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/ 6 September 2005
Lindsay Davenport reached the quarterfinals of the United States Open in straight sets on Monday, while eighth-seeded Guillermo Coria needed more than four-and-a-half hours to subdue Chile’s Nicolas Massu in the longest match of the tournament. Number seven Andre Agassi also advanced.
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/ 5 September 2005
For many American athletes, concentrating on games is the furthest thing on the minds of those who lost homes or have relatives dead or missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So, teams, owners and athletes are banding together in a heart-felt show of sympathy and support.
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/ 5 September 2005
Wimbledon champion Venus Williams beat her little sister Serena 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the United States Open in New York on Sunday, but the sister act was hardly a show-stopper. Belgian Kim Clijsters crushed Venezuelan Maria Vento-Kabchi, and Lleyton Hewitt’s five-set win over Taylor Dent had plenty of drama.
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/ 4 September 2005
Wild card James Blake of the United States stunned French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain at the US Open on Saturday, winning a classic third-round match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Two-time champion Andre Agassi chalked up a four-set third-round victory over 19-year-old Czech Tomas Berdych.
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/ 3 September 2005
Australian Open champion Serena Williams scrambled to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Francesca Schiavone in New York on Friday to set up a possible fourth-round clash with elder sister Venus at the US Open tennis championships. Maria Sharapova, Lleyton Hewitt and Asian number one Paradorn Srichaphan also advanced.
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/ 2 September 2005
Eight-time grand-slam champion Andre Agassi delivered on a tall order on Thursday, downing rangy Croatian Ivo Karlovic in straight sets to reach the third round of the United States Open tennis championships. Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne raced into the third round.
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/ 1 September 2005
Leading women, including Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters, overcame a swirling, capricious wind on Wednesday to blow into the third round of the ,75-million United States Open. The men’s second seed, Rafael Nadal, successfully translated his power game to the hard court.
The Federer express steamed into New York on Tuesday and once again Ivo Minar was tied to the tracks as Roger Federer launched his United States Open title defence by dismantling the Czech in straight sets. World number one and second seed Lindsay Davenport held off a spirited challenge from China’s Li Na.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller stunned former champion Andy Roddick in New York on Tuesday, sending the fourth-seeded American packing 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/1) in the first round of the US Open tennis championships. Muller spoiled what should have been Roddick’s 23rd birthday celebrations with a display of poise and precision.
”Draco’s breath is warm against his neck, his body gradually relaxing as Harry holds him, refusing to let go, and Harry discovers this is the most comfortable he’s ever been in his entire life.” Welcome to fan fiction — stories, millions of them, that people write about their favourite characters from literature, television and film.
Singer Art Garfunkel, who pleaded guilty last year to drug possession, has been charged again after a marijuana cigarette was allegedly found in his car, New York state police said on Tuesday. Garfunkel was pulled over by a trooper on Sunday after failing to halt at a stop sign not far from Woodstock in upstate New York.
Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was unceremoniously bundled out of the first round of the United States Open tennis championships in New York on Monday by fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova. Maria Sharapova wasted no time in taking a step toward another major title as she defeated Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-1.
Eight-time grand-slam champion Andre Agassi launched his 20th United States Open campaign with a swift straight-set victory over Romanian Razvan Sabau on Monday, to the delight of New York fans. French Open champion Rafael Nadal eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bobby Reynolds.
Former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio became the United States Open’s first major casualty on Monday, falling to American Brian Baker in three sets on the first day of the season’s final grand slam. Eighth-seeded Serena Williams beat back a second-set challenge from 16-year-old Taiwanese qualifier Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-3
Fifth seed Marat Safin of Russia has been forced to pull out of this week’s United States Open because of a knee injury. The 25-year-old, who won the Flushing Meadows tournament in 2000, has been bothered by tendonitis in his left knee for most of the summer.
Merck & Co might consider settling some lawsuits over its painkiller Vioxx, whose links to heart trouble have spawned thousands of lawsuits and a $253-million jury verdict, a spokesperson for the company’s legal team said on Friday. The company has previously said it would fight all personal-injury litigation over the drug’s harmful side effects.
John Bolton, Washington’s new ambassador to the United Nations, has called for wholesale changes to a draft document due to go before a UN summit next month aimed at reshaping the world body. Bolton has proposed 750 amendments to the draft and called for immediate talks on them.
The draw for the United States Open held as much drama for Roger Federer as most of his matches. He didn’t much care how it turned it out, who he played in the first round next Monday or who he might play in the rounds that follow. He was off in his own world on Wednesday, sleeping late, then practicing at the National Tennis Centre.
<i>Spin</i> magazine has built a veritable rock-star Frankenstein, composed of Michael Stipe’s skull, Elvis Presley’s pelvis and Madonna’s bellybutton. Madonna’s navel tops the list of the 25 "most incredible" rock-star body parts in <i>Spin</i>’s September issue, now on newsstands.
A new Broadway musical about John Lennon has been panned by everyone — apart from his widow, Yoko Ono, who was closely involved in the production. ”I think he would be jumping up and down,” said Ono (72), ”I think he would have loved it.” But with virtual unanimity the critics disagreed.
The company that pioneered commercial space travel by sending ”tourists” up to the International Space Station is planning a new mission: rocketing people around the far side of the moon. The price of a round-trip ticket is -million. The first mission by Space Adventures could happen in 2008 or 2009 and is planned as a stepping stone to an eventual lunar landing by private citizens.
Rupert Murdoch, the chairperson and CEO of News Corporation, said he plans to make several more acquisitions of online businesses in the coming months as his global media conglomerate makes the internet a ”major part” of its future growth. Murdoch said on Wednesday that News Corporation is in advanced talks to buy a controlling interest in an online search company.
The reputation of the United Nations was dealt a severe blow on Monday when an independent inquiry accused one of its most senior officials, Benon Sevan, of corruptly receiving  184 to help to facilitate an oil deal. Sevan, a UN official for 40 years, resigned on Sunday ahead of publication of the report. He denies the claims.
The former chief of the Iraq oil-for-food programme resigned on Sunday, a day before investigators release a report that is expected to accuse him of taking kickbacks. Benon Sevan accused United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan of failing to stand by him and blasted the independent inquiry committee investigating allegations of corruption.
A month after running a negative review of John Irving’s new novel, The Washington Post has run a negative review of that review. Irving’s Until I Find You, an 824-page novel based partly on the author’s relationship with his father, was panned in a July 10 review by Marianne Wiggins as a ”mass of lazy, unrefined writing”.
CNN suspended commentator Robert Novak indefinitely after he swore and walked off the set on Thursday during a debate with Democratic operative James Carville. The exchange during CNN’s Inside Edition came during a discussion of Florida’s Senate campaign.
America Online said on Thursday it has bought the online storage company Xdrive to meet the growing needs of consumers with rapidly expanding collections of digital music, photos and other files. AOL did not disclose financial terms but said it would operate Xdrive as a wholly owned subsidiary and continue to sell storage and backup services through Xdrive.com.
Media and entertainment giant Time Warner said on Wednesday it plunged into the red after setting aside -billion to cover shareholder lawsuits stemming from its 2001 merger with America Online. Time Warner posted a loss of -million in the second quarter to June, from a net profit of -million in the same period last year.
The American trade union movement was poised for its greatest rift in almost 70 years recently, as unions representing a third of the membership announced plans to set up a rival organisation. In a move that could have serious implications for the Democratic party’s electoral machine, four of the country’s largest unions said they would boycott the annual convention of the AFL-CIO.
Peter Gotti, the brother of late New York mob boss John Gotti, was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years in prison for plotting to murder the mafia turncoat who put his brother behind bars for life, Sammy ”The Bull” Gravano. The sentence followed Gotti’s conviction in December last year.
New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has apologised to a group of British tourists after armed police swarmed on to an open-top sightseeing bus, handcuffed them and forced them to kneel on Broadway. The police cordoned off the block for 90 minutes, ordered all 60 passengers off the bus, and searched their belongings and then their bodies.
The mammoth stage version of The Lord of the Rings, opening in Toronto next March, has found its Gandalf, Frodo, Gollum and more. Brent Carver, the Tony-winning star of Kiss of the Spider Woman, will portray the majestic wizard Gandalf, while Frodo, the ring-bearer, will be played by British actor James Loye.