Rafter Wins to Advance, Then Has to Withdraw

Patrick Rafter advanced to the quarterfinals of the RCA Championships at Indianapolis with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory Thursday over Canadian Daniel Nestor, then withdrew from the tennis tournament because of tendinitis in his right shoulder.

Rafter had been seeded second to Pete Sampras, who won his 24th consecutive match, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, over Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

Rafter’s withdrawal means Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands automatically advances to Saturday’s semifinals. Siemerink beat Sweden’s Magnus Larsson, 6-2, 6-3.

“I’m pulling out of here to give myself a little more time for the U.S. Open [starting Aug. 30],” Rafter said. “I didn’t think [the shoulder] would progressively get worse and worse.”

Third-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil advanced, beating Sweden’s Magnus Norman, 6-4, 7-5, but sixth-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile was upset by Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4, 6-2.

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Monica Seles, seeking a fifth consecutive du Maurier Open title, defeated Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, to move into the quarterfinals at Toronto.

On a day when form held, the second-seeded Seles was joined in the quarterfinals by top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland, third-seeded Mary Pierce of France and fifth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain.

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Unseeded Paul Goldstein, Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic and Jan Kroslak of Slovakia advanced to the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at Washington. Goldstein defeated fifth-seeded Alex Corretja of Spain, 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5); Zib defeated No. 7 Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2; and Kroslak ousted No. 3 Tim Henman of Britain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Hockey

Mario Lemieux moved a step closer to ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins when a county commissioner said he was satisfied with a financing plan.

Commissioner Bob Cranmer had complained that a deal between Allegheny County and Lemieux’s group to pay off debts associated with improvements at the Civic Arena had been negotiated by staff without the approval of elected leaders or the county budget director.

Thursday, Cranmer said he was satisfied with a revised plan that shifts a portion of the debt from the county’s general fund--which is paid for by local property taxes--to the county’s Regional Asset District fund.

The Detroit Red Wings have suspended defenseman Uwe Krupp until he provides the team with medical records regarding a back injury that sidelined him for most of last season. Krupp signed a guaranteed four-year, $16.4-million contract last summer. . . . Philadelphia Flyer forward John LeClair should not miss any regular-season games because of his ailing back, his agent said. . . . Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hasek had surgery in Munich, Germany, to repair a slight hernia, the team said. Hasek will resume his off-season conditioning program within a week and should be ready for training camp, said Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, who performed the 40-minute procedure Wednesday. . . . The New York Rangers re-signed defenseman Mathieu Schneider to a one-year contract for $2.75 million. . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs signed free-agent goalie Jimmy Waite, who may replace 37-year-old Glenn Healy as Curtis Joseph’s backup.

Miscellany

A defense witness told jurors he reimbursed Miami Dolphin receiver Tony Martin out of his own funds $100,000 in fees paid to a longtime friend’s lawyer.

However, Damain Toledo’s testimony in the drug and money-laundering case at Miami was met with sharp questioning from prosecutors, who noted his statements often contradicted what he’d told a grand jury last December.

Martin is being tried alongside Rickey Brownlee, who spent seven years in prison for two 1980s drug convictions, in a case centering on Brownlee’s alleged drug activities from 1994 to 1997.

The U.S. men’s soccer team probably will play in Cuba next year--almost 53 years to the day of the last game between the teams in Havana.

Doug Logan, former Major League Soccer commissioner acting on behalf of the U.S. Soccer Federation, delivered a letter to the Cuban Football Federation, requesting home-and-home exhibition games.

“Not only was it warmly received, we’ve picked a day--July 19,” Logan said.

The only time the United States played in Cuba was a 5-2 loss on July 20, 1947.

Former major league first baseman Dee Fondy, a longtime Southern California fixture as a scout with the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, died after a long illness. He was 74.

Fondy spent eight years in the majors with the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.

He is survived by brothers Joe and Jon, daughter Jan and six grandchildren. Services will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bobbitt Funeral Home, 1299 E. Highland Blvd., San Bernardino.

Paul Arceneaux, women’s track and cross-country coach at Vanderbilt, has filed a lawsuit claiming the school does not properly fund the program and does not pay him as much as it pays coaches of male athletes.

Cameron Dollar, a point guard on UCLA’s 1995 NCAA championship basketball team, was hired as a men’s assistant coach at St. Louis University. New St. Louis Coach Lorenzo Romar was an assistant with the UCLA championship team.

Eva Shain, who helped break the gender barrier for boxing judges and went on to score 5,000 fights, died of breast cancer in Englewood, N.J. She was 81.

Stacy Compton broke the Gateway International Raceway qualifying record with a lap of 133.093 mph at Madison, Ill., to claim his fifth pole of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign.

Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, recovering quicker than expected from a broken leg, was given permission by doctors to resume driving. Schumacher will begin fitness tests today at a private track at Maranello, Italy.