Jarkko Nieminen from Finland returns the ball to US Andre Agassi during their match for the first round of the tennis French Open at Roland Garros, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

PARIS, May 25--Hobbling in pain and blinking back tears, Andre Agassi left the French Open on Tuesday, his 35-year-old body unable to drive him through this most grueling of grand slam tournaments, Reuters said.
While his spirit had been willing throughout, his body let him down when a nerve in his back became inflamed and he limped out of the first round 7-5 4-6 6-7 6-1 6-0 to Finn Jarkko Nieminen.
Agassi’s wife Steffi Graf called it quits after 16 trips to the French capital.
Agassi has now had 17 cracks at the title he won in 1999 and although he refuses to talk of retirement just yet there must be a question mark over his willingness to return for more punishment in 2006 after two consecutive first round defeats in the French capital.
On Tuesday the sixth seed looked a forlorn and anguished figure with his Finnish opponent outrunning and outgunning him.
Agassi was not the only seasoned campaigner to learn that experience was no match for youth on Paris clay.
In the women’s draw Conchita Martinez was felled 6-0 4-6 6-4 by Justine Henin-Hardenne in the first round.
Nobody betters Martinez’s 18 successive French Open appearances--a record she shares with the retired Nathalie Tauziat--but it takes more than experience and an almost matchless knowledge of claycourt tactics to beat 2003 champion Henin-Hardenne.
Martinez, whose lone grand slam triumph came at Wimbledon in 1994, pulled every trick she has picked up during her long career but the oldest woman in the draw at 33 ran out of ideas and energy.
Maria Sharapova was given a wake-up call before dispensing with the glamour and employing her Russian grit to beat compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya.
The Wimbledon champion and world number two was stretched to the limit by her game opponent but, shrieking with effort and frustration throughout, clawed her way to a 6-7 6-2 6-4 victory.
Amelie Mauresmo began her 11th attempt to win her home grand slam with a 6-2 6-1 win over Australian Evie Dominikovic.
Men’s second seed Andy Roddick also impressed, moving into the second round with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over French wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Marat Safin showed backbone, easing into the second round with a 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-2 win over Dutchman Raemon Sluiter.
The Australian Open champion is bidding to become the first man since Jim Courier 13 years ago to win the first two grand slam tournaments of the year.
Safin is on track for a third-round clash with former champion and fellow former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero who beat Karol Beck of Slovakia 6-4 6-3 6-3.
But another former champion, three-times winner Gustavo Kuerten, fell 6-3 6-0 4-6 6-1 to Spain’s David Sanchez.

Tony Parker (r) of the San Antonio Spurs lays the ball up past Steve Nash (c) and Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals during the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

PHOENIX, USA, May 25--The only way Tim Duncan’s aching ankles are going to feel better is with rest, and the only way he’ll get it is if the San Antonio Spurs sweep the Western Conference finals, AP said.
Thanks to Duncan, they’re halfway there.
And they’re heading back to San Antonio, where the Phoenix Suns--this season’s best road team--will have to deal with a 2-0 series deficit against the NBA’s toughest team at home.
Duncan scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half and Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry made key baskets in the last 2:33, giving the Spurs a 111-108 victory over the Suns on Tuesday night.
Steve Nash and the Suns took it to the buzzer, though, getting a chance to force overtime when Ginobili missed one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds left. Nash took the inbounds pass and raced up the court, getting a step past Tony Parker but being picked up by defensive ace Bruce Bowen just before shooting a 3-pointer on the run.
It was on line but short, hitting the front rim to seal Phoenix’s first consecutive losses since April 8-9. Suns coach Mike d’Antoni grimaced and Nash walked off blank-faced and spent from playing 46 minutes, comforted in the arms of teammate Jake Voskuhl.
The Suns are in an unenviable position: No NBA team has lost Games 1 and 2 of a best-of-seven series at home this deep into the playoffs and still advanced. Four teams have rallied from 0-2 in the conference finals or NBA Finals, but all were headed home for Games 3 and 4.
The Spurs are thrilled to be going home, too, as they’re 43-4 in San Antonio. The only solace for the Suns is that they won the most road games in the NBA this season and they might have third-leading scorer Joe Johnson back for the next game, on Saturday night.
Ginobili scored 26 points and Parker had 24 and five assists. Nazr Mohammed had 11, and Horry scored 10, with three 3-pointers.
Amare Stoudemire had 37 points and eight rebounds for Phoenix, and Nash had 29 points and 15 assists. He became the first player in playoff history to have four straight 25-10 games, breaking a tie with Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.

MADRID, Spain, May 25--Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has been fined 12,000 euros ($15,120) by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for insulting his former club Real Madrid during his team’s title celebrations on May 15, Reuters reported.
The 24-year-old Cameroon international chanted “Madrid, cabron, saluda al campeon“ (Madrid, bastards, hail the champions) into the microphone during a speech at the Nou Camp.
Many of the 100,000 fans at the stadium to celebrate the club’s first league title in six years joined in the chorus.
The Federation’s Competition’s Committee adjudged that the African Player of the Year’s comments were ’very serious’ in nature and that the language he used could be seen ’as an incitement to violence.’
They added that his comments were more damaging because of the degree of rivalry that exists between the two clubs.
The Committee said the fine could have been even heavier, but they took into account that the player had apologized.
The fine is one of the largest given by the Federation this season, although the player has 10 days to appeal.
Eto’o held a news conference the day after the celebrations to apologize, saying he regretted what he said about his former club.
“I never wanted to show any lack of respect to anyone.
“What happened was that in a moment of joy I started to sing and that was all. I beg forgiveness and hope that people will understand me.“

Ernie Els of South Africa hits his third shot on the par 4, 7th hole during the second round of the EDS Byron Nelson Classic, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

VIRGINIA WATER, UK, May 25--Globe-trotting Ernie Els, the most traveled player in the modern game, is looking forward to home comforts during this week’s BMW Championship at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, Reuters reported.
The world number three has a house that backs on to the 16th hole on the par-72 West Course and he recently accepted a role as Wentworth Club’s touring professional.
“It does make a huge difference (being at home),“ South African Els told a news conference on Tuesday as he prepared for his eighth European Tour event of the year.
“Probably 99 percent of my tournaments I play away from home. I’ve now got (youngest child) Samantha going to school so she can’t travel as much as she used to do.
“As a result, I’m on the road on my own a lot now.
“Believe me, it’s not a pleasure,“ added the three-times major winner. “Anyone that says that it’s all glamorous and everything, well it’s not a bad life but it’s very difficult being away from home.
“Being able to sleep in your bed at a tournament like this with your family is just a blessing. It’s great.“
Els, who will be chasing his fourth European victory of the season when he tees off in Thursday’s opening round, said he would maintain his usual tournament routine despite being at home.
“I’m not a great handyman around the home so, if there are any problems, I generally have to call someone out or get (wife) Liezl to do it,“ said the 35-year-old. “I’ll do the school-run if I can, if my tee time allows it. That’s kind of fun.
“I’ll stick to my normal routine where I warm up in the gym and warm up on the range. But I’ll probably eat at home more than I do at the golf course, so I’ll spoil myself in that regard.“
Although Els enjoys an impressive track record at Wentworth, where he has twice won an unprecedented hat-trick of World Match Play titles, he is yet to win the BMW (formerly PGA) Championship--the flagship event on the European Tour.

MILAN, Italy,
May 25--Paolo Savoldelli is quietly confident he can win the Giro d’Italia for a second time but has made it clear that the three-week race will not be decided until the final stage in the mountains on Saturday, Reuters reported.
“I’m quietly confident because my form is good and I know I’ve ridden well so far, but the Giro is still wide open because the gaps between the leading riders aren’t very high,“ the Italian told a media conference on Tuesday’s rest day.
Savoldelli leads compatriots Danilo Di Luca and Gilberto Simoni by 25 seconds and 1:48 respectively and named them as his two big rivals for final victory.
“Di Luca and Simoni are both important riders and have won big races in the past, so they’re the ones I have to watch“ Savoldelli said.
“Di Luca seems to be pedaling really well even though he has been on top form for several weeks, while Simoni is dangerous in major stage races because he is always strong in the third week and likes to attack.“
The 31-year-old Savoldelli knows he should be able to gain time on his rivals in Friday’s 34-km time-trial to Turin but is worried about Saturday’s stage to the ski resort of Sestriere.
“The Giro will be decided in Sestriere on Saturday after going over the Colle delle Finestre,“ he said.
“It’s a tough 18.5 percent climb with the final part on dirt roads. It suits the pure climbers like Simoni more than me and I’m sure he and his Lampre team will attack me.“
Savoldelli won the 2002 Giro but hardly raced in 2003 and 2004 due to a series of accidents. Now in the Giro leader’s special pink jersey, he hopes his run of bad luck is behind him.
“I broke my nose and jaw in a collision with a motorbike in 2003, got a virus from over-training in 2004 and then had another two accidents after that,“ he said.
“I’ve still got nine screws and a titanium plate in my collar bone. Hopefully I’m being paid back for everything I’ve been through. Victory in the Giro would mark the end of all my bad luck.“

LONDON, May 25--Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh is set to miss riding Epsom Derby favorite Motivator in the big race after picking up a ban for careless riding on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Murtagh was handed a three-day ban for causing interference the final race at Lingfield. The ban starts on June 4, the day of the prestigious Classic. Motivator, trained by Michael Bell, is unbeaten in three starts and won the Dante Stakes at York earlier this month, a well-trodden route to Derby success. Murtagh, who won the Derby in 2000 on Sinndar and 2002 on High Chaparral, can appeal against the Lingfield suspension.

PARIS, May 25--The Champs-Elysees will be transformed into the Champs Olympiques on June 5 when a huge party involving all Olympic sports will take place on the most famous street in Paris, the town hall announced here on Tuesday, AFP said.
All 28 Olympic sports federations will be represented in the celebrations of the city’s bid for the 2012 Olympics with the final decision coming on July 6 in Singapore.
A 700m athletics track, boxing rings, tennis courts, a pool for rowing, a 200 square meters swimming pool, and 20 sports pitches will stretch from the top of the street at the Arc de Triomphe to its other end at Place de la Concorde.
It all coincides with another great sports event, the men’s final of the French Open tennis championships.
The budget for the party is 2.2 millions euros, financed to the tune of 736,000 euros by the city and the rest from partner companies.

OSLO, Norway, May 25--Frode Johnsen scored on a header with 12 minutes remaining to give Norway a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in an exhibition game on Tuesday night, AP reported.
Costa Rica was playing for the first time since Alexandre Guimaraes returned as coach. He led the team during the 2002 World Cup.
Johnsen’s goal came following a long throw-in from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Johnsen, left virtually unmarked in front of the goal, headed the ball past goalkeeper Alvaro Mesen.
Costa Rica’s best chance came seven minutes in when Paolo Wanchope’s shot off a pass from Jafeth Soto deflected off a Norwegian and went just wide.
Costa Rica, which plays the United States in a World Cup qualifier at Salt Lake City on June 4, is 1-1-1 in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, three points behind Mexico (2-0-1), two back of the United States and even with Guatemala, which it trails on goal difference. Panama (0-1-2) is fifth, and Trinidad and Tobago (0-2-1) is last.
The top three nations qualify for next year’s World Cup, and the No. 4 team advances to a playoff against an Asian nation.
Norway, is second in Europe Group Five at 2-1-2, four points behind Italy, which plays in Oslo on June 4.
Before the start of the match at Ullevaal Stadium, a moment of silence was observed by the crowd of 21,251 for Whayne Wilson, a 29-year-old Costa Rican player killed a week ago in a car crash in Costa Rica.OSLO, Norway, May 25--Frode Johnsen scored on a header with 12 minutes remaining to give Norway a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in an exhibition game on Tuesday night, AP reported.
Costa Rica was playing for the first time since Alexandre Guimaraes returned as coach. He led the team during the 2002 World Cup.
Johnsen’s goal came following a long throw-in from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Johnsen, left virtually unmarked in front of the goal, headed the ball past goalkeeper Alvaro Mesen.
Costa Rica’s best chance came seven minutes in when Paolo Wanchope’s shot off a pass from Jafeth Soto deflected off a Norwegian and went just wide.
Costa Rica, which plays the United States in a World Cup qualifier at Salt Lake City on June 4, is 1-1-1 in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, three points behind Mexico (2-0-1), two back of the United States and even with Guatemala, which it trails on goal difference. Panama (0-1-2) is fifth, and Trinidad and Tobago (0-2-1) is last.
The top three nations qualify for next year’s World Cup, and the No. 4 team advances to a playoff against an Asian nation.
Norway, is second in Europe Group Five at 2-1-2, four points behind Italy, which plays in Oslo on June 4.
Before the start of the match at Ullevaal Stadium, a moment of silence was observed by the crowd of 21,251 for Whayne Wilson, a 29-year-old Costa Rican player killed a week ago in a car crash in Costa Rica.