Stoltenberg ends Norman8217;s run

ATLANTA, May 4: Seventh seed Jason Stoltenberg avoided the fate of his fellow seeds by holding off upset-minded Swede Magnus Norman to reac...

ATLANTA, May 4: Seventh seed Jason Stoltenberg avoided the fate of his fellow seeds by holding off upset-minded Swede Magnus Norman to reach the final of the ATamp;T Challenge against Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay. Norman had picked off the highest remaining seed in his two previous matches, but failed in his bid for a hat-trick as the seventh-seeded Australian prevailed 6-4 5-7 6-3 yesterday.

Filippini, ranked 92nd in the world, upset eighth-seeded American Chris Woodruff 7-5 3-6 6-4 in the longest match of the tournament at two hours and 22 minutes.

In a tournament that featured American stars Michael Chang, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi, organisers are surely shocked by a Stoltenberg-Filippini final. But the top six seeds were eliminated before the semifinals, with 81st-ranked Norman taking care of Agassi 4 and Petr Korda 5. Philippoussis triumphs

MUNICH: Mark Philippoussis of Australia defeated favourite Alex Corretja of Spain 7-6 7-3 1-6 6-4 to win the final of the 425,000 ATP Tennis Tournament in Munich today.

It was the first claycourt tournament victory for the 20-year-old world number 21. Corretja, seeded sixth and ranked 13th in the world, was appearing in his third final in three weeks.

Majoli is Rexona champ

HAMBURG: Iva Majoli captured her first clay-court title and her second championship of the year by overwhelming doubles partner Ruxandra Dragomir 6-3 6-2 in the final of the Rexona cup today.

Majoli also won the Hanover Tournament in February and extended her unbeaten streak in Germany to 8-0, winning both her titles of 1997 in this country. The Croatian, who is ranked No 9 in the world, cruised through the match in 63 minutes, losing only one of her service games. She collected 79,000 for the title, while Dragomir took 36,000.

Top billing for Seles

Story continues below this ad

ROME: Former world number one Monica Seles, struggling against injury odds herself for more than a year, comes in as top seed for tomorrow8217;s start of the Italian Open as Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf sit out the event trying to cure knee injuries.

The missing pair world number one Hingis tumbled off a horse last week and will be out for at least another fortnight, Graf has been inactive for three months but is expected to return next this month in Berlin 8211; were to have been the top draw cards at the Foro Italico.

Seles, the world number three is seeded ahead of a pair of Spaniards, late entry Arantxa Sanchex Vicario, fifth in the world and seeking a turnaround in poor 1997 form, and number three Conchita Martinez, the Rome trophy-holder for the past four editions.

WTA crown for 15-yr-old

BOL: Mirjana Lucic, an unseeded 15-year-old Croatian playing in her first 107,500 WTA Tennis Tournament, won the final at her own country8217;s Women8217;s Open today.

Story continues below this ad

Lucic, who knocked out top seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa in straight sets in yesterday8217;s semifinal, beat unseeded American Corina Morariu 7-5 6-7 7-6 in the final.