INFINITI HOPING TO HIT JACKPOT WITH WILD CARD.Byline: Joe Jares As any pilot or tournament director should be, Bob Kramer is an optimist. He figures the planes he flies are going to stay aloft until he chooses to land. And he holds out hope that the last wild-card entry for the Infiniti Open will be claimed by a big-name player, preferably a big-name American player (of which there are not many these days). Kramer is executive director of the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Tennis Association, which puts on the Infiniti Open at the L.A. Tennis Center. Last year he was driving to the tournament-draw ceremonies when hard-serving Swede swede: see turnip. Thomas Enqvist Thomas Enqvist (born March 13, 1974 in Stockholm) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden, who played on the ATP circuit since turning pro in 1991. He announced his retirement from tennis in April, 2006. , just knocked out of the Olympics in Atlanta, called and claimed the last wild card. A Nordic gift from Valhalla. This year the event (July 21-27) has a pretty good field, including Enqvist, ex-Wimbledon champ Richard Krajicek Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek (born December 6, 1971) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996 he won the men's singles title at Wimbledon. Since 2004 he has been the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. and Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis (born November 7, 1976) is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994 and as of 2007 resides in Nevada, United States. His background is a combination of Greek and Italian and he is well known for his powerful physique, standing at 6 ft 5 , but could use another stroke of good fortune. Wild card No. 1 has been given to Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. Wild card No. 2 has gone to Patrick Rafter Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He was twice men's singles champion at the US Open, and twice runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in Bermuda. of Australia. Kramer would dearly love to deal the last card up his sleeve to Andre Agassi or Michael Chang, and it could happen. Both Americans are playing this week in Washington, D.C. Both need to get tournament tough with lots of matches in preparation for the U.S. Open in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of starting Aug. 25. If either Agassi or Chang loses early in D.C. - more likely for Andre than Michael - Kramer will be on the phone faster than your teen-ager. The Infiniti can cling to its last card until about noon Friday, when the tournament-draw luncheon starts at the L.A. Athletic Club. If no Agassi or Chang or other star becomes available, Kramer must make a difficult choice among Patrick McEnroe, Cecil Mamiit (last year's NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association champ from USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. ), top local junior Taylor Dent, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX alumnus ALUMNUS, civil law. A child which one has nursed; a foster child. Dig. 40, 2, 14. Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and many others. Why no Sampras? World No. 1 Pete Sampras, champion of Wimbledon and practically all else he surveys, is not entered in the Infiniti Open, nor is he a likely prospect to request the third wild card. Even Kramer is not that much of an optimist. Sampras won the tournament in 1991. He grew up in the South Bay area of L.A. County. He played in many SCTA-sponsored junior events. His sister Stella is the women's coach at UCLA. So why, even though he resides in Florida these days, is he not playing in his hometown? Money and points. The Infiniti is a $320,000 World Series event on the ATP ATP: see adenosine triphosphate. ATP in full adenosine triphosphate Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Tour. That's the fourth tier, below Grand Slams and Davis Cup ties on the top, Super 9s next and Championship Series events third. The Infiniti is allowed under the rules to offer appearance money to Sampras, and no doubt has, so the next reason is probably the big one. Calendar complications. Sampras is required to play in seven of the nine Super 9s or pay a large fine. Two of those are on European clay, which is not suited to his serve-and-volley game, so he must play seven of the remaining seven. One of those is the du Maurier Open in Montreal the week after the Infiniti. Factor in the facts that Sampras doesn't like to play more than three weeks in a row and that he can play consecutive weeks in Montreal, Cincinnati and either Indianapolis or New Haven (all richer than L.A. and better placed for him on the schedule). He can then have a week off before the U.S. Open. Perfect preparation for the Grand Slam event in New York, and Grand Slams mean a great deal to Sampras. Infiniti items: What a Sunday for agent Steve Schneider of Sherman Oaks, the man who used to represent Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey. Client Dennis Reyes, the rookie lefty from Mexico, had a terrific debut for the Dodgers against the Giants. And getting much less notice the same afternoon was Roberto Rodriguez, a Cuban refugee who lives with the Schneider family and gives lessons on their backyard court and who won the Infiniti Open Wild Card Tournament in Studio City. He beat Otis Smith 6-5, 6-3 in the final and earned a spot in this weekend's Infiniti main qualifying. . . . Speaking of that qualifying, all kids in the area are invited to a free junior clinic at UCLA's Sunset Courts on Sunday, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. There will be an exhibition by ATP Tour pros, instruction by Wilson advisory staffers and ``prizes for everyone.'' Afterward, kids are invited to see the afternoon final qualifying round. From baseline to net: Bob Bryan, Stanford sophomore-to-be from the Camarillo area (his parents own a club in Somis), won the recent USTA USTA United States Tennis Association USTA United States Telecom Association USTA United States Trotting Association USTA United States Telephone Association USTA United States Twirling Association USTA United States Trademark Association Circuit event in Dallas. He finished the four-week tour with more circuit points than anyone else, 63, good for 45 ATP Tour ranking points. . . Bob's twin brother, Mike, lost in the Tulsa final recently to Jonathan Erlich of Israel. . . . On the same circuit, UCLA's Eric Taino and Nevada-Las Vegas' Luke Smith won the doubles at Lafayette, La., Dallas and Waco, Texas. They have been given a wild card into the Infiniti doubles. Both are also in contention for that last singles wild card. . . . The late Arthur Ashe, who was NCAA champion for UCLA before an outstanding pro career that included a Wimbledon title, will be honored Aug. 25, opening night of the U.S. Open, when the USTA dedicates its 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium Arthur Ashe Stadium, located in Flushing Meadows Park, is the main tennis stadium of the U.S. Open, the last of each year's four Grand Slam tournaments. The stadium is also where the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day takes place. . CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Scheduling and financial considerations will keep Pete Sampras out of next week's Infiniti Open. Daily News File Photo |
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