Muster Rallies in Rome, Remains Master of Clay

Thomas Muster solidified his status as French Open favorite and extended his clay-court winning streak to 28 matches by overcoming Sergi Bruguera, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3, Sunday in the final of the Italian Open.

In a match delayed by rain for nearly four hours, the Austrian won his fifth clay-court title of the year and the 27th of his career.

It was Muster’s 21st consecutive victory in clay-court finals since 1990. His 28-match winning streak leaves him three short of the record set by Mats Wilander in 1982-83. The French Open, which starts May 29 and is the only Grand Slam event played on clay, was won by Bruguera the past two years.

*

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario defeated Magdalena Maleeva, 6-4, 6-1, in the German Open final in Berlin.

*

Jimmy Connors defeated John McEnroe, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to win The Challenge championship at Pebble Beach.

Track and Field

Carl Lewis, who will be 34 on July 1, showed it Sunday, winning the 200 meters in 20.28 seconds at the New York Games.

Daniela Bartova of the Czech Republic set a world record in the women’s pole vault at 13 feet 8 inches at Ljubljana, Slovenia.

In a surprise decision, Athens was awarded the 1997 World Championships instead of Madrid.

Five-time world cross-country champion John Ngugi, banned for four years for refusing to take a drug test, was reinstated early by the Council of the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

Motor Sports

Two spectators were killed and 36 were injured in Braga, Portugal, when a car driven by Manuel Barbosa crashed through the guard rail into a crowd at a European Mountain Championship time trial. The driver was not believed to have been injured.

Larry Dixon, Cruz Pedregon, Bob Glidden and David Schultz won their divisions of the NHRA Mopar Parts Nationals at Englishtown, N.J. Dixon won in Top Fuel, Pedregon in Funny Car, Glidden in Pro Stock and Schultz in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Soccer

Juventus won its first Italian League soccer title in nine years, beating AC Parma, 4-0, on two goals by Fabrizio Ravanelli and three assists by Roberto Baggio.

Miscellany

Maryland won the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse title, beating defending national champion Princeton, 13-5, at Ewing Township, N.J.

Kenyan Ismael Kirui won the 84th annual Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco for the third consecutive year, in 33:58. Kenyan Delillah Asiago set a course record of 38:23 in winning the women’s competition on the 12-kilometer course.

Cyclist Andrea Peron of Italy won the Thrift Drug Classic at Pittsburgh when teammate Lance Armstrong, who won the race the previous three years, let him cross the finish line first.

UC Davis defeated UC Riverside, 7-6, in the championship game of the NCAA Division II West Regional baseball tournament at Davis.