Williams Runs Winning Streak to 17 Matches

Reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who has not lost since the French Open, won her 17th consecutive match Thursday, defeating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Pilot Pen at New Haven, Conn.

Also Thursday, Martina Navratilova, 43, easily stood up to the rigors of two matches in a day as she and 19-year-old Katarina Srebotnik advanced to the doubles semifinals.

Winning her first match in a U.S. tournament since coming out of retirement this spring, Navratilova and Srebotnik upset fourth-seeded Cara Black and Elena Likhovtsesva, 6-1, 6-4, and beat Kveta Hrdlickova and Schnyder, 6-4, 6-0, in the nightcap. Navratilova held all eight of her service games.

Next up for Williams is fifth-seeded Amanda Coetzer. The South African advanced to the semifinals with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over No. 4 Anke Huber of Germany. It was the second match of the day for both.

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Michael Chang won twice to advance to the quarterfinals of the Hamlet Cup at Commack, N.Y.

Chang beat Byron Black of Zimbabwe, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, in the morning in a second-round match, then came back a few hours later and overcame a bad start for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Patrick Rafter of Australia.

Olympics

Hours after an arbitrator ruled Keith Sieracki’s victory in the Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic trials should stand, a federal appeals court ordered that Matt Lindland represent the United States in Sydney.

“Insanity, that’s what’s going on,” Lindland told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star on Thursday night. “I don’t know what decision is final.”

Sieracki defeated Lindland in the trials in Dallas in June. He won the deciding third bout, 2-1, in overtime on a referee’s decision, apparently clinching the Olympic berth at 167 1/2 pounds.

Lindland, who had won his eight previous matches against Sieracki, immediately filed a protest, claiming he had been tripped.

His argument was denied by USA Wrestling’s protest committee, a decision upheld by USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman Sport Committee after a second protest.

Lindland then filed for arbitration, was granted a rematch by arbitrator Daniel T. Burns and defeated Sieracki, 8-0, in Colorado Springs on Aug. 14. Sieracki claimed he was at a disadvantage since he has just returned from an international tournament in Russia.

Sieracki then filed his own arbitration and that was the ruling issued early Thursday in Denver by A. Bruce Campbell of the American Arbitration Assn.

African hammer-throw record-holder Chris Harmse has withdrawn from the South African Olympic team for religious reasons. Harmse withdrew from the team, according to Sam Ramsamy, the president of the South African National Olympic Committee, because the final of his event takes place on a Sunday.

A South African Olympic swimming coach was stopped by Australian Customs officials while carrying 14 tablets containing an herbal form of ephedrine into Perth Airport, officials confirmed today.

A dispute between NBC and Comcast could cause millions of cable television viewers to miss much of the Olympic Games unless an agreement is reached in the next three weeks. Comcast, the No. 3 cable operator in the country, has refused to pay the extra fees NBC is demanding cable operators for access to 279 hours of Olympic coverage on CNBC and MSNBC, its cable affiliates.

Miscellany

The Los Angeles Xtreme was one of eight team names and logos revealed by the XFL, the new professional football league jointly owned by the World Wrestling Federation and NBC.

“We think X is a cool letter,” said John McKay Jr., general manager of the Xtreme as the team introduced its name, blue-silver-and-gold color scheme and logo at the Biltmore Hotel.

Nicknames for the league’s other seven franchises are: Birmingham Thunderbolts, Chicago Enforcers, Las Vegas Outlaws, Memphis Maniax, New York/New Jersey Hitmen, Orlando Rage and San Jose Demons.

Ross Haggard pitched a four-hitter and struck out 13, and Terrence McConn hit two homers and drove in four runs as Bellaire, Texas, beat Davenport, Iowa, 8-0, to reach the championship game of the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa.

Bellaire will face the team from Maracaibo, Venezuela, which upset Tokyo, 5-4.

Tokyo had appeared untouchable, rolling through the preliminary round with a 3-0 record, while outscoring its opposition, 28-8.