First Grand Slam title

Published: 12 September 1999 y., Sunday
The first Grand Slam seemed destined for her older sister. But it was Serena, not Venus Williams, that accomplished the feat. Serena Williams won the U.S. Open by defeating top-ranked Martina Hingis to become the first black woman to win a Grand Slam title since Althea Gibson in 1958.
It_s not the all-American final most had predicted. New No. 1 Andre Agassi defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov as expected. He_ll face Todd Martin -- not Pete Sampras -- after Martin routed Cedric Pioline in the other semi. Andre Agassi, becoming a regular in Grand Slam championship matches, moved into the U.S. Open finals Saturday and took over the No. 1 ranking. He beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals and will face Todd Martin in an all-American final on Sunday.This will be the third straight Grand Slam tournament final for Agassi, who won the French Open and lost to Pete Sampras in the Wimbledon final.Earlier, Martin made swift work of Cedric Pioline, dominating in every phase in winning 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Martin is playing in his second Grand Slam tournament final. In 1994, he lost to Sampras for the Australian Open title.Agassi, whose ranking had dropped to 141st almost two years ago, advances from No. 2 and will replace Sampras at No. 1. Sampras withdrew from this tournament with a bad back before play began two weeks ago. Kafelnikov will be No. 2 when the new ATP Tour rankings are released Monday. Sampras will drop to No. 3, with Martin moving up to No. 4.
Šaltinis: ESPN
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Fish World Cup: Japan 1 - Holland 0

Tropical fish play their own version of soccer World Cup at a Japanese aquarium. more »

A cheer for the beer for World Cup

The thirst of World Cup soccer fans for beer has provided a fillip for South Africa's biggest brewery SAB during it's traditional Winter low season. more »

World Cup 2010 kicks off

After four years of waiting, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is kicking off in South Africa. more »

Operatic mascots for the World Cup

A Chinese craftsman is using his skills at creating traditional opera masks to sculpt a range of gaudy faces as mascots for teams in the soccer World Cup. more »

Sounding off over Vuvuzela horn

A bright plastic horn called the vuvuzela could be the defining sound of the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. more »

World Cup stampede

At least 20 people are injured when a stampede breaks out during a pre-World Cup friendly match between Nigeria and North Korea. more »

Portugal fans force road closures

A small South African town is closed off as enthusiastic fans try to watch the Portugal squad train, ahead of World Cup. more »

Message of President Barroso ahead of the start of the FIFA World Cup on 11 June 2010

President Barroso conveyed the following message during the visit in Addis Ababa on 8 June at the occasion of the European Commission's meeting with the Commission of the African Union... more »

Criticism over World Cup ball

Sporting goods manufacturer Adidas defended the official World Cup ball after criticism the product wasn't up to par. more »

Penguins play soccer in South Korea

It’s a soccer game with a difference. At the Everland Aquarium in South Korea, eleven penguins dressed in the national colours, are showing off their dribbling skills. more »