Graf scores over Seles

NEW YORK, November 20: Five-Time champion Steffi Graf survived the toughest test of her latest comeback, holding off fifth seed Monica Seles...

NEW YORK, November 20: Five-Time champion Steffi Graf survived the toughest test of her latest comeback, holding off fifth seed Monica Seles in a three-set thriller to reach the semifinals of the Chase Championships.

Seles was absolutely overpowering in the first set. But when the last ball was hit, it was Graf whose hands were thrust up in victory as the German celebrated a 1-6 6-4 6-4 triumph in the battle of former number ones, owners of eight of the last 11 year-end championships titles between them.

Graf, unbeaten since returning from September wrist surgery, extended her winning streak to 12 matches and her string at the season finale to 10, having won the title in her last two appearances in 1995 and 1996.

In her last five matches, Graf has beaten four of the top six players in the world — Martina Hingis (2) and Lindsay Davenport (1) last week in Philadelphia and Jana Novotna (3) and Seles (6) this week. “The past two and a half weeks have been amazing. A match like that just tops it off,”Graf said.

Earlier Thursday, Irina Spirlea of Romania grabbed the first semifinal spot with a 55-minute, 6-2 6-3 drubbing of Belgian Dominique Van Roost.

The other two quarter-finals will be contested tonight as top seed Davenport meets eighth seed Nathalie Tauziat for the right to take on Graf, while second seed Martina Hingis faces sixth seed Mary Pierce, for a Saturday date with Spirlea.

Sampras, Agassi likely to play

LONDON: After his third-string team lost 4-1 to Italy in the semifinals, US Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson will do all he can to persuade Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi to play in next April’s match against Britain.

Story continues below this ad

Britain’s David Lloyd does not have that problem. He has Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman and virtually no one else.

American team officials came under fire when a weak US team, without Sampras or Agassi, lost to Italy in the semifinals in Milwaukee in September.

Next year is the centenary of the competition and Gullikson said he will hold individual meetings withhis top two players to try and persuade them to face Rudedski and Henman in Birmingham, England, April 2-4.

“I have not specifically talked to Andre and Pete yet about playing in the tie. They have a very big event coming up next week (the ATP World Tour Championship) in Hanover and in December I want to personally go and visit each of them,” Gullikson said in a conference call from his home at Palm Coast, Florida.

Story continues below this ad

Gullikson said he was mindful of the fact that both players have opted out of Davis Cup play in the past to concentrate on other tournaments and Agassi, strongly critical of us tennis association president Harry Marmion, had refused to play in Milwaukee.

“We need to have our very, very best team and Andre and Pete and Todd (Martin) are the strongest team.”