Davenport, Seles Lose at Garden

Just when things looked bleakest, Mary Joe Fernandez lost her balance and gained momentum.

Cheered on by the Madison Square Garden crowd after the second-set tumble, Fernandez rallied Wednesday night to upset third-seeded Lindsay Davenport, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), in the first round of the $2-million Chase Championships.

The victory over her former doubles partner came on her fifth match point and put her into the quarterfinals of the season-ending event, where she will take on eighth-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania.

The first round was completed when Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario upset fifth-seeded Monica Seles, the only former champion in the elite 16-player field, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Sanchez Vicario will take on No. 2 Jana Novotna.

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Billie Jean King will return in 1998 as captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team.

King was captain of the U.S. team that won the Fed Cup title in 1996. This year, Martina Navratilova was captain when the team was upset by the Netherlands.

The U.S. Tennis Assn. also said Tom Gullikson will continue as captain of the Davis Cup team.

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India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes surprised third-seeded Ellis Ferreira and Patrick Galbraith, 7-5, 6-4, in an opening round-robin match of the World Doubles Championship at Hartford, Conn.

Motor Sports

Goodyear, the dominant tire name in Formula One auto racing for more than 30 years, said it would end the association after the 1998 season because of rising costs and new racing regulations.

Bill Elliott, 42, owner and driver of the McDonald’s Ford on the NASCAR circuit, underwent surgery in Birmingham, Ala., to remove plates and screws from his left hip.

Olympics

After nine unsuccessful bids, the Swedish Olympic Committee has turned down plans by the city of Ostersund to bid for the 2006 Winter Games.

In an unanimous vote, the committee said the northern Swedish city of 60,000 was no more competitive in its bid than the last time it tried for the Olympics. It also said it would be impossible to get enough support for another bid.

Ostersund and nearby Are, Scandinavia’s leading alpine ski resort, finished second for the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, and third for the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

Miscellany

After two seasons, the Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League are folding. Coach Mike Hohensee, who had one year remaining on a two-year contract, said he was told Monday by majority owner Robert Zinngrabe to “start looking for another job.” The 1998 Arena League schedule was released this week and the Piranhas were not on it.

Former basketball star Ralph Sampson pleaded guilty in Stafford, Va., to driving with a suspended license and was fined $100.