Krajicek Continues Mastery of Sampras

Give Pete Sampras an asterisk when he returns to No. 1, because against Richard Krajicek he still ranks No. 2.

Sampras headed home from Key Biscayne, Fla., Tuesday assured of the top ranking despite another loss to Krajicek, who won their quarterfinal slugfest in the Lipton Championships, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).

The victory was Krajicek’s fourth in a row over Sampras. The big Dutchman, the last player to beat Sampras at Wimbledon, holds a 6-2 advantage in their rivalry.

“He’s got my number for the time being,” Sampras said. “He seems to be very confident against me. He just comes out swinging away.”

Krajicek, who reached the Lipton semifinal for the first time, is the only remaining player ranked in the top 13.

“Rankings-wise it looks like the best guys aren’t playing,” Krajicek said. “But the guys left are really playing well.”

Sampras will reclaim the No. 1 ranking Monday from Carlos Moya, whose two-week reign ends because of a fourth-round loss.

In women’s play, Serena and Venus Williams moved a step closer to meeting in Sunday’s final. Serena Williams won her 14th match in a row, beating Monica Seles, 6-2, 6-3, and Venus Williams edged Anke Huber, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4).

Martina Hingis, Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport also advanced to the quarterfinals. Anna Kournikova and Mary Pierce were eliminated.

Davenport defeated Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, 6-2, 6-0. Hingis halted 19-year-old qualifier Marlene Weingartner’s surprising run with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Graf extended her winning streak in the Lipton to 21 matches by beating Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, 6-2, 6-4.

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Top-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria made a quick exit from the Grand Prix Hassan II tournament at Casablanca, Morocco, upset in the opening round by Johan Van Herck of Belgium, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Football

The Dallas Cowboys agreed to terms with free-agent wide receiver Raghib Ismail on a seven-year, $21-million contract, ESPN reported. . . . Opponents of the New England Patriots’ move to Hartford, Conn., filed suit in an attempt to keep the NFL team out of Connecticut. . . . The New York Giants addressed their need for a pass-catching tight end by signing free agent Pete Mitchell. . . . The Jacksonville Jaguars made it official: Three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tony Boselli is the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman after agreeing to terms on a four-year contract extension worth $26 million. . . . A day after joining the San Diego Chargers, quarterback Jim Harbaugh underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a piece of loose cartilage from his right knee.

Figure Skating

Russians Yegeny Plushenko and defending champion Alexei Yagudin placed first and second in the men’s short program of the World Figure Skating Championships at Helskinki.

Three-time world champion Elvis Stojko of Canada is third and will need mistakes by the Russians in Thursday’s free program to get his fourth title.

American Michael Weiss ended in fourth place after a program that was less technically ambitious than that of the others.

The women begin competition today with the qualifying round that counts for 20% of the final score. Favored Michelle Kwan, battling a cold, has begun antibiotics, although she had hoped to avoid doing so for fear of slowing her reflexes.

“I don’t expect it to bother me,” she said.

Kwan had some trouble in practice Tuesday. She fell after a triple-double in her warmup and landed off balance after a triple in a rehearsal of her short program.

Miscellany

Calling the recent title fight between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis “the biggest fix in fight history,” Muhammad Ali said he was humiliated that the sport “had sunk to its lowest levels.” In a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), Ali said, “It was clear to all who watched that the deciding victor of the match was England’s Lennox Lewis.” . . . The IOC rejected Quebec City’s demand for compensation to cover the cost of its failed bid for the 2002 Winter Games, city officials said. . . . John Skrandel, 28, was being held without bond in Palm Beach County Jail, pending the results of a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, after pulling a gun on a Little League coach during an argument over a batting cage. He was charged with aggravated assault. . . . Grant Hackett of Australia broke swimming’s oldest men’s world record at Brisbane, Australia, when he bettered the 200-meter freestyle mark set 10 years ago by Giorgio Lamberti of Italy. Hackett’s time: 1:46.67.

Jerry McGee, 55, has a malignant tumor in his neck and another on his tongue, and will undergo surgery today, the Senior PGA Tour said. . . . Major League Soccer wants to be to one of the leagues selected for FIFA’s experiment with two referees. . . . Uros Pavlovcic of Slovenia won the men’s giant slalom and Katie Monahan won the women’s super-G in the U.S. national skiing championships at Park City, Utah. . . . Paul Toth, who pitched for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s, has died of a heart attack. He was 63.