Agassi’s Slump Continues with Quick Opening Loss

Andre Agassi can be thankful he doesn’t need money, because he’s not making much playing tennis lately.

The two-time defending champion of the Lipton Championships lost his opening match Saturday to Australian Scott Draper, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, at Key Biscayne, Fla. The defeat was Agassi’s fifth in a row, his worst slump.

Motivation may be a problem for the 26-year-old millionaire, but he denies it.

“I’m not tired,” he said. “I’m not through.”

He has failed to win so much as a set in the last six weeks, and his ranking has slipped from eighth at the beginning of the year to 13th, and he’ll now drop out of the top 20.

Against Draper, a 22-year-old left-hander ranked 79th, Agassi played as if he were double-parked. He lost his serve at love in the final game, and the lackluster performance prompted speculation that he didn’t give his full effort in the second set.

In other men’s play, Adrian Voinea of Romania lost to top-ranked Pete Sampras, 6-2, 6-0. Third-seeded Michael Chang also advanced to the third round. Boris Becker withdrew from his opening match because of a wrist injury.

In women’s play, Anna Kournikova, at 15 the youngest player in the tournament, beat 12th-seeded Amanda Coetzer, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Venus Williams rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the first set to beat Jennifer Capriati, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-2. Her opponent in the third round today will be another 16-year-old, top-ranked Martina Hingis.

“She’s been around town and the world,” Williams said. “She’s a globetrotter. I’m ready to play.”

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Sweden’s Thomas Johansson outserved and beat top-seeded Michael Stich, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals of Russia’s St. Petersburg Open. The fifth-seeded Johansson will face seventh-seeded Renzo Furlan of Italy in the finals.

Boxing

Genaro Hernandez of Los Angeles recorded a split-decision victory over Azumah Nelson to capture the World Boxing Council super-featherweight title at Corpus Christi, Texas.

Former light-flyweight champion Michael Carbajal scored a 10th-round knockout of Scott Olson.

1996 Olympian Fernando Vargas will make his pro debut against Jose Corella on Tuesday at the Oxnard Performance Center.

Winter Sports

After two days of watching top American Tommy Moe dominate, youngsters Sacha Gros and Dane Spencer grabbed the men’s spotlight in the U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf/USA at Carrabassett Valley, Maine.

Gros, 22, of Vail, Colo., a member of the U.S. ski team “B” squad, turned in a daring second run to win the giant slalom, with “C” team member Spencer, 19, of Boise, Idaho, finishing third.

Uros Pavlovcic of Slovenia, the leader after the first run, was second.

Moe, who won the downhill and the Super-G on the first two days of the championship, did not enter the giant slalom and will pass on Monday’s slalom.

Finns extended their domination in this year’s Nordic combined World Cup, with a one-two finish in the ski jumping portion of the World Cup finals at Strbske Pleso, Slovakia.

Jari Mantilla totaled 248 1/2 points and earned a 33-second starting lead over his teammate, Samppa Lajunen.

Motor Sports

Tony Stewart drove a G Force-Aurora to a 170.012-mph lap at Phoenix International Raceway to take the pole for today’s Phoenix 200.

It was Stewart’s second consecutive pole and third in seven Indy Racing League events.

Rookie Jim Guthrie ran 169.484 mph in a Dallara-Aurora and will start on Stewart’s outside shoulder.

Scott Goodyear was third at 166.044 mph.

Randy LaJoie, the defending series champion, fought off a determined bid from Jeff Burton with a spectacular last-lap move to win the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Busch Grand National Series race at Darlington, S.C.

Joe Amato and Cruz Pedregon qualified No. 1 for the second consecutive NHRA national event, setting track records in top fuel and funny car at the NHRA Slick 50 Nationals at Baytown, Texas.

Other No. 1 qualifiers at Houston Raceway Park were Warren Johnson in pro stock and Matt Hines in pro stock motorcycle.

Miscellany

Third-ranked UCLA (24-5-1) hit five home runs en route to a 12-6 victory over seventh-ranked USC (23-9) at Dedeaux Field. . . . Wayne Webb beat Steve Jaros, 268-203, in the championship match of the Pro Bowlers Assn. Peoria Open in Illinois. . . . NCAA wrestling champion Iowa crowned five winners in title matches at Cedar Falls, Iowa, as the three-time defending champion Hawkeyes broke their record for points.