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Entry system ranking: 143 (282 points (-1)) Champions Race: 126 (7 points)(-3) Current tournament: Place: Monte Carlo, Monaco Next tournament:
Place: Munich, Germany
Date: April 29 - May 5, 2002 Draw Size: 32 Surface: Clay Prize Money: US $381,000 Stadium Court Seating: 3,800 Tournament Director: Rudi Berger Website: www.iphitos.de
Thanks Ivanna for the photo! (Norman in Bueno Aires)
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Norman, Rafter
crumble in Paris Eighth and ninth seeds Magnus Norman and Pat Rafter both crashed out of the French Open in amazing style on Tuesday. Both men sacrificed two-set leads to tumble out of the second grand slam tournament of the year. Australian Rafter threw away a two-set lead as he was beaten 4-6 2-6 6-3 7-6 6-1 by 30-year-old compatriot Wayne Arthurs. A semi-finalist in Paris in 1997, Rafter visibly tired and Arthurs started to pick his serve off on the return. Arthurs had lost in the first round in his only other appearance at Roland Garros last year. Unseeded Spaniard David Sanchez came from two sets down to beat last year's finalist Norman 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-2 in an epic three-and-a-half hour battle. Norman, who turns 25 on Wednesday, won the ace count 11-0, but dropped his serve nine times during the match. The result caps a miserable season for Norman so far this year, despite making the finals in Sydney and Scottsdale.
"I've just lost my confidence a little bit for a few weeks," said Norman, who has slid back to 20th in the ATP Champions Race. In eight tournaments since early March, the Swede has failed to win two consecutive matches, which is a stark contrast to last year when he won five titles. Norman denied that his defeat had anything to do with lack of fitness, instead pin-pointing psychological reasons. "It's a tough competition - if you hesitate you're gonna lose," said the 24-year-old. "I am very happy that I was in the final last year, but I forgot about that. I couldn't really do it this year. "I think I played good in the third set up to 5-3. I started to hesitate a little bit and he took advantage of it. Source: BBC Sports |
