Sampras Topples Agassi, Reaches Clay-Court Final

Pete Sampras, winless in 24 tournaments since taking his seventh Wimbledon title in 2000, beat second-seeded Andre Agassi, 6-1, 7-5, Saturday night at Houston to advance to the final of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

Sampras will play third-seeded Andy Roddick, a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 winner over Argentina’s Guillermo Coria.

Sampras is 19-14 lifetime against Agassi, but it was only the second time in five meetings that Sampras beat Agassi on clay.

“Just playing him is unique,” Sampras said. “Whether we’re playing a practice match on a side court or in the finals at Wimbledon, he raises my game to another level.”

The best game was the 12th and final one, after Sampras broke Agassi to take a 6-5 lead.

With Sampras serving for the match, Agassi fought off four match points before Sampras ended it with an ace.

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A rift between Jennifer Capriati and captain Billie Jean King, coupled with Monica Seles’ upset loss to Austria’s Barbara Schwartz, has the United States on the verge of elimination in the Fed Cup.

Capriati, the No. 2 player in the world, was dismissed from the team late Friday for breaking King’s rules about practices. It meant the U.S. had to forfeit a singles match Saturday, starting the best-of-five event trailing, 1-0.

Then Seles lost her match to Schwartz, ranked 75th in the world, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, at Charlotte, N.C.

The U.S., which has a record 17 Fed Cup titles, is one match from failing to advance to the second round. The Americans last lost in the first round of Fed Cup competition in 1997, to the Netherlands.

Capriati’s absence was not popular with the 3,200 fans at the Olde Providence Racquet Club. King was booed as she was introduced before play began, and during her opening remarks to the crowd, a fan yelled out “Where’s Jennifer?”

Meghann Shaughnessy, the No.12 player in the world, will make her Fed Cup debut in a must-win match today against Schwartz. Seles will play Evelyn Fauth, then Raymond and Shaughnessy will team to play Schwartz and Marion Maruska in doubles.

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Lleyton Hewitt, the world’s No.1 player who had not dropped a set all week, lost, 6-4, 7-5, to Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio in the semifinals of the Open Seat Godo tournament at Barcelona, Spain.

The unseeded Gaudio, ranked 62nd in the world, has not lost a set at the Godo tournament, defeating four seeded players to reach today’s final. He will play Spain’s Albert Costa, who defeated Guillermo Canas, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Pro Football

Quarterback Rich Gannon was a conspicuous no-show for the Oakland Raiders’ voluntary minicamp this weekend. ESPN reported last week that Gannon’s contract was the reason he did not attend an earlier quarterback orientation. Oakland Coach Bill Callahan wasn’t bothered by Gannon’s absence, but said he hopes any issues are resolved soon. Gannon is expected to attend the mandatory minicamp in June.

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The Avengers lost to the Arizona Rattlers, 63-59, before 11,899 at America West Arena in Phoenix. With eight seconds remaining, Arizona (1-1) scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from Sherdrick Bonner to Hunkie Cooper.

Chris Jackson had 11 receptions for five touchdowns and a team-record 242 yards and Tony Graziani was 16 of 34 for 329 yards, seven touchdowns for the Avengers (1-1).

Miscellany

Stanford junior Jim Seki birdied the final two holes to win the Pacific 10 golf championship by a stroke over USC’s Kevin Stadler and teammate Philip Rowe at Corvallis, Ore. Seki shot a two-over-par 74 on the Trysting Tree course and finished at four-under 284 for the four-day tournament. USC, with help from Stadler’s finish and Ben Hayes’ fourth-place tie, won the team championship for the second consecutive year and 17th time overall, finishing four under. Stanford finished second and Oregon State finished third.

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Johnny Tapia, 35, became a world champion in a third weight class with a majority decision over Manuel Medina in a 12-round IBF featherweight bout in New York. Tapia improved his record to 52-2-2 with 28 knockouts; Medina is 60-12 with 27 KOs.

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Tara VanDerveer, who led Stanford to two NCAA titles, and former USC and Spark Coach Marianne Stanley, who led Old Dominion to three national championships, lead a class of eight inductees into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame at Knoxville, Tenn. Cindy Brogdon, Kamie Etheridge, Margaret Sexton Gleaves, Hortencia Marcari, Sandra Meadows and Lea Plarski completed the 2002 class.

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Suzy Favor Hamilton registered the fastest outdoor time in the world this year in the 3,000 meters, winning in the Drake Relays at Des Moines, in 8 minutes 56.03 seconds.

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Pierce College won its third consecutive state junior college men’s volleyball title with a 21-30, 33-31, 30-27, 30-24 win over Orange Coast at Costa Mesa.