Williams Sisters Notch Victories Continents Apart

Playing a continent apart, teenage sisters Venus and Serena Williams have been e-mailing each other all week. On Sunday, they had plenty to say, becoming the first sisters to win WTA Tour events on the same day.

First, Serena defeated Amelie Mauresmo, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), for her first WTA Tour victory in the Gaz de France Open in Paris. Then Venus defended her title, defeating Amanda Coetzer, 6-4, 6-0, at the IGA SuperThrift Tennis Classic at Oklahoma City.

“This is just totally unreal for us,” said Richard Williams, the girls’ father and coach, who was with Venus in Oklahoma City.

Serena escaped a third-set jam when she blew a 4-1 lead and was unable to close out Mauresmo when she served for the match at 5-4. Her trouble was only temporary. The 17-year-old regrouped to beat Mauresmo, who was a finalist in the Australian Open.

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Emotion-filled Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands won the Guardian Direct Cup at London with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-5), 7-5 victory over Britain’s Greg Rusedski in a 2-hour 5-minute match.

Krajicek dedicated his victory to his friend and countryman Menno Oosting, who died in a car crash last Monday night while returning from a tournament in France.

Winter Sports

Canada’s Jeremy Wotherspoon capped off a dominant World Cup speedskating season with gold medals in the 500- and 1,000-meter races at Roseville, Minn.

Wotherspoon won the 1,000 with a time of 1:12.80 and tied for first in the 500 with Japan’s Kuniomi Haneishi in 37.11 seconds.

Finn Christian Jagge won his second slalom race this season in convincing fashion, and Norwegian teammate Andre Aamodt vaulted to the top of the World Cup overall skiing standings with a third-place finish at Ofterschwang, Germany.

Mika Myllylae of Finland won the 50-kilometer cross-country race at the Nordick Ski World Championships at Ramsau, Austria. It was the final race of the competition and gave Myllylae his third gold medal.

College Football

Coach John Cooper and Ohio State are working on a new contract that will assure him of reaching the $1-million plateau.

The contract Cooper signed in 1995 has matured to nearly $750,000 a year.

Kansas wide receiver Michael Chandler, the victim of a beating and shooting at his off-campus residence in Lawrence, was hospitalized after having surgery. Police gave few details of the attack that took place at 5 a.m. CST Saturday, but said more than one person entered his home, beat him and then shot him. Chandler was the Jayhawks’ third leading receiver last year.

Miscellany

Welton scored three goals and Danny Pena and Ezra Hendrickson one each as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Atlas of Mexico’s First Division, 5-1, in an exhibition soccer match at Bakersfield College.

The Indianapolis Colts have agreed to terms with defensive end Chad Bratzke, who ranked eighth in the NFL with 11 1/2 sacks for the New York Giants last year.

Joe Amato drove his NHRA Top Fuel dragster to the winner’s circle at the 15th annual Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen Nationals at Chandler, Ariz.

Amato made a pass in 4.565 seconds at 320.66 mph which was enough to defeat Kenny Bernstein, who had a run of 4.649 seconds at 316.75 mph.

John Force in Funny Car and Kurt Johnson in Pro Stock were the victors in their respective categories at Firebird International Raceway.

UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman became Bruin softball’s all-time leading home run hitter when she hit two during game one of a doubleheader sweep of Long Beach State at Long Beach. Nuveman has 32 homers, surpassing the record of 30 set by Kim Wuest from 1995-98.

Women’s Basketball

Kim Perrot, point guard for the two-time WNBA champion Houston Comets, was released from a Houston hospital four days after doctors removed a golf ball-sized cancerous tumor from just below the surface of her brain.

Jurisprudence

Leslie Price, 29, identified herself in an interview with the Charlotte Observer as the woman who is suing Charlotte Hornet owner George Shinn, 57, for sexual assault at his South Carolina mansion.

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Spotlight now on Serena Williams. Page 11.