24 January 2004	Saturday	01 Zilhaj 1424

MELBOURNE, Jan 23: Frenchman Fabrice Santoro was fined $1,500 on Friday after spitting in the direction of a line judge, one of two incidents in which senior players vented their anger over contentious line calls at the Australian Open.

Santoro and Karol Kucera of Slovakia, two of the most experienced players at the Australian Open, were both upset by calls made by local line judges during second-round losses to Australian opponents on Thursday.

Santoro was fined $1,500, a fraction of the maximum available fine of $10,0000, for unsportsmanlike conduct by the International Tennis Federation during his centre court match against big-serving Australian Mark Philippoussis on Thursday.

Frustration at Philippoussis's power game got the better of Santoro, a 16-year Tour veteran, who turned and spat over his shoulder in the direction of a line judge after disputing a call with chair umpire Andreas Egli in the fourth set. He was clearly seen spitting towards the line judge after a foot-fault was called.-Reuters