Boris Becker

WIMBLEDON, England -- Martina Hingis -- gone.Monica Seles -- outta here.And the rain? What rain?And that was just Wimbledon's first week.As the world's greatest serve-and-volley show on grass reopens today for the second week, there are hints that this could emerge as a Wimbledon for the ages.The top half of the women's draw is in tatters, opening the way to a host of new stars, led by Jelena Dokic, the teen who toppled Hingis in the first round.The bottom half of the men's draw is like a glorious old-timers' day, featuring the likes of Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

WIMBLEDON, England -- So, here's the last Wimbledon of the century and look who's still lurking in the bottom of the men's draw at the end of the opening week.Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.The two ex-champs who looked like the ghosts of tennis past only six weeks ago rolled right into the round of 16 yesterday.Becker put away an 18-year-old Australian named Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).And Agassi, still riding a wave from his unexpected French Open triumph, unloaded on Spanish baseliner Alberto Martin, 6-2, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.What was supposed to be a Wimbledon to showcase new faces and stars is lost in a glorious time warp.

WASHINGTON -- Once, just a couple years ago, German tennis was soaring. There was charismatic Boris Becker, the strong-willed Michael Stich and the inimitable Steffi Graf.Until a few weeks ago, Becker was still around and until a few days ago, Graf.But now they are gone. The German stage is empty. Or is it?Playing on Stadium Court yesterday in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic was Nicolas Kiefer.Is he the next great German player?"I'd like to be," he said. "I hope so. I want to be. I want to beat my opponents.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Yesterday, Boris Becker showed Wimbledon the old moves -- and the old power.He dived on the grass. He slammed winners. And he beat Britain's Mark Petchey, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the round of 16.Becker, 29, hasn't won Wimbledon since 1989.But don't tell him that the Wimbledon title is reserved for youthful players."You need many things to survive a very strenuous two-week tournament," he said. "You need to be very, very patient. Your nerves have to be excellent.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Boris Becker was moving slowly, heading for the stage exit one last time as gray clouds rolled in and cheers poured down.This was his farewell to Wimbledon, his long last look at Centre Court. He was bowing, saluting the place and the crowd before waving goodbye, leaving the scarred grass stage forever.Yesterday, Becker announced his retirement from Wimbledon after losing to Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4.It was like something out of a movie, the great athlete making a great exit.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Flirting with defeat, Monica Seles displayed her utter refusal to lose today as she overcame a gutsy effort by Chanda Rubin to reach the Australian Open final and go for her fourth championship.On the men's side, Andre Agassi finished what he started Tuesday, defeating Jim Courier, 6-7 (7-9), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, to earn a spot in the semifinals against Michael Chang. The win also guaranteed that next week Agassi will regain the No. 1 ranking that he relinquished to Pete Sampras in November.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Since Andre Agassi burst on the scene with peroxide in his hair and fire in his forehand, he has been called many things: showman, pitchman, underachiever and, ultimately, champion.Until now, "escape artist" did not make the list.But the player who has changed appearance nearly as often as others change channels has transformed himself once more at this Australian Open. Already one of the most dangerous front-runners in men's tennis, he has proved himself capable of staring down big deficits and finding a way to win in five sets.

WIMBLEDON, England -- When he woke up yesterday in the spacious home he rents just beyond these Wimbledon walls, Boris Becker, the No. 2 seed, thought he would be safely through to the round of 16 by the time the predicted drizzle closed things down late in the afternoon.Instead, Becker found himself in the hospital with a suspected broken wrist he incurred when he tried to return what seemed like an innocuous second serve from his hitherto anonymous opponent, Neville Godwin.With that single stroke, this star-crossed, star-starved Grand Slam tournament found itself bereft of the commanding presence of the man considered to pose the most significant challenge to Pete Sampras in his quest for a fourth consecutive championship.

WIMBLEDON, England -- No. 10 seed Michael Stich had just advanced to the round of 16 yesterday at Wimbledon when he looked up at the scoreboard and then looked again.What made him pause was seeing that No. 1 seed Pete Sampras had lost a third-set tiebreaker and was down 4-1 in the fourth to Karol Kucera of Slovakia.With the way seeds have been disappearing from the tournament in the past week, neither Stich nor anyone else could be sure exactly what was going to happen on Centre Court on this unusually cold, windy day at this most unusual of Wimbledons.

NEW YORK -- She screamed. She screeched. She gave a demonstration of an operatic death scene. And then Monica Seles took control of herself and the match and beat Jana Novotna, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, in her most challenging match of the U.S. Open."I was just so angry with myself," said Seles after moving into the women's semifinals. "I was so tight. Finally, I had just had enough. I told myself to smile. I told myself to just go for the shots, that I had nothing to lose because I couldn't get any tighter."

The British Open has been over for a couple of days, and Tom Watson is probably home taking a blowtorch to his 8-iron, but I'm still sitting exactly in the same position I was when he overshot the green at 18 and came up just short of what would have been one of the most amazing feats in the history of professional sports. I'd like to say I'm still sitting here in front of the television in disbelief, waiting for one of the SportsCenter replays to show he actually made that 9-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the tournament.

WASHINGTON -- Once, just a couple years ago, German tennis was soaring. There was charismatic Boris Becker, the strong-willed Michael Stich and the inimitable Steffi Graf.Until a few weeks ago, Becker was still around and until a few days ago, Graf.But now they are gone. The German stage is empty. Or is it?Playing on Stadium Court yesterday in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic was Nicolas Kiefer.Is he the next great German player?"I'd like to be," he said. "I hope so. I want to be. I want to beat my opponents.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Martina Hingis -- gone.Monica Seles -- outta here.And the rain? What rain?And that was just Wimbledon's first week.As the world's greatest serve-and-volley show on grass reopens today for the second week, there are hints that this could emerge as a Wimbledon for the ages.The top half of the women's draw is in tatters, opening the way to a host of new stars, led by Jelena Dokic, the teen who toppled Hingis in the first round.The bottom half of the men's draw is like a glorious old-timers' day, featuring the likes of Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

WIMBLEDON, England -- So, here's the last Wimbledon of the century and look who's still lurking in the bottom of the men's draw at the end of the opening week.Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.The two ex-champs who looked like the ghosts of tennis past only six weeks ago rolled right into the round of 16 yesterday.Becker put away an 18-year-old Australian named Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).And Agassi, still riding a wave from his unexpected French Open triumph, unloaded on Spanish baseliner Alberto Martin, 6-2, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.What was supposed to be a Wimbledon to showcase new faces and stars is lost in a glorious time warp.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Boris Becker was moving slowly, heading for the stage exit one last time as gray clouds rolled in and cheers poured down.This was his farewell to Wimbledon, his long last look at Centre Court. He was bowing, saluting the place and the crowd before waving goodbye, leaving the scarred grass stage forever.Yesterday, Becker announced his retirement from Wimbledon after losing to Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4.It was like something out of a movie, the great athlete making a great exit.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Yesterday, Boris Becker showed Wimbledon the old moves -- and the old power.He dived on the grass. He slammed winners. And he beat Britain's Mark Petchey, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the round of 16.Becker, 29, hasn't won Wimbledon since 1989.But don't tell him that the Wimbledon title is reserved for youthful players."You need many things to survive a very strenuous two-week tournament," he said. "You need to be very, very patient. Your nerves have to be excellent.

WIMBLEDON, England -- No. 10 seed Michael Stich had just advanced to the round of 16 yesterday at Wimbledon when he looked up at the scoreboard and then looked again.What made him pause was seeing that No. 1 seed Pete Sampras had lost a third-set tiebreaker and was down 4-1 in the fourth to Karol Kucera of Slovakia.With the way seeds have been disappearing from the tournament in the past week, neither Stich nor anyone else could be sure exactly what was going to happen on Centre Court on this unusually cold, windy day at this most unusual of Wimbledons.

WIMBLEDON, England -- When he woke up yesterday in the spacious home he rents just beyond these Wimbledon walls, Boris Becker, the No. 2 seed, thought he would be safely through to the round of 16 by the time the predicted drizzle closed things down late in the afternoon.Instead, Becker found himself in the hospital with a suspected broken wrist he incurred when he tried to return what seemed like an innocuous second serve from his hitherto anonymous opponent, Neville Godwin.With that single stroke, this star-crossed, star-starved Grand Slam tournament found itself bereft of the commanding presence of the man considered to pose the most significant challenge to Pete Sampras in his quest for a fourth consecutive championship.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Flirting with defeat, Monica Seles displayed her utter refusal to lose today as she overcame a gutsy effort by Chanda Rubin to reach the Australian Open final and go for her fourth championship.On the men's side, Andre Agassi finished what he started Tuesday, defeating Jim Courier, 6-7 (7-9), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, to earn a spot in the semifinals against Michael Chang. The win also guaranteed that next week Agassi will regain the No. 1 ranking that he relinquished to Pete Sampras in November.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Since Andre Agassi burst on the scene with peroxide in his hair and fire in his forehand, he has been called many things: showman, pitchman, underachiever and, ultimately, champion.Until now, "escape artist" did not make the list.But the player who has changed appearance nearly as often as others change channels has transformed himself once more at this Australian Open. Already one of the most dangerous front-runners in men's tennis, he has proved himself capable of staring down big deficits and finding a way to win in five sets.