Winners in that group were Juan Carlos Ferrero, Roger Federer, Arnaud Clement, Justine Henin, Elena Dementieva and Arantxa Sanchez–Vicario.On the men’s side, it’s the same old story for Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter as they aim for another semifinal showdown. They just hope the ending changes.If it does, Pete Sampras’ amazing mastery of the All England Club’s grass courts – seven titles in the last eight years – will have taken an odd bounce.If it doesn’t, Agassi and Rafter might not get another shot at the championship at their advanced tennis ages.”There’s a good chance it will be my last year” on the tour, Rafter, 28, said Tuesday. “I’m sort of pretty excited to have a bit of a life and see if I like it or not.”Agassi has no such plans, but he is 31.”I don’t know how my career’s going to end or, really, when it’s going to end,” he said. “I can say that I hope it ends at the time when I just can’t really do it anymore, can’t win anymore.”He and Rafter, seeded second and third, still can win Wimbledon this year, but are in the same half of the draw and can’t meet in the final. Their only chance to play top–seeded Sampras would be in the final, and he’s won the last four Wimbledons.In Tuesday’s first round, Agassi beat Peter Wessels of the Netherlands, 7–6 (1), 6–4, 6–4, and Rafter topped Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 6–2, 7–6 (7), 6–3. Sampras, 29, already made it to the second round by winning Monday.The Wimbledon lives of Sampras, Agassi and Rafter have been intertwined in a strange coincidence that brings them together when the tournament approaches its climax.In 1999, Agassi beat Rafter in the semifinals only to lose to Sampras in the final.

Last year, it was Rafter’s turn to beat Agassi in the semis, but Sampras knocked off the Australian for the championship.”I was nervous I choked,” Rafter said “I think I now know that I have a good chance of winning. Last year gave me that little bit extra confidence.”The last champion before Sampras began his domination was Agassi, the 1992 winner over Ivanisevic. Even then, Sampras was on his way; he made it to the semifinals against Ivanisevic.Tuesday’s crowd of 41,320, the largest in Wimbledon’s 115–year history, saw straight–set wins by defending champion Venus Williams, 1999 winner Lindsay Davenport and fifth–seeded Lleyton Hewitt.. COURT 13

CENTRE COURT
B Rittner (Ger) v S Williams (US)(11) T Johansson (Swe) v A Roddick (US)M Lee (GB) v (6) T Henman (GB)NO 1 COURTJ Stoltenberg (Aus v (8) J C Ferrero (Sp)(4) J Capriati (US) v F Schiavone (It)(1) P Sampras (US) v B Cowan (GB)COURT 2B Black (Zim) v G Rusedski (GB) L Osterloh (US) v (13) Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Sp)(4) M Safin (Rus) v D Nestor (Can)J Hopkins (US) and L Latimer (GB) v N Dechy and A Mauresmo (Fr)COURT 3(19) C Martinez (Sp) v S Cacic (US) (33) J Bjorkman (Swe) v M Chang (US)(12) M Maleeva (Bul) v E Bovina (Rus)T Musgrave (Aus) and I Selyutina (Kaz) v (5) K Po-Messerli (US) and N Tauziat (Fr)COURT 4V Ruano Pascual (Sp) v L Krasnoroutskaya (Rus)(10) E Dementieva (Rus) v B Lamade (Ger)C Woodruff (US) v M Larsson (Swe)B Lamade (Ger) and (6) P Schnyder (Swit) v E Callens (Bel) and M Shaughnessy (US)COURT 5S Sfar (Tun) v B Schwartz (Aut)T Pisnik (Sloven) v (32) T Panova (Rus)S Sargsian (Arm) v T Robredo (Sp)M J Martinez and A I Medina Garrigues (Sp) v N Petrova (Rus) and T Pisnik (Sloven)COURT 6K Braasch and J Knippschild (Ger) v (5) E Ferreira (SA) and R Leach (US)M Weingartner (Ger) v (18) A Huber (Ger)(7) J Dokic (Yug) and C Martinez (Sp) v R Dragomir Ilie (Rom) and A Glass (Ger)I Majoli (Croa) and H Nagyova (Slovak) v P Mandula (Hun) and P Wartusch (Aut)COURT 7G Puentes (Sp) v (13) A Clement (Fr)K Habsudova (Slovak) v (15) S Testud (Fr)(1) L Raymond (US) and R Stubbs (Aus) v S Asagoe and Y Yoshida (Japan)S Testud and V Razzano (Fr) v K Grant (SA) and M Weingartner (Ger)COURT 8P Kilderry and P Tramacchi (Aus) v O Freelove and K Spencer (GB)N De Villiers (SA) and A Ellwood (Aus) v (14) A Coetzer (SA) and L McNeil (US)E Loit and A-G Sidot (Fr) v L Ahl and H Collin (GB)M-K Goellner (Ger) and A Olhovskiy (Rus) v M Damm (Cz Rep) and D Hrbaty (Slovak)COURT 9N Godwin and J Weir Smith (SA) v P Albano and L Arnold (Arg)R Hiraki (Japan) and N Vaidyanathan (Ind) v S Farina Elia (It) and I Tulyaganova (Uzb)J Blake (US) and M Merklein (Bah) v (4) D Johnson and J Palmer (US)K Habsudova and D Hantuchova (Slovak) v L Bacheva (Bul) and C Torrens-Valero (Sp)COURT 11J Erlich and A Ram (Isr) v M Barnard (SA) and J Thomas (US)R Koenig (SA) and M Sprengelmeyer (US) v M Mirnyi and V Voltchkov (Bela)K-A Guse and A Molik (Aus) v M Matevzic (Sloven) and D Zaric (Yug)R McQuillan and L McShea (Aus) v R Kolbovic and L Osterloh (US)COURT 13(28) L Raymond (US) v K Cross (GB)X Malisse (Bel)v (15) R Federer (Swit)(26) S Schalken (Neth) v B Bryan (US)E Dyrberg (Den) and K Marosi-Aracama (Hun) v (3) C Black (Zim) and E Likhovtseva (Rus)COURT 14R Sluiter (Neth) v T Woodbridge (Aus)A Myskina (Rus) v A Sugiyama (Japan)D Prinosil (Ger) v D Sanguinetti (It)(13) A Huber (Ger) and B Schett (Aut) v B Rittner (Ger) and M A Vento (Ven)COURT 15(12) W Black and K Ullyett (Zim) v T Cibulec and L Friedl (Cz Rep)(12) T Garbin (It) and J Husarova (Slovak) v E De Lone (US) and S Jeyaseelan (Can)P Luxa and R Stepanek (Cz Rep) v T Carbonell (Sp) and J Siemerink (Neth)S Plischke (Aut) and V Webb (Can) v (2) V Ruano Pascual (Sp) and P Suarez (Arg)COURT 16K Brandi (US) v E Gagliardi (Swit)M Bertolini and C Brandi (It) v J Boutter and F Santoro (Fr)E Baltacha and N Trinder (GB) v E Bes (Sp) and T Poutchek (Bela)(15) T Krizan and K Srebotnik (Sloven)v A Bachmann (Ger) and B Schwartz (Aut)COURT 17F Cermak (Cz Rep) and A Martin (Sp) v T Shimada (Japan) and M Wakefield (SA)A Jidkova (Rus) and M Tu (US) v C Dhenin (Fr) and M Diaz-Oliva (Arg)M Hood and M Rodriguez (Arg) v K Kim and G Weiner (US)E Gagliardi (Swit) and L Golarsa (It) v D Buth (US) and N Grandin (SA)COURT 18 K Boogert (Neth) v (8) J Henin (Bel)G Ivanisevic (Croa) v (21) C Moya (Sp)J Novak (Cz Rep) v (23) T Martin (US)Y Basuki (Indon) and N Miyagi (Japan) v J Pullin and L Woodroffe (GB)COURT 19N Behr and E Ran (Isr) v C Haggard (SA) and T Vanhoudt (Bel)(10) A Fusai (Fr) and R Grande (It) v H Crook and V Davies (GB)J Lee (Taiw) v (20) A Frazier (US)K Boogert and M Oremans (Neth) v (11) N Pratt (Aus) and E Tatarkova (Ukr)To be announced(4) S Williams and V Williams (US) v M Salerni and P Tarabini (Arg).

(1) P SAMPRAS (US) bt B Cowan (GB) 6–3 6–2 6–7(5) 4–6 6–3(4) M SAFIN (Rus) bt D Nestor (Can) 7–6(4) 3–6 1–2 rtd(6) T HENMAN (GB) bt M Lee (GB) 6–2 6–3 6–4(8) J C FERRERO (Spa) bt J Stoltenberg (Aus) 7–6(4) 4–6 6–3 6–7(3) 6–3A Roddick (US) bt (11) T JOHANSSON (Swe) 7–6(1) 6–1 4–6 7–6(3)(13) A CLEMENT (Fra) bt G Puentes (Spa) 6–3 6–3 6–4(15) R FEDERER (Swit) bt X Malisse (Bel) 6–3 7–5 3–6 4–6 6–3G Ivanisevic (Cro) bt (21) C MOYA (Spa) 6–7(6) 6–3 6–4 6–4(26) S SCHALKEN (Neth) bt B Bryan (US) 6–4 3–6 6–3 6–4(33) J BJORKMAN (Swe) bt M Chang (US) 7–6(4) 7–6(1) 6–4G Rusedski (GB) bt B Black (Zim) 6–1 6–3 6–4R Sluiter (Neth) bt T Woodbridge (Aus) 6–4 7–6(3) 2–6 6–3S Sargsian (Arm) bt T Robredo (Spa) 6–2 6–4 3–6 6–1M Larsson (Swe) bt C Woodruff (US) 6–4 6–4 6–2D Prinosil (Ger) bt D Sanguinetti (Ita) 6–3 4–6 6–4 4–6 6–0T Martin (US) bt J Novak (Cze) 6–7 (3–7) 2–6 6–4 6–4 6–4(19) N KIEFER (Ger) bt K Pless (Den) 7–6(7–1) 6–2 6–4A Stoliarov (Rus) bt C Pioline (Fra) 3–6 6–7(3–7) 6–4 6–3 12–10 (5) L HEWITT (Aus) bt T Dent (USA) 1–6 7–5 6–3 6–7(2–7) 6–3N Massu (Chi) bt F Meligeni (Bra) 6–4 2–6 7–6(7–2) 6–7(3–7) 6–3M Youzhny (Rus) bt A Dupuis (Fra) 7–6(9–7) 6–3 6–2(20) F SANTORO (Fra) bt M Mirnyi (Blr) 7–6(7–4) 6–1 6–4(27) H ARAZI (Mor) bt O Rochus (Bel) 7–6(7–3) 7–6(7–3) 7–6(7–3)Y El Aynaoui (Mor) bt A Vinciguerra (Swe) 6–1 6–4 7–6(7–4) G Canas (Arg) bt K Carlsen (Den) 7–5 4–6 6–7(1–7) 7–6(7–4) 6–4(3) P RAFTER (Aus) bt S Dosedel (Cze) 7–5 4–6 6–4 6–1(24) N ESCUDE (Fra) bt L Paes (Ind) 6–3 6–4 6–2W Black (Zim) bt F Mantilla (Spa) 6–1 6–2 7–6(7–5)(9) S GROSJEAN (Fra) bt R Schuettler (Ger) 7–5 6–2 7–6(8–6)(7) Y KAFELNIKOV (Rus) bt A Parmar (Gbr) 6–7(5–7) 6–3 6–3 6–1(10) T ENQVIST (Swe) bt S Huet (Fra) 6–2 7–6(7–1) 6–1(2) A AGASSI (USA) bt J Delgado (Gbr) 6–2 6–4 6–3. (4) J CAPRIATI (US) bt F Schiavone (Ita) 6–3 6–1(5) S WILLIAMS (US) bt B Rittner (Ger) 6–4 6–0(8) J HENIN (Bel) bt K Boogert (Neth) 5–7 7–5 6–2(10) E DEMENTIEVA (Rus) bt B Lamade (Ger) 4–6 6–3 6–2(12) M MALEEVA (Bul) bt E Bovina (Rus) 7–5 7–5L Osterloh (US) bt (13) A SANCHEZ VICARIO (Spa) 7–6 (7–4) 7–5(15) S TESTUD (Fra) bt K Habsudova (Slovak) 6–0 6–1(18) A HUBER (Ger) bt M Weingartner (Ger) 7–5 6–1(19) C MARTINEZ (Spa) bt S Cacic (US) 7–5 6–4(20) A FRAZIER (US) bt J Lee (Tai) 6–4 6–2(28) L RAYMOND (US) bt K Cross (GB) 6–0 6–1(32) T PANOVA (Rus) bt T Pisnik (Sloven) 7–6 (7–3) 2–6 6–2L Krasnoroutskaya (Rus) bt V Ruano Pascual (Spa) 6–3 7–6 (7–3)E Gagliardi (Swit) bt K Brandi (US) 6–1 6–2B Schwartz (Aut) bt S Sfar (Tunis) 6–4 6–4A Sugiyama (Jpn) bt A Myskina (Rus) 2–6 6–4 6–3(6) A MAURESMO (Fra) bt E Daniilidou (Gre) 6-3 6-2(31) T TANASUGARN (Tha) bt L Cervanova (Svk) 6–2 2–6 6–1(21) B SCHETT (Aut) bt N Dechy (Fra) 7–6(7–5) 6–3(9) N TAUZIAT (Fra) bt P Mandula (Hun) 6–0 6–1(30) P SCHNYDER (Swi) bt J Kandarr (Ger) 6–2 6–2(27) A MONTOLIO (Spa) bt A Barna (Ger) 6–3 6–4(2) V WILLIAMS (USA) bt D Hantuchova (Svk) 6–3 6–2(17) M SHAUGHNESSY (USA) bt M Marrero (Spa) 6–0 7–5(11) A J COETZER (Rsa) bt E Loit (Fra) 6–2 6–3(29) E LIKHOVTSEVA (Rus) bt C Torrens–Valero (Spa) 6–1 6–1(14) J DOKIC (Yug) bt J Hopkins (USA) 6–2 6–4(7) K CLIJSTERS (Bel) bt M Drake (Can) 6–3 6–1N Petrova (Rus) bt S Plischke (Aut) 6–1 6–0(3) L A DAVENPORT (USA) bt A Molik (Aus) 6–4 6–2I Tulyaganova (Uzb) bt A Serra–Zanetti (Ita) 6–3 6–7(6–8) 6–2(16) S FARINA ELIA (Ita) bt A Stevenson (USA) 6–3 6–2. Richard Taylor, the retired surgeon who became the only independent MP after campaigning to save his local hospital, condemned the Government yesterday as “arrogant, dismissive and unfair”. Richard Taylor, the retired surgeon who became the only independent MP after campaigning to save his local hospital, condemned the Government yesterday as “arrogant, dismissive and unfair”.
The 66-year-old who ousted the junior minister David Lock in Wyre Forest, used his maiden speech in the House of Commons to highlight the campaign to save Kidderminster Hospital from closure, the fight that swept him to power.He said: “My dream is to represent the patients’ voice, which is really so weak at the moment.”Dr Taylor told MPs he would campaign for greater openness in decision making and lobby for the voice of ordinary people to be heard in debates.Speaking during the continuing Queen’s Speech debate, Dr Taylor said: “It has been my intention to become an MP recently because of an all- consuming passion born out of an intense anger because of the arrogant, dismissive and unfair treatment my friends at home have had to suffer at the hands of unelected quangos and civil servants. My constituents will not rest until it has been made possible to ensure the provision of emergency services locally and in the meantime the scandalous waste of money planned for Kidderminster must be stopped.”Dr Taylor said a ward block opened in 1995 at a cost of £14m was now about to be gutted at a further cost of £13.7m to provide one-stop clinics which, he said, had already been in existence elsewhere in the hospital for a decade.He concluded: “Above all, I shall prize my independence, so I have no master except the people I represent.”. A retired surgeon is under investigation over the deaths of 10 cancer sufferers after a tip-off by fellow doctors concerned at his handling of patients.

A retired surgeon is under investigation over the deaths of 10 cancer sufferers after a tip-off by fellow doctors concerned at his handling of patients.
A total of 15 patients or their families are being contacted by two hospital trusts in Teesside and Durham after concern was raised over the work of Ron Rhind. An independent report said patients with virulent bladder cancer had been offered the wrong treatment.Dr Bill Ellis, medical director of North Durham Health Care Trust, where Mr Rhind worked for four years, said it was difficult to say how many patients had died as a result. The case has been referred to the General Medical Council, which is to run its own investigation.Mr Rhind, 58, worked at Hartlepool General Hospital from 1980 to 1995 and at Shotley Bridge Hospital and Dryburn Hospital in Co Durham from 1995 to 1999, before retiring on medical grounds.An independent review published yesterday found the 15 patients had been given the wrong treatment for invasive bladder cancer, a rare form of the disease that attacks surrounding muscle tissue. Most bladder cancer affects the lining of the bladder and is treated using a cytoscope, a device that “burns off” the tumour. Since 1990, the standard treatment for the invasive form of the cancer has been more “aggressive”, often involving radical surgery to remove all or part of the bladder, or radiotherapy.The inquiry found patients diagnosed with invasive cancer after 1990 had not been offered the invasive treatment and were instead treated with a cytoscope. Dr Ellis said: “He was treating these patients with a cytoscope and burning off the tumours, as you would for cancer of the bladder lining The method has changed entirely.