Thursday, August 01, 2002
Ailing Kuerten hopes to play here
By Michael Perry mperry@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Gustavo Kuerten, defending champion of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, is hopeful of playing in Cincinnati next week despite an ailing hip that caused him to retire in his first-round match Tuesday against Andrei Pavel in Toronto.
Kuerten, still recovering from hip surgery in February, lost the first set 7-5 and retired because he felt tired and his leg felt weak.
“It is still taking me a while to recover when I play lots of matches from week to week,” Kuerten said in a statement. “So, hopefully with these days off I will be able to recover and play in Cincinnati, where I had so much success. Since the first time I played there, I have always had good results there.”
Kuerten's .833 winning percentage here (15-3) is tops among active players.
Kuerten is scheduled to fly to Cincinnati today.
“Guga is going to work hard on the gym, doing the same things we are used to, to make his whole body stronger and make it recover,” his coach, Larri Passos, said. “(Today) we want to practice in Cincinnati already, but every day we will keep working hard on the physical side, and when the time to play comes, if he is 100 percent, he will be on court playing.”
Schedule of Tennis Events
'Mom' Mandlikova easing back into tennis
Sports Stories
Dodgers 11, Reds 5
Reds Box, Runs
Rare Wagner card found - maybe
White activated; Reitsma sent down
Getting Kearns out is almost a no-no
Reds Notebook: Chen's confidence up
Beltre leads Dodgers out of homer slump
Marlins 8, Cardinals 5
Mariners 5, Tigers 2
Red Sox 2, Angels 1
Contenders tweak rosters at deadline
Arbitrator could OK contraction
Louisville 6, Indianapolis 3
Wilson steps up in sack race
Kitna refocuses in QB competition
Autographs, fireworks tonight
Bengals Notebook: Rookies adjust to camp
NFL Notebook: Dallas mum on Smith's future
Ex-UC star Blount becomes a Bull again
Ailing Kuerten hopes to play here
