Hingis Loses Quarterfinal to Myskina

Fifth-seeded Martina Hingis completed her first three-set match since returning from a three-month injury layoff, but it wasn’t enough against an energized Anastasia Myskina.

The unseeded Myskina defeated Hingis, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-0, by winning the last 11 games in their Pilot Pen quarterfinal match Thursday night at New Haven, Conn. Hingis was up, 4-1, in the second set and was a break point away from 5-1 but couldn’t close out Myskina.

Ankle surgery in May kept Hingis off the tour for three months. Despite the loss, the former No. 1 player said she was pleased with her overall play as she prepares for next week’s U.S. Open.

“I’m just trying to keep my head up and look forward to the Open,” she said.

Myskina will play Lindsay Davenport in a semifinal today. Davenport advanced with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory over Amelie Mauresmo.

Three-time defending champion Venus Williams breezed into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over qualifier Laura Granville. In the other semifinal, Williams will play Daniela Hantuchova, who defeated Patty Schnyder, 6-4, 6-3.

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Alex Corretja rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jonas Bjorkman in the third round of the TD Waterhouse Cup at Commack, N.Y. In other matches, Younes El Aynaoui beat Aranud Clement, 6-0, 6-2, and Juan Ignacio Chela eliminated Jan-Michael Gambill, 7-5, 7-6 (5). In a night match, defending champion and top-seeded Tommy Haas played through pain in his right arm and elbow to defeat Agustin Calleri, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.... Guillermo Canas, seeded 15th, withdrew from the U.S. Open, citing injuries. Canas has a stress fracture in his wrist.

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Motor Racing

NASCAR Busch Series driver Mike Harmon escaped virtually uninjured after a spectacular crash split his car in half when he hit an unsecured gate at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.

Harmon was treated for a bruise on his right side at Wellmont Regional Medical Center in Bristol, then returned to the track.

He was entering Turn 2 during the morning practice when his car hit an outside wall that doubles as a crossover gate.

When closed, the wall is bolstered by six thick metal posts, but they were not in place, causing the gate to give way on contact.

The concrete sliced through the front of Harmon’s Chevrolet, and the pieces shot down the track. Harmon, surrounded by his intact roll cage, came to rest on the apron in Turn 2. His engine and steering column dropped off halfway down the back straightaway.

Jason Keller won the pole for today’s race, the Food City 250.

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Hockey

High-scoring forward Martin Straka of the Pittsburgh Penguins, out most of last season, will miss at least the start of the next one because of a back injury.

The 29-year-old Straka cracked a vertebra and tore a ligament in his back in a weight-training accident July 22 in his native Czech Republic.

Penguin General Manager Craig Patrick said that Straka will fly to Pittsburgh within the next few weeks to be examined by the team’s medical personnel.

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The Florida Panthers put backup goaltender Trevor Kidd on waivers, hoping another team will pick up his $2.3 million salary. General Manager Rick Dudley said he expects Kidd will be gone by next week.

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The Mighty Ducks agreed to terms on contracts with defenseman Josh DeWolf, center Brian Gornick, center Nick Smith, left wing Francis Belanger and left wing Cam Severson.

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Miscellany

A federal judge in New York rejected heavyweight boxer John Ruiz’s request to cut ties with promoter Don King long enough to arrange a bout with Mike Tyson.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain said during a hearing there was no proof King violated the contract terms Ruiz signed in 1998.

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Louisiana Tech women’s basketball coach Leon Barmore announced his retirement, the second time in less than three years he has stepped down from the program he built into a national power.

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Phoenix Mercury forward Jennifer Gillom, 38, was added to USA Basketball’s roster, completing the U.S. squad for next month’s world championships in China.

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Bill Demong, the reigning U.S. Nordic combined champion, was hospitalized in Kassel, Germany, after sustaining an apparent skull fracture in a swimming accident.

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Alexandr Erishov, Revaz Chomahidze and Irek Zinnurov scored two goals each as Russia beat the United States, 8-5, at the water polo World Cup in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Tony Azevedo scored twice for the Americans, who are 0-3 in the tournament.

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Memorial services for former Dodger catcher John Roseboro will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Mortuary in Los Angeles. Roseboro, who had been in declining health the last few years, died last Friday.