Tennis/Australian Open: Australian Open organisers are bracing for a string of high-profile drop-outs after Andre Agassi announced he was withdrawing from the tournament yesterday.
The four-times Australian Open champion said he had been forced to pull out of the first grand slam of 2006 because of an ankle injury he suffered last year.
The 35-year-old American sustained a third-degree sprain to his left ankle in October and then suffered further damage when playing in the Masters Cup in Shanghai a month later.
French Open champion Rafael Nadal remains doubtful for the tournament after pulling out next week's Sydney International, an important lead-up event for Melbourne.
The Spanish world number two has been struggling with an injured left foot. Injury doubts also surround reigning men's champion Marat Safin, and Maria Sharapova.
Australian Hardcourt
Martina Hingis advanced to the semi-finals of the of the women's tournament on the Gold Coast yesterday. Playing her first quarter-final on the WTA Tour since 2002, Hingis saw off Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
Next up for the Swiss player is fourth seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who beat fifth seed Tatiana Golovin of France 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 .
In the second round of the men's tournament in Adelaide, world number four Lleyton Hewitt was surprisingly beaten 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 in his native city by Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber
Kohlschreiber will now face Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdychin the quarter-finals after he beat rising British hope Andy Murray 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.
Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen outlasted Ivo Karlovic 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 while second seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia beat Mark Philippoussis 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Hopman Cup
The Netherlands reached the final yesterday in Perth after an injury to Nicolas Kiefer gave the qualifiers a 3-0 victory over Germany.
Their opponents will be the US, who topped their group despite losing 2-1 to Sweden.
Michaella Krajicek earned a 6-4, 7-6 victory for the Dutch over Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Kiefer, suffering from back spasms, then withdrew, and under competition rules the Netherlands were awarded the men's singles and mixed doubles 6-0, 6-0.
Lisa Raymond of the US slumped 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 against Sofia Arvidsson, and Thomas Johansson took advantage of an inconsistent Taylor Dent to beat the American 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.
Johansson, who has been suffering from a foot infection and received treatment on his hip and shoulder against Dent, then withdrew and the mixed doubles was awarded to the US 6-0, 6-0.
