U.S. Doubles Team Falls Short in Davis Cup

The United States couldn’t knock the Netherlands out of the Davis Cup on Saturday. However, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier will have another chance today at Rotterdam.

The Dutch stayed alive in the quarterfinals by winning the doubles match. Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis defeated Richey Reneberg and Jared Palmer in five sets to cut the U.S. lead to 2-1 in the best-of-five match competition.

The Dutch pair, last year’s world champions in doubles, won, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-7 (7-2), 6-2.

Despite the loss, the Americans can advance to the semifinals by winning one of today’s two singles matches--Sampras vs. Richard Krajicek and Courier vs. Eltingh.

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MaliVai Washington had 14 aces and gave up only three points on his serve in the second set as he defeated Patrick McEnroe 7-5, 6-2, to reach the final of the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships at Brookline, Mass. Ivan Lendl, seeded No. 1 and the two-time defending champion, moved into the final with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over Mats Wilander and a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 defeat of Wally Masur.

Football

Veteran safety Rickey Dixon was cut to help get the Raiders back under the salary cap of $34.6 million after several signings Friday. Dixon would have received $440,000 this season. The six-year veteran had been with the Raiders for one season, coming from the Cincinnati Bengals in a trade.

Golf

John Paul Cain, who had to make a telephone call to get an exemption into the field, sank birdie putts on the 15th and 16th greens to take a one-stroke lead after 36 holes of the $750,000 Ameritech Senior Open at Aurora, Ill. Mike Hill’s 64 tied Jim Colbert’s course record and pulled him into a tie with Colbert one shot back of Cain.

Brian Henninger birdied five of 12 holes he played to complete his second round, finishing with a four-under 68 that pulled him into a share of the lead with Mike Sullivan, who did not play because of rain, in the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic at Madison, Miss. Henninger and Sullivan are tied at nine-under 135 in the tournament, which has been shortened to 54 holes because of soggy conditions.

Beth Daniel shot a five-under 66 to take a three-shot lead after 54 holes of the LPGA’s $650,000 JAL Big Apple Classic in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Auto Racing

Robby Gordon’s track qualifying record lap of 110.191 m.p.h. from Friday was enough to give him pole position for today’s Toronto Molson-Indy race.

Bryan Herta of Valencia suffered a broken right leg and pelvis in a crash during practice and was hospitalized in stable condition.

Rob Biellier of Willard, Mo., suffered a heart attack and died Friday night while racing in the late-model stock division at Speedway USA in Bolivar, Mo.

Miscellany

Tim Criss of Bel Air, Md., averaged 242 over his first six games for the early lead in the Professional Bowlers Assn.’s $100,000 Active West Open at Ontario.

Triathlon and taekwondo can expect to be included as medal sports by the turn of the century and boxing will remain an Olympic sport, according to International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who also said that Salt Lake City is a strong candidate for the 2002 Winter Games.

Tracy Bonner came from eighth place to win the women’s three-meter final at the Alamo World Diving Trials in St. Peters, Mo. Bonner, Karen Dalton, Mark Bradshaw and Dean Panaro qualified for the team that will represent the United States at the World Aquatic Championships in Rome Sept. 1-8.

Florida State put Athletic Director Bob Goin on paid leave while an ethics panel investigates whether he improperly used his position to get his house a new roof and his son a job.