Spaniards in ATP Semifinals

While Pete Sampras savored his record sixth consecutive No. 1 tennis ranking Friday, Spaniards Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja joined Sampras and Tim Henman in the semifinals of the $3.5-million ATP Tour World Championship at Hanover, Germany.

Moya, the French Open champion who had not won an indoor match all year until this tournament, beat Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 7-5, 7-5, and Corretja defeated countryman Albert Costa, 6-2, 6-4.

Sampras, who did not play Friday, will face Corretja in today’s semifinals. Moya will meet Britain’s Henman.

Winter Sports

Stefan Eberharter led an Austrian sweep of the top five places in the opening super-G of the World Cup ski season at Aspen, Colo. Eberharter finished more than half a second faster than runner-up Hermann Maier, the defending World Cup champion, with a time of 1 minute 11.81 seconds. . . . Austria’s Renate Goetschl won the season’s first women’s World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Canada, with a time of 1:36.12. Italy’s Isolde Kostner finished second. . . . Germany’s Christoph Langen shrugged off a bad week of training and won a two-man World Cup bobsled race at Park City, Utah. Tied for second were Brian Shimer, driving USA I, and Guenther Huber, in Italy I.

Basketball

Jacque Nero scored 15 points to lead the expansion Nashville Noise to its first American Basketball League victory, 60-52, over the New England Blizzard at Nashville. . . . Adrienne Goodson scored 20 points and Yolanda Griffith added 18, to go along with 17 rebounds, as the Chicago Condors snapped a four-game losing streak in beating the visiting Columbus Quest, 65-61. . . . The Seattle Reign outscored the San Jose Lasers, 18-9, in the second overtime for a 116-107 victory at Seattle.

Miscellany

Tiger Woods dropped six strokes off the lead in the Casio World Open at Ibusuki, Japan, when he bogeyed four consecutive holes and shot a two-over-par 74 in the second round. Hidemichi Tanaka, winner of the Japan Open, moved into first place at 137 with a 69.

Kent Steffes was suspended for three years by the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals for “continual disparaging remarks about the AVP,” according to a news release.

Azusa Pacific (9-2) plays host to Central Washington (7-3) tonight in an NAIA quarterfinal football game. Azusa Pacific lost at Central Washington, 51-17, Sept. 19.

Soccer, cycling and tennis were warned by the International Olympic Committee that they risk being dropped from the Olympics unless they comply with uniform anti-drug rules and sanctions.

Names in the News

Justin McPolin of the Jacksonville Lizard Kings was suspended for 35 games by the East Coast Hockey League for punching an official. . . . Richard Virenque, the top cyclist on the Festina cycling team thrown out of the Tour de France for using banned substances, passed a drug test he took five days after he was expelled from the race in July, the French sports daily L’Equipe reported. . . . Katsutoshi Miwata, 53, the general manager of a Japanese baseball team, jumped to his death from a high-rise apartment building after failing to sign an outstanding high school player, according to Tokyo police. . . . Jay Drake took advantage of Billy Boat’s absence and won the Turkey Night midget car race Thursday night at Bakersfield Speedway. . . . Former heavyweight champion James “Bonecrusher” Smith, 45, stopped journeyman David Slaughter in the second round at Gary, Ind.