Agassi Sharp in Paris Victory

Andre Agassi was in superb form as he beat the hard-serving Mark Philippoussis, 6-4, 6-1, in 65 minutes Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Paris Open tennis tournament.

Philippoussis hit a series of 124 mph-plus serves, several of them for aces. But Agassi was ruthless on the Australian’s second serve, dominating rallies and finding some incredible angles to move his big opponent around the court.

In today’s semifinals, Agassi will play 11th-seeded Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, who beat Germany’s Tommy Haas, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Michael Chang saved a match point for the second time in the tournament before battling to the other semifinal with a 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory over Cedric Pioline.

Today, Chang will play Russian teenager Marat Safin, who overpowered Jim Courier, 6-2, 6-4.

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Top-seeded Mary Pierce of France, seeking her second consecutive title on the WTA Tour, defeated former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez of Spain, 6-2, 6-2, reaching the semifinals of the Sparkassen Cup at Leipzig, Germany. Pierce is coming off a victory in the Generali Ladies. . . . Defending champion Tara Snyder saved a match point and blew numerous opportunities before finally prevailing, 2-6, 6-0, 7-5, over Cara Black in a quarterfinal match in the Bell Challenge at Quebec. In another quarterfinal match, fourth-seeded Jennifer Capriati defeated fellow American Lisa Raymond, 6-4, 6-2.

Jurisprudence

Dennis Rodman and actress Carmen Electra were arrested on battery charges after they had a fight in their hotel room in Miami Beach, Fla. Police were called to the hotel after receiving reports of screaming and fighting. . . . Bail was reduced from $3 million to $750,000 for heavyweight boxing contender Ikemefula “Ike” Ibeabuchi, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old escort in Las Vegas. Even so, Ibeabuchi is not expected to make bail.

International Sports

Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB satellite television company, rebuffed in its $1-billion takeover bid for the Manchester United soccer club, bought a 9.9% stake in rival Manchester City for $19.2 million.

The BSkyB deal with Manchester City, which includes $3.2 million for global TV rights, should wipe out the club’s debts and provide Coach Joe Royle with more money for players who can help the team earn promotion to the Premier League.

Australia plays France today in the final of the fourth Rugby World Cup at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Australia, the heavy favorite, is aiming to become the only team to win the World Cup twice. Australia also won in 1991.

France advanced with a semifinal victory over tournament favorite New Zealand. It was one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history.

And on Friday, John Hart resigned as New Zealand’s coach, saying he had already decided to step down before the match with France.

U.S. teams Young America and AmericaOne and Italy’s Prada had easy wins today when racing resumed in the challenger series for sailing’s America’s Cup at Auckland, New Zealand.

Ed Baird’s two-boat Young America team defeated Dawn Riley’s America True, a one-boat syndicate from San Francisco, by 33 seconds, and America’s Cup veteran Dennis Conner’s Stars and Stripes overcame Le Defi Francais’ big lead to win its race.

Feuding world champions Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia smoothed their troubles by winning the Skate Canada pairs title at Saint John, New Brunswick. In women’s singles, American star Michelle Kwan staked a strong claim to yet another gold medal by finishing first in the short program.

Miscellany

Mexican fisheries officials gave the San Diego long-range sportfishing fleet some good and somewhat unexpected news, saying that the closure of the yellowfin tuna fishery off Baja California, announced Wednesday and effective Friday, does not apply to recreational fishermen.

This means San Diego’s vessels that specialize in eight- and 10-day trips off Baja are not yet affected by the yellowfin ban north of latitude 23 north, just above Cabo San Lucas. Commercial seiners and bait boats are excluded from fishing for yellowfin in these waters until the end of the year.

An all-American group of judges was picked by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the Nov. 13 rematch between heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas.The judges will be Chuck Giampa, Bill Graham and Jerry Roth; the referee will be Mitch Halpern.

Billionaire developer Donald Sturm’s $461-million purchase of Denver’s Pepsi Center, the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets is closer to being completed after Strum and the city reached an agreement that will keep the Avalanche and Nuggets in Denver for at least 25 years.

Harry Leddel, 86, of Arcadia, a 25% owner of the San Diego Padres from 1944-52, when they played in the Pacific Coast League, died Wednesday. Services are set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Temple Beth David in Temple City.