Sabatini an Upset Victim in Italian Open

Little-known Irina Spirlea of Romania upset third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini, 6-4, 6-3, on Wednesday in the Italian Open at Rome.

In a tournament of surprises, fourth-seeded Anke Huber of Germany was also beaten by an unknown, 18-year-old Italian Adriana Serra-Zanetti, who is ranked 197th.

Huber lost, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, to become the seventh seeded player knocked out of the tournament in the first three days.

Top-seeded Conchita Martinez had no trouble as she opened defense of her title, defeating qualifier Andrea Temesvari of Hungary, 6-2, 6-0, in 53 minutes.

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USC, seeded No. 1, is among eight teams that automatically qualified for the final rounds of the NCAA men’s tennis tournament May 21-29 at South Bend, Ind.

Eight other teams will advance to the finals through eight regional tournaments May 13-15. UCLA will play host to the Region VIII qualifying tournament, which also includes Pepperdine.

Texas was seeded No. 1 for the NCAA women’s tournament May 13-21 at Athens, Ga.

USC was seeded 13th and will play No. 17 Clemson in a first-round match on May 13. Eighth-seeded Pepperdine (17-4) will play No. 11 Indiana, and No. 9 UCLA will play No. 5 Florida in the round of 16 on May 14.

Auto Racing

Formula One officials responded to the death of Ayrton Senna and another driver by adding three limited safety measures for the Monaco Grand Prix on May 15.

The changes, aimed at reducing accidents around the pit lanes, were announced by Max Mosley, president of the International Automobile Federation, after an urgent meeting of the organization.

The deaths of Senna, a three-time Formula One champion, and rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger of Austria prompted sharp criticism that Formula One has become unsafe.

Meanwhile, a line of fans stretched for nearly a mile outside the state legislature in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the body of Senna lay in state until burial today. Police estimated 150,000 people would attend throughout the day.

Soccer

A group trying to organize a major outdoor soccer league in 12 U.S. cities beginning in 1995 has approached the Coliseum about a one-year lease to play 20 games in the facility from April through October of that year, Coliseum General Manager Patrick Lynch told the Coliseum Commission.

Alan Smith scored in the 19th minute, giving Arsenal of London a 1-0 victory over Parma in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup at Copenhagen.

Jurisprudence

Lem Barney, a Hall of Fame player who starred for the Detroit Lions, testified in Detroit that drugs found in his car after an accident were left there by hitchhikers. . . . Former NFL running back Altie Taylor, 47, locked himself in his Pittsburgh, Calif., home after a confrontation with a neighbor and then kept a SWAT team at bay for more than eight hours before they rushed in and tackled him, authorities said. . . . Candace Pratt, a former clerk for the Dallas Cowboys, has been indicted on charges that she defrauded almost $1 million from owner Jerry Jones. . . . Former Angel Willie Aikens was in federal custody in Kansas City after missing a court hearing on drug charges. He is accused of trying to bribe a drug tester.

Names in the News

The Rams re-signed punter Sean Landeta and expect to sign free-agent wide receiver Greg McMurtry in the next few days. . . . The San Francisco 49ers re-signed running back Dexter Carter and waived running back Amp Lee as they continued roster maneuvering under the NFL salary cap. . . . Defending champion Raul Alcala of Mexico rode to a cautious, but steady prologue victory in the start to cycling’s Tour DuPont at Wilmington, Del. Greg LeMond, the three-time Tour de France champion, placed fifth. . . . Georgia Tech forward James Forrest has decided to return for his senior season of basketball, but Georgia center Charles Claxton will make himself available for the NBA draft.

Hiroshi Kawashima of Japan floored champion Jose Luis Bueno of Mexico in the 11th round and won the World Boxing Council junior-bantamweight title with a unanimous decision at Yokohama, Japan. . . . Mario Lemieux, who talked of retirement after the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff collapse, almost certainly will return next season, Penguin chairman Howard Baldwin said.