TOKYO, 30 September 2003 — Czech Davis Cup player Bohdan Ulihrach dug himself out of a hole to beat Peruvian Ivan Miranda 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the $860,000 Japan Open yesterday.

The Monaco-based Ulihrach quickly recovered from an error-strewn first set, taking just under two hours to set up a meeting with eighth-seeded American Jan-Michael Gambill today in Tokyo.

With US Open champion Andy Roddick forced out with a hamstring injury, Japanese qualifier Tasuku Iwami, ranked 333 in the world, gave organizers a welcome boost with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over shell-shocked Austrian Werner Eschauer.

Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schuettler of Germany, top seed in the absence of Roddick, opens his campaign today as he bids for a first ATP title of the year, along with countryman Nicolas Kiefer, who is seeded sixth.

However, Mark Philippoussis will get an extra day off after the Wimbledon runner-up broke a two-year title drought by winning the Shanghai Open at the weekend.

The big-serving Australian is seeded fifth, behind Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean and Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand. Fast-rising Russian player Maria Sharapova will take on South Korean lucky loser Kim Jin-hee in the women’s first round today.

Sports Pioneer Althea Gibson

Dies After Lengthy Illness

In East Orange, New Jersey, tennis champion Althea Gibson, the first black to win Wimbledon and the US Championships, died Sunday. She was 76.

Gibson had been in poor health for years and passed away at East Orange General Hospital, according to Darryl Jeffries, a spokesman for the city of East Orange.

Fran Clayton Gray, chief executive officer of the Althea Gibson Foundation, said Gibson suffered a heart attack three months ago that kept her bedridden. She entered the hospital two days ago with bladder and kidney infections and died from respiratory arrest.

A big hitter with an awesome serve, Gibson became the first black person to play at the US Championships in 1950 and Wimbledon a year later.

She won the French Championship in 1956, earned back-to-back titles at Wimbledon and the US Open in 1957-58 and added three doubles crowns at Wimbledon from 1956-58.

Gibson fought through the color line when segregation was the rule, paving the way for other black champions, like the late Arthur Ashe and Venus and Serena Williams.