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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2002)
NEWS IN BRIEF Sorenstam fades as Inkster wins Open HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - On a Prairie Dunes course where she first made a name for her self 22 years ago, Juli Inkster turned in a career-defining per formance Sunday to beat Annika Sorenstam and win the U.S. Women's Open. Inkster closed with a 4-under 66, matching the lowest final- round score by an Open cham pion, for a two-stroke victory. It was her seventh major, most among active players. This one might have been the sweetest of all. She faced a two-stroke deficit against Sorenstam, the best player in women's golf who has been virtually unstoppable all year. Tougher yet, Inkster had been struggling with her swing throughout the week. Streaking Astros beat Pirates, 6-1 PITTSBURGH (AP) - The All- Star break arrived at the worst possible time for the Houston Astros, just when they're final ly playing like the team that won four of the last five NL Central titles. Jose Vizcaino's two-run dou ble keyed the second five-run inning against Pittsburgh's Jimmy Anderson in as many starts, and Wade Miller held the Pirates to a run over six innings in a 6-1 Astros victory Sunday. Miller struck out a season high nine as he and three relievers combined for 14 strikeouts. Roy Oswalt, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner pitched an inning each. Houston outscored Pittsburgh 27-13 in winning three of four in a series that finished off a 7- 2 pre-All-Star road trip. Sports The Battalion Page 3 • Monday, July 8, 2002 Hewitt wins in Wimbledon WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Lleyton Hewitt made certain this Wimbledon of upsets wouldn't end with one. The No. 1-ranked player kept his temper in check, his strokes on the lines, and wasn’t fazed by rain delays or a streaker’s show. Hewitt won his second Grand Slam title with a com mand performance, beating greener-than-grass David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 Sunday in a baseliners’ duel that produced the most lopsided Wimbledon final since 1984. At 21, the Australian is the tournament’s youngest champi on since Boris Becker won it a second time in 1986 at 18. “I kept looking at the score- board to see if it was real,” Hewitt said. “It’s an unbeliev able feeling. I always dreamed that some day I would be play ing for this trophy.” Nalbandian’s nerves showed on the match’s very first point — a double fault. He had every right to be a bit shaken: Before this fortnight, the 20-year-old Argentine had never played in a tour-level grass-court event, had never been past the third round in three majors, and owned exactly one career title. His first shot on Centre Court came the morning of the final, when he practiced with coach Gabriel Markus for 30 minutes. “I didn’t care about the conditions, the stadium, the situation,” the 28th-seeded Nalbandian said. “It was diffi cult because Lleyton is playing very good.” Despite dictating play and going for corners or lines repeat edly, Hewitt had more winners (30-12) and fewer unforced errors (25-41) than Nalbandian. Ripping returns off both wings, Hewitt broke Nalbandian’s serve eight times. Nalbandian was a big benefi ciary of a topsy-turvy tourna ment in which Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Marat Safin all lost in the second round. Nalbandian would have had to face Sampras in the third round, Safin in the quarterfinals, and Agassi in the semis. Instead, he got to play George Bastl, Nicolas Lapentti and Xavier Malisse. Before Sunday, there had been four straight first-time major winners, and eight men had won the last eight Grand Slam events. In a wide-open era of men’s tennis, Hewitt is as close to dom inant as anyone right now, and it’s been a quick trip to the top. In 1997, at 15 years and 1 1 months, he became the youngest qualifier for the Australian Open. He turned pro the next year and upset Agassi en route to a hard-court title in his hometown of Adelaide while ranked 550th — the low est for a tournament winner in ATP Tour history. When Hewitt beat Sampras in September for his first major title, he was the U.S. Open’s youngest champ since Sampras in 1990. He finished 2001 as the youngest year-end No. 1. Hewitt, however, hasn’t always been adored by his sports-wild countrymen because of his brash style. While playing James Blake at the U.S. Open, he made a comment interpreted by some as racist during a tirade. He’s been fined for using romp foul language on court and for calling a chair umpire at the 2001 French Open “spastic.” He angered fans in Adelaide by calling them “stupid” for cheer ing for his opponent during a match in 2000. A more mature Hewitt was on display at Wimbledon. He did nothing to rile up the partisan crowd during a straight-set semifinal victory over Britain’s Tim Henman and was never rattled during Sunday’s match, which was suspended twice for a total of 49 minutes because of rain. Just as the players came out of the locker room after the first delay, a male streaker hopped out of the stands, dropped his clothes and shoes on court, and pranced around for two minutes. He danced, somersaulted over the net and bowed to a laughing crowd while being chased by guards brandishing red sheets like matadors. Williams’ greatness came the old-fashioned way F orget about today’s pro baseball players and their juiced up muscles. Forget about the looming player strike and the sky-high salaries that dominate the game. Instead of watching the All-Star game Tuesday night, shut off the television and crack open an encyclopedia or baseball almanac and read about Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of all time. Read about how he won six batting titles, four home run crowns, two MVPs and two Triple Crowns, all while never being accused of using illegal substances. No special power drinks for him; Williams put up his stats the old- fashioned way. And, if you’re a mod ern day major leaguer, the most amazing thing is that it worked. Williams, who passed away Friday, was a student of the game. The “Splendid Splinter,” as he was called, was a hitter in the truest sense of the word. He was a player who took obses sive care of his bats, claimed he could see the individual stitches on a pitched ball and rarely drank anything stronger than a milk shake for fear it would dull his skills. Williams’ hitting skills are unrivaled by any pro to ever step on a diamond. Not Honus Wagner, not Joe DiMaggio, not Ty Cobb and not Tony Gwynn. Williams had a career on-base per centage of .483, almost 100 points higher than DiMaggio’s .398. Teddy Ballgame’s .344 career batting average bests Gwym nark of .338, and Williams’ 521 career home runs is over 300 more than Wagner and Cobb combined. No one besides Williams has ever led the American League in on-base and slugging percentage in the same year eight times, or done it six seasons in a row. The lone blemish on his career is his World Series record, which amounted to going 5-for-25 in the 1946 fall classic. But that is still overshadowed by his career-long dominance at the plate. Williams, who hit under .300 just twice, even took five seasons off in his prime to serve as a Marine pilot in two wars. In fact, Williams began his serv ice in World War II the season after winning the Triple Crown, leading the AL in home runs, RBI and batting aver age. He picked up where he left off after returning to baseball in 1946 by hitting .342 with 38 home runs. But Williams’ most telling stat came from 1941 when he hit .406, the last major leaguer to top the .400 mark in a season. The way he hit .400 is the most impressive part of all. The Red Sox faced Philadelphia in a See Williams on page 4 TRUE BROWN Brand New Apartments for Today's Students. We Won’t Be Beat. Jet Free Bent* Zero Deposit. Shop. Compare. Lease from us. We’ll beat the total cost of any lease for a bedroom at any new apartment or at Sterling University, Melrose, or University Commons. U! ol fe www.crossingplace.com 680-8475 "PBO’Pe'i till 7 p.m. 400 Southwest Parkway Crossing Place" Don’t settle for anything less than new. Valid on a 12 month lease. ^ Not ualid mith any other offers. 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