Magnus Norman

Francisco Clavet claimed one final conquest. The Spaniard defeated a weary Magnus Norman, 6-4, 6-2, to win the Franklin Templeton Classic final Sunday at Scottsdale, Ariz., for his first hardcourt title in 13 years of professional tennis. "This is the happiest day in my tennis life," Clavet said. "I will keep these people and this tournament in my heart all my life."

Top-seeded Magnus Norman overcame cramps late in the match and survived a strong challenge from Sjeng Schalken to reach the semifinals of the Stockholm Open in Sweden on Friday. The Swede won, 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (4), ending the match with an ace before a boisterous sellout crowd at Royal Tennis Hall. Norman cramped up after hitting an ace in the 12th game of the final set, forcing the tiebreak. After a three-minute visit with a trainer, Norman came back and won the tiebreaker.

A day after taking over the No. 1 spot in the ATP Tour point standings, Magnus Norman proved he belonged there. Norman continued his steady play when he defeated Gustavo Kuerten, a Brazilian with solid clay-court credentials, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Sunday to win the $2.4-million Italian Open at Rome.

Four days after his Masters cave-in, Greg Norman pulled his psyche and his golf game together to land in contention Thursday in the MCI Heritage Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C. Norman, who gave away a six-stroke lead and the green jacket to Nick Faldo at Augusta National on Sunday, finished with a 69. He was three strokes behind the four leaders--Ken Green, Guy Boros, Jim Furyk and Loren Roberts.

Goran Ivanisevic is one of the most talented players never to have won Wimbledon and one of the players most likely to lose in an early round. He's the most logical player, other than Pete Sampras, to be considered a favorite here, yet no one bets on him. Like the unpredictable grass surface that his game is so well-suited for, Ivanisevic is fickle.

MEN No. Player Comment 1. Pete Sampras: Safin poses tough first-round test. 2. Patrick Rafter: Aussie chiropractor rides to rescue. 3. Andre Agassi: Healthy, wealthy and wise. 4. Yevgeny Kafelnikov: The tennis-playing enigma. 5. Todd Martin: Can he stay healthy for two weeks? 6. Nicolas Kiefer: 3rd round in 1st U.S. Open last year. 7. Magnus Norman: Wins fourth title of '99. 8. Alex Corretja: Slowly emerging from malaise. 9. Richard Krajicek: Opens against wild-card Phillip King. 10.