German Open final, an all-Spanish affair

Kucera departed to whistling from the 10,000 crowd, though he had looked distinctly out of sorts, serving two successive double faults in his second service game, losing the opening three games, and missing a routine backhand at the start of the fourth game.

After he had lost his eleventh successive point, Kucera pointed to his foot, shook his head, and then shook hands.

The retirement guaranteed an all-Spanish final after Alex Corretja beat Felix Mantilla 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Quarter-final Results: Karol Kucera (Slo) bt Thomas Muster (Aut) 6-3 6-2; Albert Costa (Spa) bt FabriceSantoro (Fra) 6-3 6-3; Alex Corretja (Spa) bt Gustavo Kuerten (Bra) 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4

Venus subdues Arantxa

ROME: Venus Williams ensured an all-teenage title match tomorrow as she overcame a leg muscle problem to upset fifth seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-3 2-6 7-5 in today’s semifinals of the $926,250 Italian Open.

Williams, 17, will play either world No 1 Martina Hingis, 17, or 16-year-old Croatian Mirjana Lucic, the youngest player at the Foro Italico, in the final.

The win improved William’s record this year to 27 wins, three defeats.

Quarter-final Results: Venus Williams (US) bt Serena Williams (US) 6-4 6-2; Martin Hingis (Swi) bt Anna Kournikova (Rus) 6-2 6-4; Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Spa) bt Lisa Raymond (US) 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-2; Mirjana Lucic (Cro) bt Sandrine Testud (Fra) 7-5 (conceded)