Courier Defeats Aching Agassi

Andre Agassi came away from the Japan Open with a loss and an aching back. He was still No. 1, though.

Jim Courier defeated Agassi, 6-3, 6-4, in a wind-swept final Sunday at Tokyo.

Agassi’s next move is to go home to rest his strained back, which has been bothering him since preparations last month for the U.S. Davis Cup victory in Italy. Originally, he had been scheduled to play a tournament in Hong Kong this week.

Agassi went back to the United States still holding his newly earned top ranking. Pete Sampras, at the top for 82 weeks before dropping to second last week, lost in the second round of the Conde de Godo tournament at Barcelona, Spain.

With many of the 10,000 spectators cheering for him to turn the match around, Agassi saved one match point at 3-5 in the second set, hitting an inside-out, cross-court forehand past Courier.

But serving at 5-4, Courier set up another match point with a lob and then won the 76-minute match when Agassi sent a forehand long.

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Top-seeded Steffi Graf played her fourth quick match of the week, needing only 68 minutes to defeat Asa Carlsson of Sweden, 6-1, 6-1, and win the Houston Women’s Tennis Championships.

“I see some things that I can work on but overall, I haven’t had too many troubles this week,” said Graf, who cruised through the injury-depleted field, losing only 12 games in the four matches.

Graf, No. 1 in the world, extended her unbeaten streak for 1995 to 18-0 in matches and 36-0 in sets.

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Thomas Muster of Austria won his 19th consecutive final on clay, trouncing Sweden’s Magnus Larsson, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, in the Conde de Godo tournament. The victory gave Muster, a 27-year-old left-hander, a record 20th title on clay since the ATP tour began in 1990. Twenty-five of his 26 professional titles are on clay and he is 16-0 this season on the surface.

Miscellany

Philadelphia Eagle linebacker Vaughn Monroe Johnson was arrested on charges of drunk driving and speeding in Greenville, N.C. The Lenoir County magistrate said the state highway patrol pulled Johnson over near Kinston, saying he was intoxicated and traveling 90 m.p.h. in a 55-m.p.h. zone. Johnson paid a $400 bond and was released later in the day.

Miami Dolphin reserve linebacker Dion Foxx, 23, and former Dolphin James Pruitt, 31, were arrested in Clearwater, Fla., for allegedly attacking a man with a golf club in a convenience store parking lot. A lawyer for the players says they were acting in self defense.

Lee Stevens hit his eighth home run of the year, tops in Japan’s Pacific League, but in a losing cause, as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks defeated the Kintetsu Buffaloes, 6-5, in 10 innings at Tokyo.

Jim Foody of UCLA won the horizontal and parallel bar competitions in the men’s individual Collegiate National Championships at the University of North Texas on Saturday. Bruin gymnasts won four of the six events, with Neil Furuno winning the floor exercise and Steve McCain the vault.

Tom Hill of Puerto Rico won the Rolex Cup, the third time in 22 years he has captured the three-day regatta at Charlotte Amalie in the U.S. Virgin Islands.