Agassi, Becker Reach Final in Hong Kong

Andre Agassi took his mind off his personal life Saturday and advanced to the final of the Salem Open at Hong Kong.

Agassi, seeking his first title of the year, defeated Hendrik Dreekmann of Germany, 6-3, 6-0, in the semifinals and will face Boris Becker, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over German compatriot Bernd Karbacher.

The last time Becker and Agassi met was in the semifinals of the 1995 U.S. Open, where Agassi won in four sets.

Agassi and actress Brooke Shields filed for divorce Friday in Las Vegas.

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Unseeded Ruxandra Dragomir of Romania upset ninth-seeded Anna Kournikova of Russia, 6-3, 7-5, and second-seeded Monica Seles defeated seventh-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, 6-0, 6-1, in the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla.

Dragomir’s victory was a surprise, especially considering the way Kournikova had been playing the past two weeks.

“It’s going to be huge for me,” Dragomir said. “To beat Monica would be great. But I don’t like to think about it because if I do, I get too excited.”

Second-seeded Todd Martin outlasted third-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), in the semifinals of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal, and will play Albert Costa of Spain for the title. The fourth-seeded Costa defeated unseeded Jerome Golmard of France, 6-4, 6-4.

Motor Sports

Adrian Fernandez of Mexico, running low on fuel, won the Firehawk 500 after CART points leader Greg Moore spun with two laps remaining at Motegi, Japan. Fernandez needed a tow to the winner’s circle because his Reynard-Ford ran dry on the cool-down lap.

Pole-sitter Gil de Ferran finished second, followed by Christian Fittipaldi and Moore, who retained the FedEx Championship Series points lead.

Jason Keller got his first NASCAR Busch Series victory in nearly four years by overpowering Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps to win the Moore’s Snacks 250 at Bristol, Tenn.

Jeff Gordon, trying to win the spring race for the fifth consecutive year, will start on the outside of the front row, alongside pole-sitter Rusty Wallace, in today’s Food City 500 NASCAR race at Bristol.

The McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard filled the front row for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo.

NHRA national record-setters Larry Dixon (top fuel) and John Force (funny car) will lead their respective categories into today’s eliminations at Baytown, Texas.

Soccer

Matt Jordan had six saves and the Dallas Burn extended its shutout streak to a team-record 328 minutes with a 1-0 shootout victory over the Chicago Fire, ruining the home opener for the defending Major League Soccer champions before 27,311. . . . David Kramer made three saves in the tiebreaker as the San Jose Clash defeated the Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, in a shootout before 4,815 at Kansas City. . . . Defender Carlos Llamosa scored on the ninth shot of the shootout and D.C. United remained unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution before 18,373 at Foxboro, Mass. . . . Wolde Harris scored two goals and Anders Limpar had two assists to lead the Colorado Rapids to a 4-1 victory over the Miami Fusion before 15,592 at Denver.

College Football

Sultan McCullough, probably the No. 3 tailback for USC next season behind Chad Morton and Petros Papadakis, stood out during a 56-play scrimmage Saturday at Howard Jones Field by rushing for 99 yards in 13 carries, including a 21-yard touchdown.

Other standouts included quarterback Carson Palmer, who completed seven of 11 passes for 138 yards and connected with R. Jay Soward for a 39-yard touchdown, and Windrell Hayes, who caught five passes for 113 yards.

In other news, linebacker Mike Pollard, who suffered a knee injury last week, might require surgery. A decision is expected Monday.

Michigan’s Demetrius Smith, a fullback until being moved to the defensive line this spring, has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

Boxing

Prince Naseem Hamed knocked out Paul Ingle in the 11th round at Manchester, England, to retain his World Boxing Organization featherweight title for the 12th time.

About 45 seconds into the 11th round, Hamed landed a short left to the top of Ingle’s head that sent the English challenger toppling backward to end the scheduled 12-round fight.

Hamed, who extended his record to 32-0, with 29 knockouts, said he may have broken his right hand in the fight and would go to a hospital for X-rays. Ingle, the former European and Commonwealth champion, lost for the first time after 21 wins.

On the undercard, 40-year-old Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns won a unanimous cruiserweight decision over fellow American Nate Miller.

Miscellany

Al Roberts, the Cincinnati Bengals’ special teams coach, was thrown across his bedroom and had his house destroyed by the tornado that touched down in the city’s northern suburbs Friday. . . . Sinjin Smith and Rob Heidger upset second-seeded Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson, 15-5, in the third round of the Olympic-qualifying FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event at Acapulco. . . . Top-ranked UCLA swept No. 2 Arizona in a Pacific 10 softball doubleheader, 6-2 and 3-2.