Chang Upset but Refuses to Blame Injury

Richey Reneberg upset Michael Chang, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 (7-3), in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open at Tokyo, but there was some question Friday whether Chang, the world’s fourth-ranked tennis player, was hurt. Reneberg said Chang’s right shoulder was bothering him in the second set.

Chang said his shoulder wasn’t hurt, and that a wrapped right leg was only a “slight problem.” He served five of his nine aces in the second set, but he headed later for tests on his shoulder.

No. 1 Pete Sampras defeated old nemesis Guy Forget of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and will meet Mark Woodforde of Australia, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, in today’s semifinals.

Amy Frazier, a 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1 winner over Japan’s Naoko Kijimuta, will face Kimiko Date in the women’s final for the third consecutive year after Date defeated fellow Japanese Ai Sugiyama, 6-1, 6-3.

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Jim Courier had a tough battle before finally beating fellow American Todd Martin in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Top-seeded Thomas Muster overwhelmed Francis Roig of Spain, 6-1, 6-1.

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The Cinderella story of Bill Behrens was ended by top-seeded MaliVai Washington, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Bermuda Open. Behrens was the field’s lowest ranked player, 707th on the worldwide rankings, and Washington was the highest at 19th. Behrens, who had never won a singles match on the ATP Tour before this event, defeated eighth-seeded Scott Draper and Jan Apell in advancing to the quarterfinals.

Golf

Tom Watson shot a second consecutive 67 and shared the lead with Jeff Sluman at 134, eight under par, midway through the MCI Heritage Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C. Watson has not won on the PGA Tour in nine years. Sluman also had a second consecutive 67.

A stroke behind were Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert, Larry Nelson and Loren Roberts. Masters winner Nick Faldo and Greg Norman were four shots back.

Buddy Allin shot a 67 early and watched as his five-under 139 held up midway through the PGA Seniors’ Championship at Palm Beach Garden, Fla. Hale Irwin, whose 66 was good for the first-round lead, stumbled to a 74 and was a stroke behind at 140, along with Isao Aoki.

Karen Weiss shot a career-best 66, six under par, for a two-shot lead in the Chick-fil-A Charity LPGA tournament in Stockbridge, Ga.

Gymnastics

Experience paid off as Vitaly Scherbo, Yuri Chechi and Svetlana Chorkina retained their apparatus titles in the World Gymnastics Championships at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Scherbo, from Belarus, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in 1992, cruised through the first of his four finals to win gold in the floor exercise. Chechi, from Italy, nailed a routine at the start of the rotation that no one could match in winning his third straight rings title. Chorkina, the uneven bars champion from Russia, retained her title although she had to share it with Yelena Piskun of Belarus. Both had scores of 9.787.

The three U.S. finalists had mishaps in their respective routines.

Chris LaMorte had a difficult time keeping the rings close to his body to finish seventh. In the uneven bars, Dominique Dawes missed her signature twisting release move for the second consecutive night to finish a disappointing 11th with an 8.787 score. Jaycie Phelps was eighth.

Paul Mendoza of UC Santa Barbara won the varsity men’s all-around title, William & Mary claimed its third consecutive national championship and UCLA repeated as club division champion at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships at Seattle.

Football

The Dallas Cowboys acquired fourth-year safety Roger Harper from the Atlanta Falcons for the Cowboy’s fourth- and fifth-round picks in today’s NFL draft. . . . The Houston Oilers waived running back Gary Brown, who within two seasons rose from backup to star before sliding down the depth chart. . . . Offensive tackle Bruce Wilkerson, the former L.A. Raider who was waived Tuesday by Jacksonville, signed a free-agent contract with the Green Bay Packers.

USC will play its annual spring game today at Howard Jones Field. Game time is 11 a.m. Admission, which includes a postgame barbecue, is $20.

Miscellany

Bowing to activists still incensed over a 3-year-old anti-gay resolution, Olympic organizers said that the torch relay will bypass suburban Cobb County on its way to the Summer Games in Atlanta.

Gay-rights activists had threatened demonstrations if the county were included in the torch relay, which begins April 27 in Los Angeles and ends in Atlanta July 19.

Ricky Craven turned a lap at 93.079 mph and earned his first pole for Sunday’s Winston Cup stock car at Martinsville, Va. . . . Scott Kalitta (top fuel), John Force (funny cars) and Rickie Smith (pro stock) were the leaders after the opening session of qualifying for the Fram Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga.

Anaclet Wamba of France lost his World Boxing Council cruiserweight title when he was three pounds over the limit at the weigh-in for his title defense in Paris against Marcelo Dominguez of Argentina. Wamba and Dominguez were to have fought today. . . . German heavyweight Axel Schulz will fight American Michael Moorer for the vacant International Boxing Federation title in Berlin in June, according to promoter Cedric Kushner.

Three U.S. Olympians, Lynn Jennings, PattiSue Plumer and Vicki Huber, are in the women’s 5,000-meter field at the Mt. San Antonio College distance carnival tonight in Walnut. Starting at 7, athletes from eight countries will compete in races from the 3,000-meter steeplechase to the 10,000 meters.

Reyne Borup, who qualified fourth earlier in the day, rallied to win the women’s 1-meter springboard title in the National Diving Championships at Oxford, Ohio.