Early Exit for Sampras at Monte Carlo

The Monte Carlo Open lost a lot of star power on Tuesday when Pete Sampras, Thomas Muster and Boris Becker, with 15 Grand Slam titles among them, all lost their first matches at Monaco.

Magnus Larsson of Sweden, a former top-10 player, beat Sampras, the world’s top-ranked player; Renzo Furlan of Italy beat Becker, and Fabrice Santoro of France ousted Muster.

“It’s the same story with me on clay,” said Sampras, who lost, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. “I just start pressing a little bit and start going for a little too much. On hard court it just comes naturally.”

Muster, once nearly unbeatable on clay, has lost twice within a week on the surface. Santoro beat him, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

Becker lost to Furlan, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

Earlier this week Sampras tied John McEnroe for third in total weeks at the No. 1 spot in the tennis rankings at 170.

He was returning to tournament tennis after withdrawing from two Asian tournament with an injured wrist. Earlier in the year he won three tournaments and had a 20-match winning streak. .

A loss on clay is not unusual for Becker and Sampras. It is for Muster, who once won 40 consecutive matches on clay in 1995 and had a 113-7 record on clay since 1993.

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Fourth-seeded Alex O’Brien cruised past Austria’s Gilbert Schaller, 6-4, 6-2, and advanced to the second round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Sixth-seeded Chris Woodruff defeated Argentina’s Javier Frana, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and defending champion Fernando Melegini of Brazil edged American qualifier Mark Merklein, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6).

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South African Amanda Coetzer, seeded No. 2, struggled briefly against wild-card entrant Andrea Temesvari before beating her, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, in the first round of the Budapest Ladies’ Open at Hungary.

Top-seeded Karina Habsudova of Slovakia breezed past the Czech Republic’s Sandra Kleinova, 6-2, 6-4.

Golf

With winds gusting off Lake Oconee from an approaching storm, Davis Love III put his tee shot within two feet of the hole on the second playoff hole and knocked in the birdie putt to beat Phil Mickelson for the U.S. title in the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf at Eatonton, Ga.

Love’s match-play victory on the Great Waters course in east Georgia sends him to play the European, Japanese and International champions in the world finals in January at Scottsdale, Ariz. He also assures himself of at least $500,000 in the $3.65-million event.

Mickelson needed 18 holes to beat Fred Couples in the semifinal earlier in the day, and Love used 16 holes to defeat Tom Lehman, 3 and 2.

“It was a tough match,” Love said. “It was not a well-played match. I think we both ran out of gas.”

After both men parred the first playoff hole on No. 16, Love used a seven-iron to knock the ball just beyond the flag on the par-three, 159-yard 17th. Mickelson went about 25 feet right of the cup with his tee shot and missed the downhill putt. Love stepped up and sank his winning birdie putt just in time to make it to the clubhouse before severe thunderstorms swept over the Jack Nicklaus-designed course.

Pro Football

Starting defensive tackle Jimmie Jones and two others were released as the St. Louis Rams moved to remain under the NFL’s salary cap.

The release of Jones, linebacker Rico Mack and free-agent running back Travis Cozart came two days after the draft. The Rams also have signed college punters Will Brice of Virginia and Nate Cochran of Pittsburgh, who went undrafted last weekend. They will join Greg Ivy in competition to replace released veteran Sean Landeta.

Donnell Bennett, the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting fullback, signed a four-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. . . . Cornerback Mickey Washington, the only player to start every game in the two-year history of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was released. Jacksonville also waived quarterback Steve Taneyhill.

College Basketball

Hoping to jazz up offensive play, the NCAA decided to reinstate college basketball’s five-second rule, which was dropped four seasons ago.

Under the rule, an offensive player may not dribble the ball more than five seconds if a defender is within six feet of him. The offensive player must shoot or pass or be called for a turnover.

The NCAA, during a meeting at Kansas City, also voted to require most preseason tournaments next year to use a 40-second shot clock, instead of a 35-second shot clock.

Jeff Johannsen, a 6-foot-11 basketball center from Temple City High who signed with UC Irvine last fall, has been released from his letter of intent, Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

Names in the News

Lars Tate, a former running back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was shot and critically wounded in Indianapolis. Police said Tate, 32, was shot in the throat as he tried to help a woman who was arguing with another man over custody of a child. The woman, Doris Smith, 45, also was shot and was listed in serious condition.Haywood Rice, 31, of Indianapolis was arrested and will probably face two charges of attempted murder, police said.

The women’s American Basketball League signed another premier college senior in Florida All-American DeLisha Milton. The defensive/rebounding specialist is expected to be drafted by the Portland Power. Milton, who signed a two-year, six-figure deal, averaged 19 points and nine rebounds and blocked 48 shots for Florida last season. As expected, Stanford’s Kate Starbird signed a three-year deal with the Seattle Reign that will reportedly pay her $150,000 next season.

Scott Barnsby pitched the first nine-inning no-hitter for the University of Massachusetts since 1957, blanking Northeastern in the semifinals of the baseball Beanpot at Boston’s Fenway Park.

It was the first no-hitter at Fenway since 1965, when the Red Sox’s Dave Morehead blanked the Cleveland Indians, 2-0.