Copyright Newsday Inc., 2003)

Cutesy courtside couple Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters announced their engagement last week, but it was different nuptial news that really knocked the tennis socks off many sport insiders.

Blond baseliner Ashley Harkleroad, 18, dubbed the "American Anna Kournikova" for her striking resemblance to the Russian bombshell, told friends she will tie the knot with fellow pro Alex Bogomolov Jr., 20, of Miami.

"It's a shocker, because Ashley's only 18," reports our favorite tennis insider. "They've only been dating since the U.S. Open."

Bogomolov, you may recall, is actually a close pal of Kournikova's, and was photographed holding hands with the sex symbol outside Barney's in 2002, fueling rumors of romance that turned out to be unfounded. The February 2004 issue of Men's Health mag dubs Harkleroad "The best reason to forget Anna K. and get on with our lives." No word on whether the Flintstone, Ga., native has dubbed her beau "Bamm-Bamm."

Meanwhile, down in insanely romantic Sydney, Australia, it's been nothing but sets in the city for Hewitt and fellow former No. 1 Clijsters. Hewitt, 22, popped the question to his longtime girlfriend - whom adoring Australian fans refer to as "Aussie Kim" - last week during a cruise in Sydney Harbour. Speculation is that the pair could tie the knot during the two weeks before the coming U.S. Open in August.

In other tennis news:

Sadly, it's not all Love-Love out on the courts. People magazine reports that Minnie Driver, 33, and her tennis pro boyfriend Robby Ginepri, 21, have called it quits. A rep for Ginepri says the split was mutual and due to those ever-ruinous "career demands."

To prep for his role as a fading English tennis pro in the coming "Wimbledon," the insanely charming Paul Bettany ("Master and Commander") found the courage to approach his "heroine," Lindsay Davenport. "It was an odd meeting," Bettany reports of their brief get-together at last summer's tourney, where scenes were filmed. "I really just wanted to tell her I love what she does, but she immediately went to sign something for me, because she thought I was looking for her autograph."

Mandy Moore may make her debut as a Davis Cup fan in the stands when her beau, Andy Roddick, leads the United States against Austria in the cup's first round, Feb. 6-8 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Melissa Errico, wife of U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe, is being wooed to perform the national anthem.

SCENE & HEARD. Where are the celebs going to be hanging on New Year's Eve? Heidi Klum, Moby, Paris Hilton and her folks are heading to Capitale at Bowery and Grand for a soiree put on by Joonbug Productions and Seth Greenberg, owner of the cavernous nightspot. Meanwhile, the cast of "Taboo" is gathering in the tented Private Park at Ian Schrager's Hudson Hotel for an open-to-the-public fete, with tickets at $195 a pop. Boy George guest DJ's! And speaking of guest DJs, Paul Sevigny will spin for a crowd that includes sister Chloe and Natasha Lyonne. That party's at Sway on Spring Street, and you can expect to hear a lot of old music from The Smiths and Morrissey ... If it weren't for Quentin Tarantino, Uma Thurman might not be able to make salad. Thurman, who earned a Golden Globe nod for her turn as a Samurai Master in "Kill Bill," is so scared of technology that a rep says she refuses to learn how to use a Cuisinart. "In the kitchen I have to hand-chop my veggies," Thurman tells friends ... "I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes." That's Neve Campbell at Elaine's after the premiere of "The Company," explaining to Webster Hall's Baird Jones that "Neve" was a family name that was first used by her ancestors, Sephardic Jews who later emigrated to the Netherlands and converted to Catholicism.