NOTEBOOK: MULLER NOT BIG AT HOME.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer Although he is one of the few successful athletes to come out of Luxembourg, Gilles Muller said he isn't exactly famous in his home country. ``People don't really care about sports there,'' Muller said. ``They're not used to having good sports in Luxembourg. I hope to change that one day. We'll see. I have more years to do that.'' Muller said there is an emphasis on schooling in the small country located among France, Belgium and Germany, and that kids are discouraged to focus on athletics. --Old timers: Brothers Vijay and Anand Amritraj showed they still have game by winning the Legends doubles title at the Mercedes-Benz Cup. Vijay, 52, who lives in Encino, and Anand, 53, who lives in Calabasas, beat Ross Case and Dick Stockton 6-4, 6-4 in the final. ``Even though we were born in India, we think of this as our hometown,'' Anand said. ``So it's great to win here, even more so than anywhere else.'' Their sons, Prakash (from Vijay) and Stephen (from Anand), also are professional players who pair as a doubles team. Vijay was ranked 16th in the world among singles players in 1980. --Bruins honored: The UCLA national champion men's tennis team was honored prior to Saturday night's semifinal match. The Bruins beat Baylor in May for the title. One of the players honored, Jason Nguyen, is a former Chatsworth High standout. --Celebrity spottings: Figure skater Michelle Kwan, a UCLA student, was in attendance for Andre Agassi's semifinal match Saturday. Former ``Friends'' star Matthew Perry was there for the night match, even doing some guest commentating for The Tennis Channel. William Shatner came out for the quarterfinals Thursday. Singer John Mayer was there to watch his buddy Robby Ginepri play Wednesday. Agassi's wife, Steffi Graf, has been attending his matches all week. |
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