Seles, Davenport Give U.S. the Upper Hand

Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport gave the United States a 2-0 lead Saturday in the best-of-five Fed Cup, threatening Spain’s three-year reign as the world’s top women’s tennis team.

Seles beat Conchita Martinez, 6-2, 6-4, and Davenport rallied to defeat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 7-5, 6-1, winning 10 of the final 11 games while overcoming a 5-3 first-set deficit at Atlantic City, N.J.

Seles has a 10-0 record against Martinez and has never lost a set to her, but the second set appeared headed for a tiebreaker until Seles, up 5-4, managed a brilliant passing backhand to force deuce, then rifled a baseline winner on a shot that appeared to be going past her.

“How a third set would have gone would have depended or not on whether I calmed down,” Seles said. “I don’t usually get worked up like that during the match. I think I would have been fine if I didn’t lose the first game of the second set. I had been zoning in playing almost perfect tennis in the first set and there was no where to go but down.

“I really lost momentum with that first game and she became tough. I’ve never seen Conchita that pumped up. The key point was when I was able to [even the set].”

Davenport’s victory, her second in a row over Sanchez Vicario after five losses, puts the United States one point from capturing its first Fed Cup since 1990.

Seles can clinch if she beats Sanchez Vicario today. Davenport faces Martinez in the second singles match before Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez face Martinez and Sanchez Vicario in doubles.

“They have a difficult task, although not impossible,” U.S. captain Billie Jean King said of her opponents.

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U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras defeated French Open winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, in the semifinals of the Swiss Indoor tournament at Basel.

Sampras will play Germany’s Hendrik Dreekmann in today’s final. Dreekmann beat Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-4.

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Morocco’s Karim Alami beat Marzio Martelli of Italy, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Sicilian International Championships at Palermo.

Alami will face Adrian Voinea of Romania in today’s final. Voinea defeated Belgium’s Johan Van Herck, 6-3, 6-2.

Golf

For the first time in five years, the PGA Tour will have two consecutive 54-hole events.

The third round of the Buick Challenge at Pine Mountain, Ga., was halted by heavy rain before any of the leaders could get on the course.

Five players are tied for the lead--defending champion Fred Funk, Michael Bradley, Davis Love III, Len Mattiace and John Maginnes at 10-under 134, with five other players within two shots of them.

“It’s funny that it would happen two weeks in a row like this,” said Funk, who won the B.C. Open last week in a one-hole playoff after rain washed out the final round. “It’s frustrating because everything means so much for the money-list situation at this time of year. It’s much better to have a 72-hole tournament.”

J.C. Snead birdied four of his final eight holes to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the seniors’ Vantage Championship at Clemmons, N.C.

Snead shot a three-under 68 for an eight-under 134 to lead Jim Colbert and Gary Player by one shot heading into today’s final round.

Colbert, a winner here in 1991-92, shot a 70. Player’s 65 was the best round of the day.

Dottie Pepper, bidding for her fifth victory in her last nine LPGA Tour events, shot a four-under-par 68 to take a two-shot lead with a 13-under 203 in the Fieldcrest Cannon Classic at Cornelius, N.C.

Dale Eggeling, defending champion Gail Graham and Kim Saiki were two shots behind at 205. Eggeling carded a 68, Saiki a 70 and Graham a 71.

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John Pate, older brother of PGA Tour player Steve Pate, shot a two-under-par 69 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Hartford, Conn.

Pate, 36, of Santa Barbara, had five birdies on the Hartford Golf Club course.

Randy Haag of Danville, Calif.; John Miller of Bloomington, Ind.; and Bob Kearney of Houston were one stroke behind.

Ireland will bid for the 2005 Ryder Cup. The competition alternates between the United States and Europe, and the defending champion Europeans are the host of next year’s event at Valderrama, Spain.

Boxing

An injured right elbow has forced WBA light-heavyweight champion Virgil Hill to reschedule his fight against Germany’s Henry Maske in Munich, Germany, from Oct. 12 to Nov. 23.

Horse Racing

Italian jockey Frankie Dettori made English racing history by winning all seven races at the Ascot meet. It was the first time in British racing history that a jockey had won seven races at one meet in one day.

Miscellany

Steve Scott, 40, won the Masters division of the Discover Card Mile on New York’s Fifth Avenue in a time of 4 minutes 6.57 seconds and later outkicked world indoor mile record-holder Eamonn Coghlan, 43, of Ireland in a two-man Champions of the Mile race in 4:37.02.

In the elite competition, Isaac Viciosa of Spain became the first men’s repeat winner since Britain’s Peter Elliott in 1989-90. Viciosa, who won last year’s race in 3:47.8, ran 3:53.67 this year.

Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, last year’s women’s runner-up, won this year’s race in 4:26.69.

Mark Martin, driving in only his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, won the Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse 250 at North Wilkesboro, N.C.

The Winston Cup regular, driving a Ford truck entered by Roush Racing, took the lead with 73 laps remaining on the .625-mile oval and went on to beat truck series regular Jack Sprague to the finish line by 0.78 seconds.