England’s Henman Upsets Kafelnikov

Tim Henman of England upset top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, on Saturday in the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands, in a match that hinged on a late line call.

The Russian thought he had just driven a groundstroke past the fifth-seeded Henman to save a break point at 3-4 in the final set. He was preparing to serve again when the umpire told him the ball had been called out.

Henman seized the chance and served out, winning the match point with his 14th ace.

Henman’s opponent in today’s final will be eighth-seeded Cedric Pioline of France, who defeated countryman Jerome Golmard, 6-3, 6-4, in the other semifinal.

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Magnus Larsson of Sweden and Byron Black of Zimbabwe, both of whom have never won in the United States, will meet in the final of the St. Jude tournament at Memphis, Tenn. Larsson stopped unseeded Andre Sa of Brazil, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, then Black upset defending champion Tommy Haas of Germany, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5).

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Top-seeded Serena Williams struggled for three long sets before beating Amelie Mauresmo of France, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), in the semifinals of the Faber Grand Prix at Hanover, Germany.

Williams, who battled for 2 hours 32 minutes, will face little-known Czech Denisa Chladkova in today’s final. The world’s 56th-ranked player won a battle of unseeded players against Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4).

Miscellany

In a 5 1/2-hour funeral filled with tears and gospel music, about 750 of Derrick Thomas’ friends, family and fans said goodbye in Miami to the Kansas City Chief linebacker.

Thomas, a nine-time Pro Bowl player, died at 33 in Miami on Feb. 8. He was paralyzed two weeks earlier when his SUV skidded on an icy highway near Kansas City and flipped several times.

Hundreds attended the funerals of Tony and Shirley Bettenhausen, Russ Roberts and Larry Rangel in Indianapolis. All four died in the crash Monday of Bettenhausen’s twin-engine plane near Leesburg, Ky. Tony Bettenhausen was the youngest son in a famous racing family. He was 48.

Bob Young, executive director of the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury, has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.

Young has been accused by former student Jessica Roos, who filed depositions this month with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

Young, 45, has denied Roos’ allegations.

Artur Grigorian of Uzbekistan, improving to 25-0, defended his World Boxing Organization lightweight title for the 10th time when challenger Sandro Casamonica of Italy gave up midway through the ninth round at Berlin.

Veteran offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott of the New York Jets and teammate Jason Fabini were spared jail time in Mineola, N.Y., by a Nassau County judge for instigating a summer bar brawl that injured several patrons and three police officers.

Michigan State football players Monquiz Wedlow, a defensive back, and Samalj Gordon, a defensive end, have been suspended from the team after being charged with break-ins.

Pole vaulter Stacy Dragila and 500-yard runner Jearl Miles-Clark set world records in the Golden Spike Invitational at Pocatello, Idaho. Dragila, who lives in Pocatello, cleared 15 feet 1 1/2 inches on her second attempt. Dragila, who held the American record at 14-9 1/2, shattered the previous world mark of 14-11 1/2 set by Nicole Humbert of Germany last year. Miles-Clark was timed in 1 minute, .61 seconds in breaking the mark of 1:02.09 set by Diane Dixon in 1985 in the rarely run 500.

The Cleveland Browns, who ranked last in the NFL in rushing, signed free-agent running back Errict Rhett to a three-year contract. . . . Free-agent defensive back Je’Rod Cherry signed with the Oakland Raiders. . . . Free-agent defensive end Brady Smith signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

Individual tickets for California Speedway’s 2000 season will go on sale by phone Monday, Speedway officials announced. The NASCAR weekend, featuring the NAPA Auto Parts 500, is April 28-30, while the CART series Marlboro 500 is Oct. 27-29. Details: (800) 944-7223.

Liv Grete Skjelbreid of Norway, without a World Cup point this season, won the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint event in the World Biathlon Championships at Oslo, Norway. . . . Renate Goetschl of Austria won a women’s World Cup sprint downhill by .36 seconds over Regina Haeusl of Germany at Are, Sweden. . . . A men’s giant slalom at Adelboden, Switzerland, was called because of poor conditions. . . . Yoko Miyake of Japan had the top scores in both runs down the half-pipe at Sapporo, Japan, for her first World Cup snowboarding victory.