Capriati Wins First Title in Six Years

Jennifer Capriati won her first title in six years Saturday when she defeated Elena Likhovtseva of Russia in the final of the Strasbourg Open in France.

Capriati, 23, needed only 59 minutes to down the second-seeded Likhovtseva, 6-1, 6-3, completing a straight-sets sweep of the tournament.

On her way to the final, Capriati defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, sixth-seeded Cara Black of Zimbabwe and top-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France. She lost only one game to Tauziat, after completing her rain-delayed match with Black earlier in the day.

The victory was a dramatic, positive step in Capriati’s comeback and boosted her prospects for next week’s French Open, where she plays Virginia Ruano-Pascual of Spain in the first round.

“It’s great, I’m thrilled,” Capriati said. “I beat Elena at the ’96 Lipton, but from then and now there is a difference in my game. I’m moving better and I’m in good physical condition.”

The final was the first for Capriati since losing at Sydney, Australia, in 1997. It was at Sydney where she also won her last title in 1993.

After that, Capriati’s career went into a tailspin because of off-court problems including a brush with drugs. She has struggled with her game during several attempted comebacks and came into Strasbourg ranked No. 113.

*

Second-ranked Lindsay Davenport needed less than an hour to overpower 109th-ranked Paola Suarez of Argentina, 6-1, 6-3, and win the $180,000 Madrid Open.

The lanky American, a full head taller than her opponent, used powerful drives from the baseline to dispense with Suarez in only 55 minutes on the clay courts of the Club de Campo.

It was only the second title of the year for Davenport, who was competing in her first event in more than a month because of a wrist injury. The Newport Beach resident said the victory was a good way to prepare for the French Open, where last year she reached the semifinals.

*

Patrick Rafter captured his singles match, then returned to the court a few hours later to help win a decisive doubles match and give Australia its first World Team Cup championship in 20 years.

Rafter, playing his 12th match in 11 days, beat Thomas Enqvist, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, at Dusseldorf, Germany, as Australia and Sweden split the singles in the finals at the $1.65-million event, which features eight of the top tennis nations.

A few hours later, the two-time U.S. Open champion teamed with Sandon Stolle and defeated Jonas Bjorkman and Nicklas Kulti, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to give Australia the title.

*

Second-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile won the Raffeisen Grand Prix for the third time when Mariano Zabaleta withdrew in the first set at St. Poelten, Austria. The match was tied, 4-4, when the fifth-seeded Argentine slipped, injuring his knee.

Miscellany

Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes scored the goals as Manchester United kept alive its bid for an unprecedented triple sweep in soccer by beating Newcastle, 2-0, at Wembley, England, to win the F.A. Cup.

United, unbeaten in 32 games, earlier won the Premier League title. It can become the first team to win all three major European trophies in one season by beating Bayern Munich in Barcelona on Wednesday in the European Champions Cup.

Major League Soccer scoring leader Roy Lassiter had two second-half goals and Marco Etcheverry added a spectacular finale, giving D.C. United a 3-1 win over the Miami Fusion before 7,113 at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Lassiter has 10 goals in eight games this season. . . . Pete Marino, Steve Ralston and R.T. Moore scored during a shootout as the Tampa Bay Mutiny beat the Columbus Crew, 1-0, at Columbus, Ohio. . . . Diego Gutierrez scored two goals against his former team as the Chicago Fire defeated the visiting Kansas City Wizards, 3-1. . . . Paul Bravo scored twice as the Colorado Rapids extended their team-record winning streak to six games with a 2-0 victory over the New York-New Jersey MetroStars at Denver.

Terry Labonte, taking on four tires during a pit stop with 10 laps left while the rest of the leaders changed only two, overpowered the field in the closing laps to win The Winston, stock car racing’s 15th annual all-star race, at Concord, N.C.

Labonte led the final five laps and wound up 1.229 seconds -- about 15 car-lengths--ahead of rookie Tony Stewart to win $207,500.

Two crashes in the first 12 laps eliminated seven of the 21 cars, including those of Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton.

Jack Sprague, beaten on the final lap a week ago, held off Dennis Setzer to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 race at Odessa, Mo., and claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 1999 season.

Sprague passed Setzer on the 132nd lap, but couldn’t shake his pursuer. The seventh and final caution produced a two-lap shootout in which Sprague prevailed by 0.165 second.

Sprague, who averaged 70.208 mph for the 204-lap distance, won $38,350 for his first victory since the final race of the 1998 season at Las Vegas. Sprague is the sixth winner in the tour’s first eight races.

Three Washington State football players charged with residential burglary and first-degree theft have been suspended, Coach Mike Price said.

Price said starting running back Kevin Brown, receiver Jason White and defensive back Ramin White would remain on suspension indefinitely pending the outcome of their court cases.

If they are convicted, they will be dismissed from the team, Price said.

Bob McKillop will remain men’s basketball coach at Davidson after weighing an offer to take a similar post at Stony Brook.