Davenport Returns to Action With a Win in Madrid Open

Lindsay Davenport, returning to action after being sidelined for two months because of a wrist injury, defeated Gala Leon of Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, on Wednesday at the Madrid Open.

Davenport, seeded No. 1, is tuning up for next week’s French Open, where she is seeded second.

“The match was difficult at the beginning. I couldn’t find my concentration . . . ,” she said. “Later, I found my game and I began to hit with ease, the way I like to. And after that I didn’t have too many problems.”

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Pete Sampras overcame a lapse in the second set to beat Karol Kucera, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-2, and Richey Reneberg, called into singles duty after Andre Agassi pulled out because of a shoulder injury, was an upset 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Dominik Hrbary as the United States beat Slovakia and kept its perfect record intact in the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany.

Australia also improved its record to 2-0 by beating France on singles victories by Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis, and the winner of the Blue Group will be decided in a showdown Friday between the two undefeated teams.

It will also be a preview of their Davis Cup semifinal match in September.

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Goran Ivanisevic, unable to handle the tricky winds, lost to Argentine qualifier Guillermo Canas, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round of the Raffeisen Grand Prix at St. Poelten, Austria. Top-ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov had an easier time against another Argentine, beating Franco Squillari, 6-4, 6-1, to move into the quarterfinals. . . . Top-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France defeated Shi-Ting Wang of Taiwan, 6-2, 6-4, at the Strasbourg Open in France. . . . The Alabama State women’s tennis team missed out on an NCAA tournament berth because of an administrative mistake. The Lady Hornets qualified for the Division I tournament, but nobody at the university knew about it. Alabama State officials didn’t realize the team’s Southwestern Athletic Conference championship was good for an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals. When official word came from the NCAA, it was too late to round up the team for the trip to Oxford, Miss., Athletic Director Curtis Williams said.

Pro Football

The NFL’s finance committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Washington Redskins be sold to Daniel Snyder for a record $800 million. . . . Former Dallas Cowboy linebacker Broderick Thomas, arrested on a traffic warrant, was being investigated after police in Irving, Texas, received information about a possible assault on his business partner. . . . The NFL Players Assn., filed a disciplinary complaint in Washington against agent William “Tank” Black, who, in turn, plans to petition the U.S. Attorney’s office to investigate the union’s action. The NFLPA, through its agent disciplinary committee, alleges that Black provided improper cash payments in 1997 and 1998 to college players before their eligibility was completed. The complaint also claimed Black acquired new autos in 1998 for players before their college eligibility expired.

Miscellany

World track’s governing body set up a three-man panel to study Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson’s petition for his lifetime drug ban to be lifted.

Florence Griffith Joyner, a triple gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, will be remembered in Mission Viejo with a park named in her memory.

The International Olympic Committee, concerned that Salt Lake City’s Mormon restrictions on alcohol might run smack into foreign cultures where beer and wine are normal table items, asked Olympic organizers to try to pull the cork and let the booze flow at the 2002 Winter Games. The IOC’s coordination commission, holding four days of meetings with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, asked SLOC to request “with great respect” that Utah authorities allow unfettered alcohol sales in the main press center, slated to take over the mammoth Salt Palace convention center downtown.

Top-ranked Duke shot a four-over-par 288 to take a 12-stroke lead over two-time defending champion Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA women’s golf tournament at Tulsa, Okla. In the individual race, sophomore Grace Park of Arizona State, the defending U.S. Amateur champion, fired a two-under 69 to open a two-stroke lead over over Candy Hannemann of Duke and Tamie Durdin of Pepperdine. Defending champion Jennifer Rosales of USC opened with a 75.

Georgia Tech’s Dion Glover will meet today with Coach Bobby Cremins amid reports he plans to remain with the Yellow Jackets. Glover, who didn’t play last season after suffering a severe knee injury in the opening practice, said last week he was making himself eligible for the draft.

Lazio won the last Cup Winners Cup, defeating Mallorca of Spain, 2-1, at Birmingham, England, and giving the big-spending Italian soccer team its first major trophy in 25 years.

Teddy Sondota of Uganda, a high jumper for North Texas, broke the 42-year-old Ugandan national record by clearing 6 feet 8 1/4 inches during preliminaries of the Big West Conference track and field championships at Cal State Fullerton. The previous record was 6-8 by Patrick Etolu in Bombay, India, on Nov. 4, 1956.

Washington State running back Kevin Brown of West Covina and teammates Ramin White and Jason White were charged with residential burglary and theft in Pullman by the Whitman County prosecutor’s office.