Serbians

Nikola Dragovic was too much to handle. He was older, and already competing with the best Serbia and Montenegro had to offer. So Nikola Vucevic, 12 years old and three years younger than his "godbrother," battled as best he could. His uncle's Belgium professional team was practicing for a Euro League game in Serbia, but the real competition was on the side court. This was the first time the two had met, even though their families were bound by basketball and friendship, and the outcome was predictable.

One high-speed collision in a warmup at a historic indoor pool built under the orders of Mussolini could have undercut another collision of ego and talent, the showdown between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly. Who knew that blurry vision, an aching left shoulder and busted swim goggles after colliding hard with an Australian female sprinter would set the stage for what could have been Phelps' finest swim performance?

At night, when the lawns are empty and the lamps along the walking paths are the only source of light, Topcider Park on the outskirts of Belgrade is a perfect meeting place for spies. It was here in 1992, as the former Yugoslavia was erupting in ethnic violence, that a wary CIA agent made his way toward the park's gazebo and shook hands with a Serbian intelligence officer. Jovica Stanisic had a cold gaze and a sinister reputation.

NEW YORK -- After an absurd 11 deuces in the last game of yet another melodramatic win the other day, the top woman left at the U.S. Open soon encountered her mother, a scene proverbial in the distressed annals of tennis. Only this mother practiced an art quite rare in a cold, cold sport: She kidded. "Do you like your mom?" Snezana Jankovic bellowed. "Of course," said Jelena Jankovic, catching on. Then, in typical family din and jest, Snezana said, "Why do you do [that]

Radovan Karadzic, a onetime psychiatrist who led his Bosnian Serb people through a brutal ethnic war, was extradited early today to the international tribunal in The Hague, where he will stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. A fugitive for more than a decade, Karadzic has been in a Serbian jail since his arrest, which was announced July 21.

After her victory Friday, Dinara Safina's coach told her that she'd played the best match of her career. She didn't give him much to complain about Saturday either. Safina, seeded fourth, defeated top-seeded Jelena Jankovic, 7-6 (3), 6-1, in the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson and will play Flavia Pennetta in the final today. Pennetta defeated Bethanie Mattek, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. "Today was another great match and I'm really happy with how I played," said Safina, a Russian ranked No. 9 in the world.

The legacy of Radovan Karadzic is etched here in unsmiling, mistrustful faces; on tombstones that march shoulder to shoulder for nearly a quarter-mile; in empty, scarred houses whose owners never returned. Karadzic's Bosnian Serb army rounded up thousands of Muslims living or sheltering in Srebrenica on a sweltering July day 13 years ago and separated males from the women.

PARIS -- Such an uncommon volatility rattles the top of women's tennis approaching the French Open final on Saturday that it wouldn't be surprising to learn the No. 1 spot had been closed temporarily for renovations and the top-ranked player would occupy No. 2. Ana Ivanovic, one of the French finalists, will reach No. 1 for the first time Monday. Jelena Jankovic might have become No. 1 by winning her semifinal, and almost did but didn't, and might have a hangover.

A retired Croatian general was convicted of war crimes for failing to stop his soldiers from torturing and killing Serbs and setting fire to homes. Retired Gen. Mirko Norac condoned crimes committed by those under his command, Zagreb district judge Marin Mrcela ruled. He sentenced Norac to seven years in prison. The judge acquitted another retired general, Rahim Ademi. Norac and Ademi are the highest-ranking officers to be tried by the local court on war crimes charges stemming from the 1991-95 conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

During the darkest, most stifling years of the Balkan wars, one Serbian television broadcaster was able to shine through, if only by dint of its mindless programming. Pink TV blithely ignored the wars of the day, the politics and anything else smacking of news. It was hugely popular and grew into one of the region's largest and most lucrative media empires.