Displays worthy of a king

Displays worthy of a king

JANUARY 23: King Mohammad VI of Morocco jetskis and golfs, but doesn't play tennis. He may be inspired to do so by his in-form compatriots at the Australian Open. Hicham Arazi earned a quarterfinal spot on Sunday. Another Moroccan, Younes El Aynaoui, survived a five-setter to reach the fourth round. A third, Karim Alami, lost in the third round on Saturday.

It's the best Grand Slam performance ever by a trio of players from Morocco, where sports fans usually stick to soccer. But tennis mania is now loose in Morocco.

``They are following, definitely, with the satellites, on TV, and by the Internet,'' El Aynaoui said at a joint news conference with Arazi. The two later posed for photographers with the Moroccan flag.

Anna watching: Whenever Anna Kournikova sits in the stands to watch a men's match, it sets off a flurry of speculation about her love life. On Saturday, she watched fourth-seeded Nicolas Keifer move into the fourth round. The wily German said later: ``We are sweethearts.''

Thenhe added: ``It's not true. My real girlfriend will be upset if you write that. Anna's just a friend and we might play mixed doubles together one day.''

Kournikova has twice watched Mark philippoussis on Center court, and often watched Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti on his way to the semifinal here last year. The Russian said her coach had advised her to watch the men's game and pick up some ideas.

Nothing on his sleeve: He's the world number two, defending Australian Open champion and a former French Open winner. Russia's Yevgeny Kafelinikov has also won more than 14 million dollars in prize money. But Kafelnikov is happy enough to bypass one money-earner -- he doesn't have a clothing contract.

``I don't worry about that,'' he said. ``I was fortunate enough to make enough money so I don't want to put pressure on myself looking for an endorsement deal.''

Opponent unknown: Japan's Ai Sugiyama was so surprised to make it into her first Grand Slam quarter-final that she had noteven checked out the draw and had no idea who her next rival would be.

Sugiyama thought she would be up against her doubles partner Julie Halard-Decugis and started to discuss the prospect -- until corrected by a reporter. ``You're playing Jennifer, I think,'' the reporter said. ``Really? I didn't know that. Okay, so Jennifer. I haven't seen the draw,'' Sugiyama giggled.