Tennis: McGrath the high climber

Meredith McGrath should find it easy clambouring over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and into the final of the ladies singles after recently scaling Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro - all 19,340 feet of it.

McGrath, from Michigan, who will become the fifth unseeded woman to reach the ladies final if she beats the Spaniard, also lists her hobbies as skiing and mountain biking.

"Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was a wild experience," she said. "We reached the summit when the sun was just rising and the view was spectacular. I recommend that vacation to anybody."

McGrath may have Kilimanjaro conquered, but has found it difficult to find a practice partner this week. She has practised with five different partners before each of her matches at Wimbledon.

Before the first round it was Olga Lugina, then Jana Novotna, Marianne Werdel Witmeyer, Ai Sugiyama, and lastly Judith Weisner before her quarter final victory over Katrina Studenikova.