Agassi, Graf Designated Wimbledon’s Top Seeds

Although he has won the last two Wimbledon championships, Pete Sampras won’t be the top-seeded man at this year’s tournament.

Wimbledon officials, deciding to stick with the world rankings, made 1992 champion Andre Agassi the top-seeded man for the Grand Slam event that begins Monday at the All England Club. Sampras was seeded second.

Sampras is coming off a horrible clay-court season, but showed he is still a formidable force on grass by winning the Queen’s Club tournament Sunday.

Unlike the other Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon doesn’t go strictly by the rankings when choosing its seedings. Officials take into account the unique style of play required for grass courts in their attempt to produce a more realistic draw.

In the women’s draw, five-time champion Steffi Graf is No. 1.

Defending women’s champion Conchita Martinez was seeded third, behind Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, even though Sanchez Vicario has yet to make it past the quarterfinals in eight Wimbledon appearances.

Meanwhile, the final Wimbledon warmup tournaments got started.

Michael Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, beat fellow German David Prinosil in the opening round at Halle, Germany, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

At Eastbourne, England, Zina Garrison-Jackson and Lori McNeil won their first-round matches. Garrison-Jackson defeated Germany’s Wiltrud Prost, 6-0, 6-1, and McNeil downed Australia’s Rachel McQuillan, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

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Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who is seeded third this year, was fined $20,000 by the ATP for insinuating that Thomas Muster took illegal drugs at the Monte Carlo Open.

“The remarks by Boris Becker raised inappropriate questions about the reputation of Thomas Muster and the tournament physician, Dr. Patrick Coudert,” said David Cooper, the ATP’s administrator of regulations.

Becker appealed the fine.

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Russia is still involved in a dispute over the site of its Davis Cup semifinal against defending champion Germany.

The Russians want to hold the Sept. 22-24 competition in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, a proposal rejected by the International Tennis Federation. Russian players have said they may boycott the match if it is played elsewhere.

The ITF said that Sochi didn’t meet its requirements for a Davis Cup semifinal site because of its remote location and inaccessibility.

Olympics

Tickets to the prime events of the 1996 Olympics, including the finals for basketball, gymnastics and diving, already are oversold and will go only to those whose orders survive a lottery.

And, in a surprise to the organizers, many lesser-known sports, including two-thirds of the badminton sessions, more than half the fencing and almost all the table tennis, are projected to be oversold by the end of the month.

Ticket officials emphasized that the events are not yet sold out. Orders received by June 30 will be subject to the lottery. Thereafter, orders will be filled first come, first served, and orders for oversubscribed events will be rejected.

Jurisprudence

Dallas Cowboys Charles Haley and Leon Lett were ordered to answer a grand jury’s questions about an alleged sexual assault involving teammate Erik Williams in McKinney, Tex.

State District Judge Verla Sue Holland ruled that a list of questions submitted by the grand jury looking into the case against the offensive tackle is valid and must be answered.

The panel is scheduled to reconvene today, when it is expected to hear from Haley and Lett.

Alabama Gov. Fob James signed a new law into effect that exempts college coaches in the state from having to report outside income.

Auto Racing

NASCAR fined Michael Waltrip $10,000 for actions “detrimental to auto racing and for participating in a fight in the pits.”

Waltrip threw punches at Lake Speed after becoming upset with Speed’s driving style during the Miller Genuine Draft 400 on Sunday.

Boxing

Former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson was nominated to chair New York’s State Athletic Commission. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. The commission regulates boxing and wrestling in New York.

Names in the News

Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys shot a 72 in the opening round of the California Amateur Golf Championship and is two strokes behind leader Chad Brundy at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Former Ram star Eric Dickerson will be given a lifetime achievement award at a benefit celebrity roast Saturday night at the Beverly Hills Hotel.