Tennis: Henin-hardenne to Miss Fed Cup Final

Justine Henin-Hardenne will miss the final of the Fed Cup final against Italy in September. The Belgian, a winner of five majors, also pulled out of the semi-final against the United States at the weekend blaming fatigue after winning the French Open and losing the Wimbledon final.

Her coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said yesterday: "It is, for the moment, ruled out that Justine will take part in the final."

There was, perhaps, a sub plot to the withdrawal after Henin-Hardenne was reportedly angered by the Belgian federation which objected to her supporting the team in Ostend on the grounds that the home crowd might be upset by her decision not to play in the match.

Argentinians obviously enjoy playing in the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Diego Junquiera, ranked 162 in the world, beat the 14th-seeded Italian Filippo Volandri 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round, while his compatriot and 151st-ranked Diego Hartfield beat the 10th-seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain, 6-7, 7-6 , 7-5. The 17-year-old Juan Martin del Potro, beat Andrei Pavel of Romania 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a match with yet another Argentinian, the eighth-seed Juan Ignacio Chela.

Two other Argentinians into the second round were Juan Monaco, who beat Germany's Michael Berrer 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, and Mariano Zabaleta, who defeated Germany's Alexander Waske 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.