Becker Withdraws After Aggravating Knee Injury

The woes of Boris Becker of Germany continue. In his first tennis tournament since announcing his farewell from Wimbledon, Becker withdrew from the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, because of a knee injury. Becker, who lost to eventual champion Pete Sampras in four sets in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, aggravated the injury in his second-round victory over Karim Alami.

French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten also withdrew from the tournament, because of sore ribs. The eighth-seeded Brazilian, trailed Felix Mantilla of Spain, 4-1, in a third-round match when he was forced to quit.

*

David Wheaton continued his comeback from foot surgery, as he reached the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1) victory over fifth-seeded Jason Stoltenberg.

*

Only two seeded players--fifth-seeded Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic and third-seeded Karina Habsudova of Slovakia--remained in the Czech Open at Prague after the top two seeded players, Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands and Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir, lost their second-round matches.

*

Defending champion Barbara Schett and top-seeded Barbara Paulus, both of Austria, advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament at Palermo, Sicily.

Schett, seeded third, defeated France’s Noelle van Lottum, 6-1, 6-3, and Paulus beat Italy’s Sandra Cecchini, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round.

Football

Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin met with team owner Jerry Jones but left without saying if he would be in Austin, Texas, for the start of training camp today. The rest of his teammates, including newly signed first-round draft pick David LaFleur, were headed for camp as Irvin waffled on his plans for the coming season.

The New Orleans Saints got their No. 1 draft pick, guard Chris Naeole, into camp on schedule, and signed him to a five-year contract. The Saints also agreed to a three-year contract with Jared Tomich, a defensive end from Nebraska and the second of their two second-round picks, and they said they have agreed to a three-year deal with their fourth-round pick, Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel.

The New England Patriots signed first-round draft choice Chris Canty for four years, and return specialist David Meggett was also expected to report to training camp after a brief holdout. . . . The Oakland Raiders re-signed veteran fullback Derrick Fenner, who started 11 games last season. . . . Fullback Clif Groce re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts. . . . Art Monk, one of the best wide receivers in NFL history, signed a one-day contract, so he could officially retire as a Washington Redskin.

Jurisprudence

A doctor who once coached tennis star Pete Sampras faces 16 charges of molesting boys he met through his medical practice, authorities said. The allegations against Peter Fischer, a pediatric endocrinologist from Rolling Hills, involve four boys who were 13 to 15 years old at the time, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Eloise Phillips. Fischer, 55, has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney declined to comment on the charges.

Thomas K. Welch, president and chief executive officer of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee and the man who brought the 2002 Winter Games to Utah, is being investigated for allegedly assaulting his wife last week.

Marv Albert must give impressions of his teeth to a Virginia crime laboratory this month, a judge in the sexual assault case against the NBC sportscaster said.

Miscellany

Olympic silver-medal long jumper James Beckford has been barred from competing for three months after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, a Jamaican track official. Beckford tested positive for Ephedrine after an IAAF Grand Prix meet in Paris on June 25. . . . University of Kentucky football player Omar Smith was listed in fair condition at the UK Hospital after being shot in the lower abdomen, according to officials.

The jerseys of three players that put up some of the biggest numbers in Duke basketball history are missing: The retired No. 33 jersey of Grant Hill, No. 32 of Christian Laettner and No. 10 of Dick Groat have been stolen from the Hall of Fame Room at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. . . . The Dallas Stars signed free-agent left wing Bob Errey to a three-year contract. . . . Veteran free-agent goalie Andy Moog agreed to a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. . . . Former Boston Celtic Dino Radja is headed for Greece, signing with Panathinaikos AC. . . . Olympic decathlon gold medalist Dan O’Brien is passing up an invitation to next month’s world championships in Greece because of leg injuries.