TENNIS: Roger Federer must face qualifiers in the opening two rounds when the US Open title gets under way next Monday, but then faces a tricky potential third-round opponent in Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, the number 26 seed. And lying in wait in the second week is a likely fourth-round encounter with Richard Gasquet.
Rafael Nadal starts his title bid with a match against Australian wild card Alun Jones and has number seven Fernando Gonzalez as the highest-seeded obstacle en route to the semis.
Mishap for Sutherland
While all the seeded players came through unscathed in yesterday's Irish Junior Open Tennis Championships at Fitzwilliam there was unfortunate mishap for an excellent challenger in Wexford's Aileen Sutherland, reports Pat Roche.
Sutherland seemed set to put in a worthy challenge against the top seeded Lisa Lawlor in the under-16 event. They were level at one game each in the opening set when Sutherland sustained ligament trouble and had to retire to attend hospital.
