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22
THE IRISH TIMES Tuesday, October 4, 2005
SportsNews
French flair
makes skills
camp a tour
de force
Rugby News round-up
Munster
passed up
chance to
sign Lomu
Gerry Thornley
Gerry Thornley
On Rugby
S
kills, skills, skills. More than anything,
that’s what teenage rugby players should
be learning in the years that are the
windows of opportunity. But are they? Is
the much-vaunted Irish schools/underage
system, which undoubtedly helps produce great
players, achieving this aim as much as it could?
The bottom line, are they even enjoying the
game as much as they could?
Sure, they’re often playing for schools that
have a great tradition and are the lifeblood of
rugby in this country. They often compete in
front of big crowds and, for better or worse, are
exposed to more media coverage than their
counterparts in any other sport. They learn much
about the nature of high-profile, knockout rugby,
how to perform in the context of team patterns
and how to win. But winning isn’t everything at
underage level. It’s not even the most important
thing. Nurturing talent is, especially if it leads to
fulfilment in a senior career.
Summertime, away from competition,
provides the best opening, and, along with the
schools and others, into this breach boldly steps
the Rugby and French camp in Soustons, north
of Biarritz (www.rugbyandfrench.com). Held
over July and August, and recently having
completed a sixth summer, it is run by the
former Wanderers centre Nigel Osborne and the
one-time Harlequins back-five forward Bill
Davison at the impressive Camp Nautique de
L’Isle Verte, and is attended by mostly Irish and
English kids between the ages of 12 and 15.
Similar camps are held there by the French
Federation for young rugby players in the
southwest/Landes region. Their players stay in
chalets, the Irish and English in tents, which
Osborne believes is more conducive to a family
atmosphere as well as keeping down costs
(excessive at just over ¤1,000, due in the main to
the cost of flights).
There are three billiard-top pitches adjacent
to the lake, a short walk from Soustons village
and a 20-minute cycle from the beach, as well as
an array of nautical equipment and qualified
instructors, to help keep the players in camp
busy with kayaking, windsurfing and the like.
All overseen by the professional, unflustered
Christophe Andignac, even the restaurant
provides three healthy, well-balanced meals a
day that Jamie Oliver would approve of.
But what else would you expect from the
French? There are also daily conversational
French lessons run by two of Osborne’s
eight-strong staff, Sara McDonald (formerly
Francois Pienaar’s assistant at Saracens) and
Elaine Coughlan. But most of all the emphasis is
very much on the rugby skills instilled by
Osborne and Davison as well as Henric Gervais,
Simon O’Hare, Niall Best, Peter Burns and Ron
Boucher, five of Osborne’s protégés during his
four-year stint as Wanderers under-20s coach.
“Primarily it’s a rugby holiday,” says Osborne.
“It’s the first real rugby tour for virtually all of
them, with all the good elements of rugby tours,
meeting and making mates for life, while
enjoying their rugby and developing their skills.”
Divided into junior and senior sections, each
morning there is an intensive skills session of
about 90 minutes. Initially very basic, passing in
groups of four off both hands unopposed and
then with an emphasis on running at the inside
shoulders of one, two and ultimately three
defenders, the progress is eye-catching.
With communication the key, the mantra of
the week appears to be Osborne loudly intoning
“two hands, two hands” as the players become
more adept at running straight, passing before or
out of contact, keeping the ball alive and moving
at tempo, but their tackling techniques and how
to take a hit (with an emphasis on safety) and
rucking, also improve collectively. They are also
encouraged to try things and make mistakes.
And this particular group benefits from having
Gary Foley, a mature, driven and talented
15-year-old, and his CBC sidekicks Steve Boucher
and David Lewis, as leaders. After their busy
afternoons and French lessons, the players put
into practice what they’ve learnt with evening
games. An abiding image is of the barefoot,
shirtless Osborne and his fellow coaches among
their willing pupils as they go through those
early evening practice games, the heat having by
then relented slightly.
They absorb like sponges, the learning curve
is rapid, and proof of this comes with games
against their French counterparts on the eighth
day, played in 28 degrees, complete with
anthems, refereed by Osborne and one of the
French staff. The Irish juniors are up against a
more talented and bigger French team, but keep
their heads to score one try after conceding six.
But the seniors are brilliant. With their first
play they set the tone, outhalf Anthony Doyle
from Newcastlewest skip-passes to Foley, who
draws the man and puts Patrick Simpkin, a
fullback from Mullingar who came here two
summers previously as a lock, into space.
Crucially he has the presence to link again.
Foley opens the scoring with an unstoppable
straight run through the middle. Four more Irish
tries follow, the last two an expression of their
week in camp; awareness in possession, two
hands on the ball, passing at pace, offloading in
the tackle until eventually they run in their
scores untouched. By the end, you’d have
reasonably wondered which team was French.
The feedback from the kids was proof they
loved the setting, the facilities, the activities, but
most of all the coaching. Provincial clubs like
Naas, Clonmel and Thurles send groups every
year. And many players, such as the most recent
Blackrock wunderkind Luke Fitzgerald and his
fellow Leinster schools player David Moore,
have attended several summers in a row.
Admittedly, how much of what these young
players learn in a mere 10 days and can be
retained is debatable. But, the more the better,
one would guess.
[email protected]
Jonah Lomu, here on the charge in New Zealand’s 40-29 win over Ireland in November 2001, was in talks, through his agent, with Munster
and might have ended up playing alongside David Wallace (left) and Anthony Foley had Cardiff not stepped in. – (Photograph: Getty Images)
Dallaglio bounces back
Lawrence Dallaglio promised on
the day after having a plate and five
screws inserted into his broken
ankle that he would be back in
action by October – and he has been
true to his word.
Wasps have confirmed Dallaglio
will be in the squad for Friday’s
Anglo-Welsh Cup clash with Cardiff at the Causeway Stadium.
Dallaglio underwent surgery in
Auckland on June 5th after he was
caught awkwardly under a pile of
bodies in the Lions’ opening tour
match against Bay of Plenty.
Initial estimates placed his
recovery time at between four and
six months, but Dallaglio insisted
from his hospital bed that it would
be sooner rather than later.
After four months of intense
physio, he is ready to take his first
step on what could be the final
journey of his career, one the
former England captain hopes will
lead to more World Cup glory.
Dallaglio retired from England
duty as captain in September 2004,
just days before Clive Woodward
quit, citing the “brutal demands” of
Sports Digest
the modern game.
But he made himself available for
a third Lions tour, and after that was
wrecked by his injury just 17 minutes into the opening game the prospect of an England return began to
formulate.
“When you have had a long-term
injury the main priority is to get
back on to the rugby pitch in a black
shirt, playing for Wasps. Then we’ll
be able to see what level I am at,”
Dallaglio said recently.
“I have the desire to play international rugby, but whether I have the
ability we’ll have to wait and see.
“No matter who you are or what
you have done in the game, form
and fitness are very, very important.”
England head coach Andy Robinson would welcome Dallaglio
back into the fold.
“I would love Lawrence to put
himself forward to play for England
again. He is still a great player,” he
said this weekend.
“The crucial thing is for him to
get back playing and get back to
where he used to be.”
Soccer News
Munster, it has emerged, may have
been favourites at one stage of
Jonah Lomu’s long-running transfer
saga to a European club to sign the
legendary All Black winger. Certainly that was the belief within the
Cardiff Blues, and Munster sources
have confirmed they were in
advanced negotiations with Lomu’s
agent before Cardiff signed him last
week.
“Yes it’s true that we were a long
way down the road with him and
perhaps might have had first option
on him at one point,” admitted a
Munster spokesperson yesterday.
And Lomu himself is believed to
have been in contact with his old All
Black team-mate Christian Cullen.
However, Munster were ultimately reluctant to gamble on a
player who has played only one
game in the last three years, Martin
Johnson’s testimonial last May at
Twickenham.
To even be back on a pitch
playing was a miraculous achievement for a player who, after the 1995
and 1999 World Cups, was undoubtedly the biggest name in the global
game, but since then his career has
been blighted by nephrotic syndrome, which necessitated a kidney
transplant last year.
Munster were committed to
signing Anton Pitout – the
28-year-old
winger-cum-centre
from the Cheetahs’ Currie Cup team
– so their interest switched to Gary
Connolly. The former Britain and
Ireland rugby league international
was signed at relatively short notice
in time for the Heineken European
Cup deadline last Thursday after
Declan Kidney noticed his possible
availability just over a week ago.
Connolly duly scored twice on
his debut in the win over Connacht
last Saturday.
Munster entertain Leinster in an
eagerly awaited Celtic League clash
at Musgrave Park next Sunday and
given they are idle the following
weekend, this is Declan Kidney’s
last opportunity to try out combinations and see players back from
injury before their opening
European Cup tie, away to the highflying Sale Sharks.
Hence, Pitout – who has undergone four operations after a pin
inserted in the leg he broke playing
for the Springbok Sevens last
January became infected – may well
come into the Munster side after
arriving from South Africa
yesterday.
Kidney might also give Shaun
Payne, Anthony Horgan and/or
David Wallace game time if any or
all of them recover from recent
short-term injuries. He is expected
to announce his squad tomorrow
and his team later in the week.
His counterpart Michael Cheika
will definitely be without Guy
Easterby not only for next Sunday’s
game but also for the opening two
rounds of the European Cup after
confirmation the Ireland scrumhalf
suffered a broken jaw in Leinster’s
hard-earned win over Ulster.
Easterby will be sidelined for an
estimated six to eight weeks, which
would rule him out of Ireland’s
opening autumn international,
against the All Blacks, and probably
the ensuing games against Australia
and Romania.
Brian O’Meara will thus be
expected to start, with Brian
O’Riordan back on the bench after
recovering from a pre-season ankle
injury to play in the A game
between Leinster and Ulster last
Friday. Sunday’s game should also
see Keith Gleeson make his 50th
appearance for Leinster.
● Welsh outhalf Stephen Jones
faces a race against time to be fit for
his country’s clash with New
Zealand on November 5th. He badly
twisted an ankle playing for his club
side, Clermont Auvergne, on
Saturday and has been told he needs
four weeks to recover.
National League Premier Division
Museeuw
Mikel transfer Still no luck
faces charges saga continues for St Patrick’s
■ CYCLING: The 1996 world
champion, Johan Museeuw of
Belgium, is among 11 former
cyclists and their associates who
face charges in a court in Courtrai,
Flanders, relating to banned
performance-enchancing drugs, a
prosecutor in the Belgian town said
yesterday, reports William
Fotheringham.
A formal request that Museeuw
and the others face a court hearing
will be made on October 11th, said
Tom Janssens, a spokesman for the
Courtrai prosecutors’ office.
Neither Museeuw nor the team
that currently employs him as a
public relations officer, Quickstep,
was available for comment
yesterday but the cyclist has denied
all charges against him.
Museeuw is “accused of
possession of the blood boosters
erythropoietin and aranesp, and
dexomethasone (a steroidal
anti-inflammatory)”, Janssens said
yesterday.
Museeuw was banned in
October 2004 for two years by the
Belgian Cycling Federation for the
use of performance-enhancing
drugs but by then he had been
retired for six months.
Museeuw’s distinguished career
included two victories in the
season-long World Cup series and
13 wins in one-day Classic races.
He never tested positive during
his 16-year career, calling into
question the worth of the current
drug-testing regime.
● Guardian Service
■ EQUESTRIAN: Jessica Kurten
won a car for finishing third in the
Euroclassics final at Bremen
yesterday, reports Grania Willis.
Kurten had picked up a succession
of placings, including a win with
Quibell on Sunday at the German
fixture, and was one of eight double
clears in yesterday’s final. Once
again teamed up with Quibell,
Kurten retired the mare against the
clock when Ludger Beerbaum’s
target time of 35.59 proved out of
reach.
● Details in SPORTS ROUND-UP
■ ATHLETICS: Barcelona has
offered itself as a replacement for
Madrid as a possible venue for the
2010 European Championships
after the Spanish capital withdrew
following its unsuccessful bid to
hold the 2012 Olympics.
“The (EAA) European Athletics
Association Council decided that
the RFEA may substitute the city of
Barcelona for Madrid,” the EAA
said yesterday. The evaluation
procedure will start with Barcelona
and the decision on the venue will
be taken in April 2006.
■ MOTOR SPORT: Rain has
forced BAR to put on hold an
attempt to run a Formula One car
faster than ever before. Water
covered the track on the Bonneville
Salt Flats in north-west Utah and
forecasts suggested it would not
evaporate before the scheduled
running from October 5th-8th.
Formula One’s current racetrack
speed record of 372kph was set by
Juan Pablo Montoya.
Daniel Taylor
Alex Ferguson yesterday criticised
Chelsea for their behaviour over
the John Obi Mikel transfer by
describing the situation as “disgusting”.
The Manchester United manager
is convinced Mikel wants to fulfil
the contract he signed in April to
become a United player in January
2006. Mikel has since claimed he
would rather join Chelsea and that
he regrets saying he would move to
Old Trafford, but, in private, he has
assured Ferguson he still wants to
play for him but has been forced to
say otherwise.
“I don’t believe it’s true that
Mikel doesn’t want to join Manchester United; I believe he has
been forced to say it,” said Ferguson. “His family have been put
under huge pressure and the
circumstances are very sad. The
manner in which he and his family
have been treated and pressurised
is, quite frankly, disgusting.”
United feel so strongly about the
matter they have asked Fifa to ratify
Mikel is their player and extinguish
any hopes Chelsea may have of
signing him. Ferguson said recently
the “problem” emanated from
where Mikel’s agent John Shittu
was taking his orders and he
expanded on that yesterday, saying
the player’s representatives “apparently work for Chelsea”.
Although Mikel is virtually
unknown in England, United and
Chelsea are acutely aware he is one
Bohemians
St Patrick’s Athletic
1
1
Paul O’Hehir
John Obi Mikel: tug of war
between United and Chelsea
of the world’s most precocious talents. Chelsea had been convinced
he would sign for them, having
received verbal assurances.
Relations have also been tested
between United and their League
Cup third-round opponents Barnet.
The League Two club, racked with
debt, have refused to be cowed by
United in a David and Goliath
dispute over ticket prices for their
forthcoming tie at Old Trafford.
Anticipating the biggest payday
in their history, Barnet have
angered United by turning down a
request from Old Trafford to cut
prices for the tie. Fearing the match
will otherwise be played in a halfempty stadium, United say they
wanted to make tickets available for
£15-£25 for adults – the maximum
price is normally £41 – and £5 for
under-16s.
● Guardian Service
And so the search continues for
luckless St Patrick’s. Without a win
since July, they came close to
amending that unwanted record
last night, but, having taken the
lead, they were reduced to 10 men
and restricted to a share of the
night’s prize.
Judging by the performance,
though, it won’t be long before they
get the victory that eases their relegation fears.
Both sides played enterprising
football during a bright opening
spell. Bohemians were perhaps
more adventurous in their application and winger John Paul Kelly typified their willingness to stretch the
visitors. He sprayed superb crossfield balls which had the St Patrick’s
players scrambling, but, more often
than not, the player on the receiving
end spurned the chance.
St Patrick’s too were keen to get
forward, and strikers Ger Rowe and
Glen Larsen looked to probe. The
duo combined for their first chance,
but when goalkeeper Matt Gregg
parried Rowe’s stinging shot,
Larsen headed the rebound over.
As the half progressed, play
became disjointed, and the change
in pace and direction disrupted
Bohemians – though Fergal Harkin
did go close with a 40-yard free –
and St Patrick’s played off the front
foot until the break.
The breakthrough was made
seven minutes into the second half.
Larsen held up play inside the area,
but when attempting to offload he
was upended by James Keddy and
Michael Foley blasted the penalty
past Gregg.
But Bohemians levelled after 69
minutes when Tony Grant fired
HowTheyStand
Cork City ..............
Derry City .............
Shelbourne ..........
Drogheda Utd ......
Longford Town .....
Bohemians............
UCD ......................
Bray Wanderers ....
Shamrock Rvrs .....
St. Patrick’s ..........
Waterford Utd .......
Finn Harps ...........
P
25
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F
42
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13 57
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home from the spot after Seán
O’Connor was sent off for a foul on
Stephen Rice in the area.
In the end, St Patrick’s were somewhat fortunate to escape with a
point as Bohemians bombarded
their goal until the end.
BOHEMIANS: Gregg; Rice, Oman, Collins, Byrne;
Hunt; Kelly; Harkin, Keddy, Ward; Grant. Subs:
O’Brien for Collins (60). Booked: Kelly (24), Byrne
(39).
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Ryan; Prenderville,
Maguire, Caffrey, Frost; Brennan, Perth, Foley,
O’Connor; Larsen, Rowe. Subs: Doyle for Rowe (81),
Dunne for Larsen (90). Booked: Perth (63), Rowe
(71). Sent off: O’Connor (68).
Referee: I Stokes (Dublin).
SportsRound-Up
■ Equestrian Sport
EUROCLASSICS FINAL (Bremen, Germany): 1)
Champion Du Lys; Ludger Beerbaum (Ger) Faults
0/0/0 Time 35.59 2) Candy; Alois PollmannSchweckhorst (Ger) Faults 0/0/0 Time 36.38 3)
Quibell; Jessica Kurten (Irl) Faults 0/0/Ret. 31
starters.
■ Golf
LPGA TOUR OFFICE DEPOT CHAMPIONSHIP
(Trump National GC, Los Angeles) – Final totals (US
unless stated, par 72): 201 - Hee-Won Han (Kor) 65
68 68 203 - Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 71 66 66 205 -C
Matthew (Sco) 69 68 68 206 - K Icher (Fra) 65 68
73, N Gulbis 66 69 71 207 - J Jang (Kor) 67 66 74,
K Hull (Aus) 68 70 69 208 - M Baena 68 69 71
209 - M Kim (Kor) 67 69 73, A Sorenstam (Swe) 69
70 70, Y Jo (Kor) 71 67 71, K Saiki 69 71 69 210 M Redman 68 68 74, B Daniel 69 68 73, S Hyun
Ahn (Kor) 71 68 71, R Jones 68 70 72 211 - N
Taylor (Aus) 69 73 69, Il Mi Chung (Kor) 70 72 69, J
Hullett 68 69 74, N Perrot (Chi) 65 72 74, M Dunn
71 71 69, L Neumann (Swe) 72 66 73 212 - AJ
Eathorne (Can) 69 76 67, S Louden 69 73 70, A
Song (Kor) 7172 69, W Ward 65 72 75, M Lee (Kor)
71 71 70, E Dahllof (Swe) 68 69 75, P Creamer 68
72 72 213 - T Barrett 70 66 77, H Kim 71 68 74, G
Park (Kor) 66 71 76, L Ochoa (Mex) 68 75 70, M
Estill 69 72 72, J Rosales (Phi) 66 70 77, J Inkster
70 68 75 214 - J Erdmann-Crooks 70 71 73, C
Troche 70 72 72, S Lim (Mal) 71 71 72, K Stupples
(Eng) 68 76 70, M Hart 67 71 76, B Kim (Kor) 72
68 74, S Steinhauer 71 70 73, K Williams 72 71
71, H Bowie 67 70 77, M Hjorth (Swe) 68 69 77, J
Mills (Aus) 69 72 73 215 - C Koch (Swe) 71 72 72,
J Lee (Kor) 72 71 72, G Park (Kor) 74 70 71, A
Hanna 71 72 72, K Allison 68 72 75 216 - J Kang
(Kor) 68 77 71, P Hurst 72 68 76, S Lee 68 74 74,
C Kim 74 68 74 217 - C Kung (Tpe) 70 71 76, S
Arricau (Fra) 73 71 73, E Bastel 72 71 74, B
Morgan (Wal) 72 69 76, M Nagl (Ger) 69 76 72
218 - M McKay (Sco) 72 73 73 219 - L WalkerCooper 74 71 74, K Samp 72 68 79, B Burton 71
73 75 220 - D D'Alessio 75 70 75, E Blasberg 75
68 77, S Pettersen (Nor) 75 70 75, H Lunke 70 74
76, R Higashio (Jpn) 74 69 77 221 - S Ah Yim (Kor)
71 73 77, J Daniels 67 78 76, H Daly-Donofrio 74
71 76 222 - S Turner 74 70 78, A Hung (Tha) 76 69
77, J Moodie (Sco) 73 72 77 223 - M Lovander 74
70 79 224 - K Weiss 73 72 79 225 - W Doolan
(Aus) 68 77 80.
PGA TRAINEES’ TOURNAMENT PRO-AM (at Citywest) 62 (-3) - J Foster (Malone). 63 - A O’Sullivan
(Royal Dublin), K McGivern (Warrenpoint). 66 - C
Moriarty (Donaghadee), M Staunton (Black Bush).
67 - T Flanagan (Heritage). 68 - DJ Ryan (Portmarnock), P McClelland (Portadown), L Mulligan (Bray),
P Vaughan (Downpatrick), M Collins (Fermoy), D
Gleeson (PGA National). Team: 97 pts - P McClelland (Portadown) with Pat Doolin (11), Frank Archbold (13), Martin Joyce (18).
■ Hockey
IRISH SENIOR CUP (Women) — First round:
Corinthian v North Down, Knock v Old Alexandra,
Owls v Ashton, UCD v UCC, Armagh v Bandon,
Galway v Priorians, Portadown v Belvedere, Ballyclare v Three Rock, Victorians v Ards, Pembroke Wanderers v Trinity, Omagh v Coleraine, Cookstown v
Univ of Limerick, Parkview v Belfast Harlequins, Ballymena v Catholic Institute, Civil Service v Lisna-
garvey. Ties to be played November 5th. Bye to
round two: Clontarf. Bye to round three: Hermes,
Loreto, Railway Union, Cork Church of Ireland, Cork
Harlequins, Ballymoney, Pegasus and Randalstown.
IRISH JUNIOR CUP (Women) — First round:
Wexford v Ards II, Muckross v Galway, Genesis v
Skerries, Belfast Harlequins II v Diocesan, Priorians
II v Naas, Clontarf II v PSNI, Corinthian II v Loreto II,
Greenfields v North Kildare, Univ of Limerick II v
Pegasus II, Larne v Three Rock II, Suttonians v Carrick, Kilkenny v Randalstown II, Trinity II v Banbridge,
Aer Lingus v Waterford, Our Lady’s v Raphoe,
Hermes II v Kilkeel, Ballyclare II v Cork Harlequins II,
UCD II v Lurgan, Lisnagarvey II v NUIG, Old Alexandra II v Knock II, Bray v Railway Union II, Cork
Church of Ireland II v Pembroke Wanderers II, Glenanne v University of Jordanstown. Ties to be played
October 22nd. Bye to round two: Bandon II, Coleraine II, Catholic Institute II, Fermoy, Greenfields,
Portadown II, Ashton II, UCC II and Victorians II.
MAY COSTLEY (Women) — First round: Moyne
Thurles v Gorey, Enniscorthy II v Cookstown, Dromore v Newbridge, Univ of Ulster II v Portlaoise, Derg
Valley v Dungarvan, DCU v Athlone, Carlow v
Weston, Cooke v Midleton. Ties to be played
October 15th-16th. Bye to round two: Yeats County,
NUIG, Avoca, Swords, Cobh, Mallow, Wexford II and
Kilkenny II.
■ Soccer
ENGLISH LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
QPR .......................(1) 1 Crystal Palace ......(2) 3
Ainsworth 19
Reich 14 17
Soares 89
P W D L F A Pts
Sheff Utd ................ 12 10 0 2 25 12 30
Reading .................. 12 8 3 1 21 7 27
Luton ....................... 12 7 3 2 19 11 24
Wolverhampton ....... 12 5 4 3 17 11 19
Watford .................... 12 5 4 3 20 15 19
Leeds ...................... 11 5 3 3 13 10 18
Crystal Palace.......... 11 5 2 4 16 11 17
Southampton ........... 12 3 8 1 13 10 17
Ipswich ................... 12 5 2 5 12 17 17
QPR.......................... 12 4 4 4 11 15 16
Stoke ...................... 12 5 1 6 12 19 16
Cardiff .................... 11 4 3 4 15 14 15
Norwich.................... 12 4 3 5 13 13 15
■ Tennis
WTA RANKINGS: 1 Maria Sharapova (Rus)
4768pts, 2 Lindsay Davenport (USA) 4619, 3 Kim
Clijsters (Bel) 4404, 4 Amelie Mauresmo (Fra)
3927, 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel) 2935, 6
Mary Pierce (Fra) 2908, 7 Venus Williams (USA)
2883, 8 Elena Dementieva (Rus) 2617, 9 Nadia
Petrova (Rus) 2481, 10 Patty Schnyder (Swi) 2445,
11 Serena Williams (USA) 2383, 12 Anastasia
Myskina (Rus) 2266, 13 Alicia Molik (Aus) 1787,
14 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 1765, 15 Nathalie
Dechy (Fra) 1693.
ATP CHAMPIONS RACE: 1 Roger Federer (Swi)
1245pts, 2 Rafael Nadal (Spa) 853, 3 Andy Roddick (USA) 548, 4 Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) 498, 5
Andre Agassi (USA) 455, 6 Guillermo Coria (Arg)
422, 7 Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 378, 8 Marat Safin
(Rus) 346, 9 Gaston Gaudio (Arg) 344, 10 Mariano
Puerta (Arg) 322, 11 David Ferrer (Spa) 274, 12
Richard Gasquet (Fra) 266, 12 David Nalbandian
(Arg) 266, 14 Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) 263, 15
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spa) 257, 15 Thomas
Johansson (Swe) 257,