The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Nicolas Massu was fined $1,000 at the U.S. Open on Friday for throwing his racket during a loss to Sargis Sargsian in which the double Olympic gold medalist forfeited the opening game of the fifth set.

Massu, seeded 10th, was given two $500 fines for equipment abuse. He lost the second-round match 6-7 (6), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 Thursday in 5 hours, 9 minutes - the second-longest match in Open history. His money penalty wasn't the biggest of the day, though. No. 26 Taylor Dent, who lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu, was fined $1,500 for swearing.

RUN FIZZLES: Wild card Angela Haynes, 19, made it to the biggest stage when her match Friday was shifted from Louis Armstrong Stadium to Arthur Ashe Stadium. Once there, she lost in the third round to 16th-seeded Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Haynes found out about 90 minutes before the match that she was moving, and said she had plenty of time to get ready. Then she walked onto the feature court and looked around. "This is my first time on Arthur Ashe, so it was a lot going on for me," she said. "Yeah, just real excited, kind of nervous. But what can I do?

"The crowd and the whole ambiance, being out there in front of all the people, being on TV, people counting on you. I mean, I think I was the favorite. It sounded like I was."

Schiavone startled her younger opponent by hitting a return through her legs.

"She shocked me with that one. I was too busy looking at her, because it was a good shot, I forgot to hit the volley," Haynes said.

Haynes grew up in Compton, Calif., and knew the Williams sisters when they were kids. She was one of a record four black women to reach the third round, joining Serena, Venus and Chanda Rubin.

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HAPPY TO BE HERE: There was a time when Corina Morariu was the No. 1 women's doubles player in the world. She came into this U.S. Open ranked 45th - and insists she's having much more fun playing these days.

"I walk out there and it's like, 'uh, well, it's a tennis match.' I probably minimize it more than I should," she said.

Then again, she's got a good reason to put things in perspective. In May 2001, she was diagnosed with leukemia and went through aggressive chemotherapy treatments.

"I've been as far gone as you can be without dying," she said. "I was blessed with a second chance to live."

Morariu won the Wimbledon doubles title with Lindsay Davenport in 1999 and the 2001 Australian Open mixed doubles title. Since recovering from leukemia, she's been slowed by two shoulder operations and knee problems.

"I've been a part-time tennis player for the last three years," she said. "For the last two years, I've been trying to stay healthy."

Morariu and Donald Johnson lost in the first round of the mixed doubles tournament at the Open on Friday, falling to Alexandra Stevenson and Rick Leach 6-4, 6-4. Morariu and Lisa McShea will play in the second round of the women's doubles.

Morariu wore a "Live Strong" yellow bracelet, the symbol of Lance Armstrong's cancer research foundation, at Flushing Meadows. She serves as the international sports ambassador for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the United States.

"I'll always keep trying to inspire people," she said. "Maybe someone is watching in a hospital now and they have a relative who comes to the U.S. Open and sees me play and says, 'if she can do it, so can you.'"

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OH, FINE!: Nicolas Massu's tantrum cost him more than a game at the U.S. Open - he also was fined $1,000.

Massu was given a pair of $500 penalties on Friday for equipment abuse. A day earlier, the Olympic double gold medalist threw his racket in a loss to Sargis Sargsian that took 5 hours, 9 minutes - the second-longest match in Open history.

Chair umpire Carlos Ramos docked Massu a point in the second set, then penalized him the first game in the deciding fifth set.

"I played for five hours, I fight a lot, and this guy comes here, gives me two or three warnings. I accept the first two warnings. If I have to pay something, I accept it. But the third is unbelievable," Massu said Thursday night. "This guy's unbelievable. He's never going to umpire me again."

Also Friday, Taylor Dent was fined $1,500 for swearing in a lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu.

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TV RATINGS: The U.S. Open's TV ratings are up during the day and down at night.

Through the first four days of the year's last Grand Slam tournament, USA's coverage from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. is averaging a 0.6 rating, 13 percent higher than last year's 0.52. But ratings slid 12 percent during the 7-11 p.m prime-time broadcasts, averaging 0.8 vs. the 0.91 in 2003.

The Republican National Convention ended Thursday night, giving USA hope that viewership numbers will increase.

"We're competing against the RNC this week," USA spokesman Tom Caraccioli said Friday. "And I don't know if people are 'sportsed-out' after the Olympics."