Safin Moves Into Semifinals

U.S. Open champion Marat Safin, yet to win a pro tournament in his home country, downed Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus, 7-6 (5), 6-1, on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

Safin, seeded first, had 16 aces in the quarterfinal. He was tested in the first set but then sharpened his game.

Second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over qualifier Lars Burgsmuller of Germany, and fourth-seeded Marc Rosset of Switzerland overcame sudden leg pain to defeat Russian wild card Mikhail Youzhny, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2).

In women’s play, second-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France downed eighth-seeded Barbara Schett of Austria, 7-6 (7), 6-2. In the semifinals, Tauziat will meet fourth-seeded Anna Kournikova, who breezed past Russian compatriot Tatiana Panova, 6-4, 6-1.

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Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, recovering from a virus, defeated Greg Rusedski of Britain, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors at Basel, Switzerland. Second-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden defeated Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. . . . Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands upset top-seeded Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6), in the quarterfinals of the Eurotel Slovak Indoor tournament at Bratislava, Slovakia.

Soccer

Christoph Daum’s office and other rooms at German club Bayer Leverkusen in Leverkusen, Germany, were searched for drugs as part of an investigation of the fired former coach by the Koblenz public prosecutor’s office.

Daum, also dropped as Germany’s designated national team coach, is under investigation for suspicion of possessing drugs, according to Cologne public prosecutor Erich Jung.

Jung said that two men, ages 39 and 54, had also been taken into custody on dealing charges in the investigation, started 10 days ago and before Daum failed a drug test that made national and international headlines.

Daum has fled to Naples, Fla.

Emerson Leao, Brazil’s new soccer coach, was suspended for 20 days Thursday and will miss a World Cup qualifier against Colombia.

Leao, who also coaches the first-division Sport of Recife, initially drew a 60-day suspension for insulting a referee during a match against Vitoria on Sept. 2.

Juventus star Zinedine Zidane was suspended for five games for head-butting an opponent during a Champions League game.

Pope John Paul II condemned violence and racism at soccer stadiums, saying that fans must not allow support for their team to become insulting.

In the audience at Vatican City were several players from first-division club Lazio, which has been in the spotlight recently over racism charges.

Miscellany

John Brodie remained alert after a stroke, and son-in-law Chris Chandler of the Atlanta Falcons said the former San Francisco 49er quarterback is starting to regain movement on his right side.

The 65-year-old Brodie’s condition was unchanged--serious but stable, a spokeswoman at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage said.

A newspaper is suing Indiana University to force the school to release its records related to the firing of basketball coach Bob Knight.

In its lawsuit filed Thursday in Marion Superior Court, the Indianapolis Star says the publicly funded university deserves to fully inform taxpayers about the events leading to Knight’s dismissal.

Former Olympic and world champion Chris Boardman set a world one-hour cycling record at Manchester, England, in the final race of his career.

The 32-year-old Englishman covered 30.722 miles in the hour, eclipsing the record of 30.716 set by Eddy Merckx in 1972.

A high school hockey player in Illinois received two years’ probation for checking an opponent into the boards, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

The 16-year-old player from Northbrook entered a plea in August to a misdemeanor battery charge. That means he did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him of injuring Neal Goss last November.

Philip Ricci, a junior on the Oregon State basketball team, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Thursday and will redshirt this season.

Simon Ogunlesi, a Duquesne basketball player, was sentenced to serve three years of probation and ordered to pay $35,961 for his role in a bank scam.