Women's Singles/Semifinals
SANCHEZ VICARIO and DAVENPORT to Play for Gold
Third-seeded Aranxta SANCHEZ VICARIO (ESP) advanced to the Olympic women's
singles final Wednesday with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Jana NOVOTNA (CZE). NOVOTNA had a total of 14 break point opportunities against SANCHEZ VICARIO, but converted only five, missing three in the crucial opening game of the third set.
In the second semifinal, No. 9 seed Lindsay DAVENPORT (USA) defeated her friend and teammate, No. 7 seed Mary Joe FERNANDEZ, 6-2, 7-6 (6). After falling 4-1 down in the second set, FERNANDEZ rallied to serve for the match at 6-5, but DAVENPORT overcame her 8-6 in the tiebreak to advance to Friday's gold medal final. FERNANDEZ and NOVOTNA will also play Friday for the bronze medal.
"I was playing my best friend," DAVENPORT said of her victory over FERNANDEZ. "Someone I didn't want to see lose or play bad like she was playing. At 6-2, 4-1, I pretty much thought it was over, and the next thing I know, she's hitting winners and serving for the set."
Woodbridge and Woodforde Advance After Marathon 18-16 Set
Top-seeded Mark WOODFORDE and Todd WOODBRIDGE advanced to the gold medal men's doubles final, coming back from match point down to defeat Jacco ELTINGH and Paul HARRHUIS (NED) 6-2, 5-7 and a marathon 18-16, the most games ever played in a men's doubles set in Olympic history.
After splitting the first two sets, the match remained on-serve in the third until the "Woodies" broke to 9-8 and attempted to serve for the match. A double-fault by WOODBRIDGE on triple match point gave ELTINGH and HAARHUIS the first of five straight points, launching both teams into a service-break standoff. The Dutchmen held break and match point at 12-11, 40-15 on WOODFORDE's serve, but four straight points by the Aussies evened the set until its 18-16 conclusion.
The "Woodies" will meet the surprising British pair of Neil BROAD and Tim HENMEN in Friday's final, who defeated the No. 30-ranked team of Germany's Marc-Kevin GOELLNER and David PRINOSIL, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. The German team will play ELTINGH and HAARHUIS Thursday for the Olympic bronze medal.
"It's a shame we had to play (HAARHUIS and ELTINGH) in the semifinals," Mark WOODFORE said. "Because I think all four of us feel we've been the two best doubles teams in the game for the last two or three years."
FERNANDEZ and FERNANDEZ Will Defend Gold in Women's Doubles Final
Defending gold medalists Mary Joe and Gigi FERNANDEZ (USA) -- the top-seeded women's pair in the Olympic tournament -- advanced to the gold medal round with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory over the No. 4 seeds, Manon BOLLEGRAF and Brenda SCHULTZ-MCCARTHY (NED). The Dutch pair staved-off triple match point at 5-4 down, coming back to lead 6-5 before the top-seeded Americans forced the tiebreak.
The FERNANDEZes' will meet No. 2 seeds Jana NOVOTNA and Helena SUKOVA (CZE) in Saturday's final, 6-2, 7-6 (1) winners over defeated third-seeded Arantxa SANCHEZ VICARIO and Conchita MARTINEZ (ESP) earlier in the day. SANCHEZ VICARIO and MARTINEZ were silver medalists at the 1992 Olympic Games, and will attempt to win their second consecutive Olympic medal Thursday when they meet BOLLEGRAF and SCHULTZ-MCCARTHY in the bronze medal match.
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