With U.S. Open About to Begin, Tarango Sorry for Wimbledon

Jeff Tarango, who incurred record fines and suspensions for his extraordinary outburst at Wimbledon last month, released a lengthy apology to tennis fans for his behavior at the All England Club.

“I apologize to my fans and to fans of the game of tennis,” Tarango said. “I’m not the first athlete to lose his cool under fire, and I hope that just as British Open golf champion John Daly and the great John McEnroe have learned from their mistakes, I will too. My goal is to be the best tennis player I can be, and the best person I can be.”

On Wednesday he received a $20,000 fine and three-week suspension from the ATP Tour. He had already been fined nearly $44,000 and was banned from two Grand Slam events by International Tennis Federation officials.

Tarango is appealing all sanctions and will be allowed to play the U.S. Open, which begins Monday, pending a decision on his appeal.

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Top-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria needed only 64 minutes to defeat Jordi Arrese of Spain, 6-1, 6-3, and advance to the semifinals of the Croatia Open at Umag. . . . Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia advanced to the semifinals of the Hamlet Cup at Commack, N.Y., beating Shuzo Matsuoka of Japan, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. He will face third-seeded Marc Rosset, who defeated Cedric Pioline, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1. . . . Second-seeded Jana Novotna advanced to the semifinals of the Pathmark Classic in Mahwah, N.J., with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 victory over Iva Majoli.

Motor Racing

Mark Martin’s Ford set a Bristol International Raceway qualifying record in winning the pole for tonight’s Goody’s 500. Martin, who also was the fastest qualifier at Bristol, Tenn., in April, earned his fourth pole of the season and 28th of his NASCAR Winston Cup career with a lap of 125.093 m.p.h.

Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger upset Ferrari-bound Michael Schumacher to win the provisional pole for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Berger averaged 115.802 m.p.h.

Track and Field

Moses Kiptanui of Kenya ran the second sub-8-minute steeplechase in history, finishing only .35 of a second shy of his world at the Van Damme Memorial meet in Brussels. In cold and windy conditions, Kiptanui ran most of the race on his own and finished in 7:59.53, just off his record set last week.

American Gwen Torrence ran the second-fastest women’s 200 of the year to beat Merlene Ottey in 21.87 seconds. Great Britain’s Linford Christie, hampered by a hamstring injury during the World Championships this month, beat world champion Donovan Bailey for a second time since to take the 100 meters in 10.08. Michael Johnson won the 400 in 44.64.

Miscellany

IMG, an American sports marketing firm run by Mark McCormack, and a German television company have made a joint bid of $1 billion for the world broadcasting rights to soccer’s 2002 World Cup.

The amount is four times higher than the marketing figure for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

FIFA will select the site of the 2002 World Cup next year. Japan and South Korea are the only candidates.

Jim Bertken, a sportswriter at the Los Angeles Daily News, was reported missing from a fishing boat off the California coast, the newspaper said. Bertken, 36, was presumed to have been swept overboard during an overnight charter trip. A Coast Guard cutter and two aircraft conducted a daylong search, but reported no sign of Bertken. The cutter was expected to continue searching overnight.

Bertken, 36, became the Daily News outdoors writer in 1992. Before being hired by the newspaper in October 1989, he was the sports editor of the Thousand Oaks Chronicle.

The United States dominated the opening final session at the world rowing championships at Tampere, Finland, winning four of six gold medals in non-Olympic classes.

Jurisprudence

Sacramento State starting safety Tom Beam and a former football player at the school were arrested and accused of possessing marijuana and steroids with intent to sell. Beam, 23, a four-year veteran, was taken into custody after a two-month investigation, police said. Also arrested was Greg Johnson, 24, who left the team last year.

Two University of Montana student assistant football coaches have been dismissed and a player faces disciplinary action after an incident involving marijuana use on campus this week. Former Grizzly defensive end Keith Burke and running back Damon Boddie were dismissed from their coaching duties and sophomore wide receiver Trevor Woods, 20, of Diamond Bar, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Names in the News

Alexander Zolkin (23-2) outpointed Tony Tubbs in a 12-round majority decision at Atlantic City, N.J., to remain on track for a Nov. 25 World Boxing Organization heavyweight title fight with Herbie Hide. . . . Lionel Hollins, a former NBA player who spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach with Phoenix, joined the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies as an assistant. . . . Richie Parker, the New York City basketball star whose sexual abuse of a high school classmate caused Seton Hall to rescind a scholarship, says he will continue his career at Mesa Community College in Arizona this fall. . . . Denmark’s Mette Jacobsen won her second title and fourth medal in the European swimming championships, taking the 100-meter butterfly in 1:06.4. . . . Terry Elston, 37, a former University of Houston quarterback who was selected MVP in the 1980 Cotton Bowl, died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a car last weekend, the school said Friday.