In brief - 2006-11-01

  • 2006-11-01
Latvia's Ernests Gulbis set national tennis history on Oct. 28, advancing to the ATP Open men's single semi-finals after beating Czech Jan Hernych 7-6 (8:6), 6-7 (4:7), 6-2. Gulbis was 204th in the ATP rankings before the St. Petersburg tournament, while Hernych was ranked 85th.In the first round match, Gulbis beat Robin Vik, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7:4), and in the second round he outplayed Lukas Dlouhy 5-7, 6-3, 6-3. On Oct. 28, Gulbis lost to Mario Ancics from Croatia, who took the ATP Open title.

With less than a month left until the World Championships, the International Dance Sport Federation announced that Lithuanian dancer Edita Daniute failed a drug test for sibutramine, an illegal stimulant. "This is the first such case in the history of Lithuanian dance," the L.T. daily reported on Oct. 27. Dance pair Arunas Bizokas and Daniute, who won the nation's classic dance championship and are world and European vice-champions, were set to compete in this month's World Championships in Denmark. Bizokas and Daniute, said they were shocked by the news. "We have hired lawyers to ensure a professional explanation. It should be presented this week. Then the federation's disciplinary council will consider this case and will impose a fine," Bizokas said. At worst, the federation could ban Daniute from competing for two years.

World champion Michael Schumacher announced his plans for the future at the 2006 Ferrari World Finals in Monza, Italy last weekend. Although, from now on the German seven-time world champion is officially retired, Schumacher said he would begin scouting young talented drivers for the Italian team. Schumacher added that he would also remain involved with Ferrari's road car department.