“Then there would be one big event instead of the ATP World Championship and this – two tournaments where I think there should perhaps be only one.”Martina Hingis, who marks her 18th birthday today, became the first woman to win a match at the Grand Slam Cup yesterday, when she defeated Conchita Martinez of Spain, 6-2, 7-5. Meanwhile, as some are discovering, there is life outside the big leagues and maybe a longer and cheaper one too.
Terence G Springthorpe,EnfieldMiddlesex. Although a number of shots were breathtaking and some of the rallies dazzling, cynics might say the match was a throwback to some women’s contests of the distant past. There were 13 breaks of serve.GRAND SLAM CUP (Munich): Men’s singles, first round: J Bjorkman (Swe) bt T Henman (GB) 7-5, 6-4. Women’s singles, quarter-finals: M Hingis (Swit) bt C Martinez (Sp) 6-2, 7-5.. Sir: I believe that there is a trickle of people going to watch football at the lower levels and at cheaper prices and without forecasting that this could develop into a flood, there is a real danger that football at the higher level is overselling itself.

The days of the “floating” supporters must be almost over as going to a game without a ticket is not really feasible, especially at Premiership matches. Now with television jammed with football games and prices high, the bubble could burst for many Premiership clubs in the near future, and that could lead to a European league for the few (mostly watched on television) and a back-to-the-future situation for many other clubs. It’s tough with the amount of tennis we’re playing, with [Pat] Rafter in Australia playing Davis Cup, and [Pete] Sampras injured.”Henman favours a merger between the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour Championship. But I think a lot of people should try very hard to find a date that is suitable for everyone. I don’t think my concentration was quite as good as it could have been on some of the bigger points.”Although unable to build himself up for the occasion, Henman expressed faith in the Grand Slam Cup, which started in 1990 as a December event and last year was brought forward to the end of September. The promoters are hoping to switch to mid-October by 2000.”I think a place in the calendar needs to be found,” Henman said “I think it’s a great tournament. It makes sense with the four Grand Slams; you’ve got a great opportunity to have a great field.

At the moment, it does seem that the calendar is pretty busy. You learn from your mistakes.” Having helped Britain win promotion to the Davis Cup World Group with a 3-2 victory against India, Henman said he did not intend to put any pressure on himself in Munich, which he regarded as “a bonus week”.His relaxed tennis paid dividends at the start of the match against Bjorkman, who had won the last two of their three previous contests “I played pretty well to go up 5-1,” Henman said “I was playing pretty loose tennis, going for my shots I don’t think I was doing anything amazing I think he was making a lot of mistakes early on He wasn’t making many first serves. He was missing in the rallies.”I kept going for my shots at times, but I didn’t make quite as many from then on. The eight places are decided on the year’s ranking points, and Henman is currently No 8 in the race.Asked if it might have been wiser to have turned down the Grand Slam Cup, Henman said: “I think that could be a fair assumption. Before accepting the invitation to Munich, Henman emphasised that his priority was to qualify for the ATP Tour Championship in Hannover next month. When Henman previously qualified for the Grand Slam Cup, in 1996, he won $431,250 for playing three matches, losing to Boris Becker in the semi-finals.There are no world ranking points at stake at the Grand Slam Cup, an indoor finale to the four major championships, only money. “Yes, there is quite a lot of money at stake, but maybe I realise now that isn’t the most important thing, and perhaps that doesn’t mean quite as much as it used to.”Henman would have won an extra $75,000 for beating Bjorkman and reaching the quarter-finals.

The semi- finalists each receive $325,000, the runner-up $650,000, and the winner $1.3m. Tyson’s advisers said that tests at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston took too long and doctors were unable to get the reports together in time for the commission’s 5 pm deadline on Monday.
Dr Ronald Schouten, head of the team that examined Tyson, sent a letter to the commission’s chairman, Dr Elias Ghanem, saying the reports would be completed today. “Unfortunately, due to the length of the evaluation process, the scoring on the psychological and neuropsychological testing have not been completed,” Schouten wrote.The Nevada Athletic Commission meets on Saturday to determine whether Tyson will be able to get back the boxing licence stripped from him for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear. Arsenal have looked into the concept while Liverpool may also follow suit. However the amount of money involved may restrict the number able to pursue such an ambitious plan which will require invest- ment but should inevitably pay dividends..