Tennis

Pete Sampras saved three match points in an uneasy comeback victory over Spain’s Francisco Clavet in the $2.55-million Paris Open tennis tournament, only to be felled by a new malady.

“Pete can barely walk,” ATP spokesman Nicola Arzani said after Sampras’ 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Clavet. “His back is very stiff because of muscle spasms. The doctor thinks it is not related to the injury problems Pete had in the summer.”

Arzani said that the tournament doctor, Bernard Montalvan, would make a statement on Sampras’ injury today, adding that the player was in too much pain to speak with reporters.

Sampras hadn’t played since injuring his right hip in a match at Indianapolis on Aug. 20. A week and a half later, he withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a herniated disk he suffered while practicing before the tournament began.

Unless this latest injury interferes, Sampras will play either 13th-seeded Tommy Haas or Stefan Koubek, before a possible quarterfinal showdown against defending champion Greg Rusedski.

Russian teenager Marat Safin continued his mastery of fifth-seeded Gustavo Kuerten with a 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over the Brazilian.

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Sixth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain outlasted Irina Spirlea of Romania, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, to reach the third round of the $520,000 Sparkassen Cup at Leipzig, Germany. One of the teenage upstarts, 16-year-old Kim Clijsters of Belgium, lost to qualifier Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. . . . Ending an 18-month search for a new title sponsor, the WTA tour is close to completing a five-year contract with Sanex, a subsidiary of the Sara Lee Corp., worth more than $40 million, according to Brandweek magazine.

Miscellany

Dan Gurney announced that his relationship with Toyota, which dates to 1982 and resulted in 51 GTO and GTP sports car victories, has ended. This season, Gurney’s Santa Ana-based All American Racers fielded a one-car team. AAR’s contract with Toyota ended with Sunday’s season-ending race in Fontana. Coincidentally it marked the last champ car race for Goodyear, which began its relationship with Gurney in 1964.

Among the five cars using Toyota engines in 1999, Gurney’s was the only one using Goodyear, which struggled to keep up with the Firestone brand. Gurney said in a statement that AAR intends to stay in the racing business and will announce its future plans within the next four weeks.

A plea agreement between former standout Texas kicker Russell Erxleben, 42, and federal prosecutors doesn’t end the investigation of Erxleben’s foreign currency-trading operation, a state official said at Austin, Texas. Erxleben pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and fraud charges and could spend seven years in prison and be ordered to pay $17-million restitution.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series will join Daytona International Speedway’s Speedweeks on Feb. 18, officials said. The 250-mile race will share billing that day with the opening race of the International Race of Champions series.

The 15-nation European Union agreed to participate in the IOC’s drug agency beginning next week after a meeting between its Commissioner, Viviane Reding, and IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The second WNBA All-Star game will be played in Phoenix next summer, the date to be announced. . . . Charles Hayward resigned from the New York Racing Assn.’s board of directors to become president and chief operating officer of the Daily Racing Form. . . . Turner Sports has named sales chief Mark Lazarus as its new president. He replaces Harvey Schiller, the former head of the U.S. Olympic Committee who resigned last week. . . . The PGA European Tour will hold a tournament in South America for the first time next year, the Brazil 500 Years Open at the Sao Paulo Golf Club, starting March 30.