Tickets sales were poor at Le Tournoi with local federations resorting to giving them away by the thousand

Tickets sales were poor at Le Tournoi, with local federations resorting to giving them away by the thousand. Judging by the experience of 10 days at Le Tournoi de France, involving a mere 1,000 miles, this would be expensive, exhausting and logistically difficult.Michel Platini, once a great player, now the president of the organising committee, said the programme “gives the players and spectators a chance to see all this wonderful country.”Nice idea – but Platini should know that sightseeing is way down players’ priorities. Every team will play at three venues in the group stage alone. In a country four times the size of England, and with venues more far flung than in Euro 96, this means a lot of travelling.Several group schedules involve 750-plus miles, while a possible programme for a finalist would be Lens-Toulouse-Lyon-Paris-Nantes-Marseille-Paris, a total of 2,500 miles in a month.

Previous World Cups have worked on the basis of twin centres, as did Euro 96. The World Cup will be into its tenth game this time next year and 32 football teams and their supporters will be realising that France is a big country. “I would have preferred to have won, but there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have a good run at Wimbledon. There’s no reason to press any panic buttons.”Before Henman’s defeat yesterday (he is still in the doubles with Pete Sampras), the showcourts were the province of four left-handers, Goran Ivansevic against Britain’s Martin Lee on the Centre Court and Rusedski versus Draper on Court No 1.Rusedski was in splendid form against Draper, defeating the talented Australian, 6-3, 6-2. “I was just more relaxed today,” Rusedski said, reporting no twinges from the wrist injury which had interrupted his impresssive run of success in the United States earlier in the year, including back-to-back wins against Michael Chang and Andre Agassi.Lee had what is best described as a learning experience against the big- serving Ivanisevic, the No 3 seed. The first set disappeared in only 18 minutes as the 19-year-old from Worthing attempted to pick out his opponent’s deliveries.”It was impossible to return, because I haven’t been used to playing against that speed of serve,” Lee said, acknowledging that practising with Rusedski had helped a little. His attitude suggested that the defeat was merely a blip on his landscape, par for the course at Queen’s, where he has won only one match in each of the past four years.One reporter remarked that Henman seemed quite sanguine about the whole thing “Am I any other way?” he replied.

He had two opportunities in the fourth game, narrowly missing with a backhand lob on the first, and being aced by Knippschild on the second.But Henman came close to gifting the fifth game with two double-faults, rescuing himself with four consecutive winning volleys, and finally lost the match with two successive double-faults, taking his total to seven.”You’ve always got to be aggressive if you’re going for serve and volley on first and second serve,” Henman said, “and inevitably you’re going to miss some.”The comment was typical of Henman’s responses when interviewed about the display. Two double-faults gave the German the incentive to level, and he proceeded to win the tie-break, 7-5.Henman, broken for 1-2 in the second set, could hardly blame himself for failing to break back immediately. So whither Tim Henman, the British No 1 and the No 4 seed here at Queen’s? Defeated, and ready to accept a wild card for next week’s Nottingham Open in search of match practice to sharpen his game and rebuild his confidence for Wimbledon in 10 days’ time.
Henman, who 12 months ago became the nation’s first Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-finalist for 23 years, was beaten yesterday by Germany’s Jens Knippschild, ranked No 105 in the world and competing on grass for the first time since he was a junior six years ago.Knippschild, a 22-year-old with a “Gazza” blond hairdo, demonstrated a penchant for upsets earlier in the week by eliminating Jason Stoltenberg, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, and Olivier Delaitre, who dispatched Henman in the first round of the French Open.Yesterday’s defeat, 7-6, 6-3, was a continuation of Henman’s disappointing form since the final of the European Community Championship in Antwerp in February. Greg Rusedski will meet Pat Rafter today, having defeated the Australian’s compatriot, Scott Draper, in the third round.

The encouraging news is that Britain has a player through to the quarter- finals of the Stella Artois Championships for only the third time since the event started in 1979. NBA Final: Utah 88 Chicago 90 (Chicago lead best-of-seven series 3-2).. Warwickshire reached four without loss in four overs before the close.. Dennis Rodman, of the Chicago Bulls, was yesterday fined $50,000 (pounds 31,000) by the National Basketball Association for offensive comments made about Mormons during the third game of the NBA final series in Salt Lake City, Utah He has apologised for the remarks.