Qualifier O’Brien Scares Agassi Before Succumbing to Pressure

Olympic tennis gold medalist Andre Agassi again needed three sets but advanced to the quarterfinals of the ATP Championship at Mason, Ohio, by defeating Alex O’Brien on Thursday, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-0.

In two matches suspended during a mid-afternoon thunderstorm, third-seeded Michael Chang defeated Cristiano Caratti, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, and ninth-seeded Wayne Ferreira defeated No. 8 Jim Courier, 7-6 (11-9), 6-7 (7-4), 6-2.

Agassi, the defending ATP titlist, needed three sets to defeat unheralded Magnus Larsson on Wednesday. O’Brien, a tournament qualifier, had advanced to the round of 16 when MaliVai Washington withdrew because of a back injury.

Agassi broke his racket in disgust after losing the first-set tiebreaker and became visibly more aggressive with a new racket. He broke O’Brien’s serve in Game 4 of the second set and served out relentlessly.

O’Brien immediately put himself in a hole by double-faulting on game point to give Agassi a service break in Game 1 of the third set, and lost his composure completely as Agassi poured on the pressure.

In matches completed before the rain, second-seeded Thomas Muster, No. 4 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No. 5 Goran Ivanisevic advanced.

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Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won despite a bad elbow but a hip injury proved too much for Jennifer Capriati in the $1.3 million du Maurier Open at Montreal.

Sanchez Vicario was treated early in her match for a stretched muscle in her right elbow, but bounced back to defeat 10th-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 7-5, 6-1.

Sanchez Vicario advanced to a quarterfinal match against unseeded Florencia Labat of Argentina, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Japan’s Naoko Kijimuti.

“It’s happened to me before,” said Sanchez Vicario, who developed elbow trouble at Wimbledon in June. “It stopped for a while and I came back.

“The trainer taped it up. I have to be careful with it, but I can play with it. I won’t have to withdraw.”

Capriati, in her first tournament since the French Open in May, retired in the second set against Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria after straining a muscle in her right hip.

“I felt I was playing well,” Capriati said, “Hopefully, it will heal fast and I’ll be there for the next tournament [Aug. 19 at San Diego].”

Maleeva’s next opponent will be the winner of a later match between top-seeded Monica Seles, the defending champion, and No. 9 Gabriela Sabatini.

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The Fed Cup final between the United States and Spain will be held Sept. 28-29 at the Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention Center.

Seles and Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport are expected to play for the United States. Vicario and Conchita Martinez are expected to play on the Spanish team, seeking its fourth consecutive Fed Cup title.

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Marcelo Charpentier upset fourth-seeded Hernan Gumy in straight sets in an all-Argentine second-round match at the San Marino International tournament. . . . Top-seeded Barbara Paulus defeated Hungarian qualifier Katalin Miskoczi, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Styrian Open at Maria Lankowitz, Austria.

Boxing

David Reid, the only U.S gold medalist at the Atlanta Olympics, will announce a deal to turn pro next week.

Reid, a light-middleweight, said he had spoken with promoter Bob Arum about three months ago. As of now, though, there is no contract with Arum, Reid’s manager, Anthony Capitolla, said.

Reid earned the gold medal by knocking out Cuba’s Alfredo Duvergel in the third round when trailing, 15-5.

The New York State Athletic Commission will lift the suspension it imposed on manager Lou Duva stemming from the melee that followed the July 11 heavyweight fight between Riddick Bowe and Andrew Golota at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Basketball

The Cleveland Cavaliers waived center Brad Daugherty and renounced the rights to guards Dan Majerle and Harold Miner. The moves open room under the salary cap for the Cavaliers, who are expected to sign a free agent soon. The waiving of Daugherty frees $5 million under the cap.

Drexel University extended the contract of men’s basketball Coach Bill Herrion through 2001.

Jurisprudence

Former Denver Bronco receiver Clarence Kay has been named in an arrest warrant in a knife attack on a paramedic at a south Denver residence last month, police said.

Police said Kay was being sought on a warrant charging him with attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault. The attack occurred July 16 when Denver paramedic Nick Voth, 29, was confronted by a man in his backyard while taking out the trash. The assailant stabbed Voth five times, but Voth was wearing a flak jacket he wears at work and his injuries were minor.

Miscellany

Sixteen people were murdered in Atlanta during the Centennial Olympic Games, police said, despite efforts by a 30,000-strong security force to rid the Olympic city of violent crime.

The Olympic murder count equaled a rate of nearly one homicide for each of the 17 days of competition, which ran from July 19 through Aug. 4. The total was a three-year high for the city.

Mighty Duck center Paul Kariya, who was to have played for Canada, will miss the World Cup of Hockey because of an inflamed lower stomach condition that is painful to the touch, and Canada added forwards Vincent Damphousse and Adam Graves to the roster for the eight-nation tournament.

Top-seeded Barbra Fontana Harris and Linda Hanley were upset by Elaine Rogue and Dennie Shupryt-Knoop, 15-13, and second-seeded Karolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno fell, 15-11, to Gail Castro and Deb Richardson in the Evian International women’s beach volleyball tournament at New York. . . . The first skins arena polo game will be held at the Los Angeles equestrian center today and Saturday.