kafelnikov joins Agassi, Sampras in Australian semifinals |