Janzen Meets His Match in Els

South African Ernie Els, who had earnings of $3 million and victories in the U.S. Open and World Match Play Championship last year but only one victory this season, beat American Lee Janzen, 4 and 3, in the 36-hole quarterfinals at the World Match Play Championship on Friday at Virginia Water, England.

Els this year missed the cut at the U.S. Open and the Masters, faded badly in the British Open on the final day and stumbled in the PGA with a chance to win.

In other matches, Masters champion Ben Crenshaw lost, 3 and 2, to Italian Ryder Cup member Costantino Rocca; Bernhard Langer of Germany defeated Nick Price of Zimbabwe, 1 up; and PGA champion Steve Elkington of Australia defeated Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, 3 and 1.

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Paul Azinger needed only 24 putts--he had eight one-putt greens on the front nine--and shot his third consecutive 67 at the Las Vegas Invitational. He is within four shots of the lead, his best performance since returning to the tour last year after battling cancer.

David Edwards shot a seven-under-par 67 and Jim Furyk shot a 65 to share the lead at 197, 18 under. Billy Mayfair is one stroke behind.

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Walt Zembriski shot a five-under-par 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Raley’s Senior Gold Rush tournament at Rancho Murieta. J.C. Snead, Graham Marsh and Dick Goetz each shot 68.

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Betsy King, Laura Davies and Pat Bradley were tied for the second-round lead in the World Championship of Women’s Golf at Cheju Island, South Korea, with 138 totals.

King and Bradley fired two-under-par 70s to join Davies, who shot a 71. Defending champion Beth Daniel had the best round Friday, a 68, which tied her at 139 with Val Skinner.

Tennis

Chanda Rubin advanced to the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix tournament at Filderstadt, Germany, by defeating sixth-seeded Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, 7-5, 7-5. Rubin will face Iva Majoli of Croatia, who rallied from a first-set loss to beat second-seeded Mary Pierce, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Goran Ivanisevic, ranked seventh in the world, was upset by 114th-ranked Hendrik Dreekman of Germany, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5), in the quarterfinals of the Seiko Super tournament at Tokyo. Top-seeded Michael Chang advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Alexander Volkov.

Jurisprudence

Gladys Rosa, who worked as a translator for boxing promoter Don King, began testimony in King’s trial for insurance fraud after receiving immunity from prosecution. Rosa is the first of several witnesses the government plans to offer immunity to as it tries to prove that King submitted a fake contract to Lloyd’s of London in 1991 to recover $350,000 illegally.

King, 63, is charged with nine counts of mail fraud. Each is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is free on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond.

Hockey

Scott Parmentier scored two goals as Maine opened defense of its Great Western Freezeout title with a 6-5 victory over Miami of Ohio at the Forum. Michigan State defeated Boston College, 5-2, in the second game and will play Miami in Sunday’s title game at The Pond of Anaheim.

Alexei Yashin, who shut the door on playing with the Ottawa Senators, now finds that the door may be closing on him in Russia.

Yashin has played two games for Red Army in Moscow, but the NHL and the Senators expect Red Army to honor a pact between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation, which governs player transfers between Europe and North America.

College Basketball

Kenny Thomas, the New Mexico freshman projected as a starter, has been ruled ineligible because a class he took in ninth grade failed to meet NCAA standards. School officials are appealing and hope to have a response within a week.

Miscellany

A record 169 entries have been received for soccer’s 1998 World Cup in France. FIFA, the world governing body, extended the deadline.

Blaine Johnson (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Warren Johnson (Pro Stock) are the leaders after Friday’s qualifying for the Chief Auto Parts Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.

Three top U.S. women middle-distance runners--Ruth Wysocki, PattiSue Plumer and Suzy Hamilton--will compete for $5,000 in prize money in Sunday’s first Malibu Mile, starting at 10 a.m. at Zuma Beach.

Sixty-four pool players will compete at Mr. Billiards in Baldwin Park today and Sunday in the Brunswick California 9-Ball tour.