Surprising Chang Gets the Best of Sampras

Pete Sampras learned Saturday just how much Michael Chang’s game has improved.

Chang upset the top-ranked Sampras, 6-4, 6-4, in Frankfurt, Germany, to reach the final of the ATP Championship for the first time. Sampras has won the tournament twice and was the defending champion.

In today’s final, Chang will play Boris Becker, the 1992 champion and fan favorite, who defeated Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist, 6-4, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, in the other semifinal.

“If Michael is able to beat Pete four and four, he must be playing extremely well, and I have to make sure I play on the same level I did today,” Becker said.

Chang had won only two matches in four appearances at the annual season-ending tournament of the world’s top eight players.

Sampras had won his previous six matches against Chang, was 4-0 indoors against him, and had not lost to him since 1992.

“A lot of things worked well for me,” Chang said. “It’s always nice to win matches when you go out and you win them, rather than the other person losing them for you.”

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Top-seeded Steffi Graf grabbed a spot in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships in New York by beating Natasha Zvereva, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals. Anke Huber joined her German compatriot by blunting the power of Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, 6-3, 6-3.

Despite her off-court problems, which included severe tax troubles, a bad back and sore foot, Graf has been nearly unstoppable. The victory ran her 1995 match record to 46-2.

Baseball

Don Larsen, the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the World Series, and his wife were in stable condition after a 30-vehicle accident which claimed one life in Castella, Calif.

Mercy Medical Center in Shasta would not disclose the nature of the injuries suffered by Larsen, 66, and his wife, Corrine, 64.

Several cars and eight big rigs were involved in the crash on Interstate 5 about 6:30 p.m. Friday, the California Highway Patrol said. Authorities believe speed and slick roads contributed to the accident that killed one person and injured 17.

Jurisprudence

Former Denver Bronco tight end Clarence Kay, 32, was sentenced to four months in jail on charges of violating a restraining order filed by an ex-girlfriend two years ago.

In Denver District Court in September, he pleaded guilty to two counts of violating a restraining order and a count of probation violation.

Johnny Mack Brown, an assistant Fresno State basketball coach, has been arrested for investigation of felony spousal abuse, police said in Fresno.

Brown, 32, was arrested after his wife, Tara, 23, complained that he choked her and hurt her back, police said. Brown countered that his wife slapped and hit him and that he had to grab her and wrestle her to the couch to stop the attack.

Skiing

Elfi Eder of Austria packaged two solid runs for an aggregate time of 1 minute 22.49 seconds to win a women’s World Cup slalom at Beaver Creek, Colo., for her first victory in six seasons on the circuit. Edda Mutter of Germany was 0.16 seconds behind. The only American to qualify for the second run was Kristina Koznick, 19, of Burnsville, Minn, who finished 11th at 1:24.80.

Water Polo

Second-ranked USC upset top-ranked UCLA, 8-7, in overtime at USC Stadium. Sophomore Mateo Juric led the Trojans with three goals. USC, 18-4 and 6-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, will probably resume the No. 1 ranking. UCLA fell to 16-5, 8-1.

Andre Doria Araujo scored his sixth goal of the game with 37 seconds left in overtime to give Golden West College (30-4-1) a 12-11 victory over Grossmont in the championship game of the California Community College tournament at Merced.

Miscellany

Brazil swept the United States, 15-8, 15-13, 15-8, in the volleyball World Cup opener in Kumamoto, Japan. The U.S. team, led by Stanford’s Mike Lambert with 10 kills, plays Tunisia today. The World Cup is a 12-team, round-robin tournament with the top three finishers qualifying for the 1996 Olympics at Atlanta. Team USA has qualified because of its host country status.

Darryl Strawberry had a successful debut in the Puerto Rico Winter League on Saturday night as he homered twice in his first game with the Santurce Crabbers at San Juan.