Sampras Shifts Gears, Is Ready for Davis Cup

Pete Sampras is back on the U.S. Davis Cup team, a year after saying he doubted he would play in the event again.

Sampras was selected Tuesday for the team that will play a first-round match next week against Slovakia. He is joined by Andy Roddick, Todd Martin, Mardy Fish and James Blake.

Team captain Patrick McEnroe said he didn’t have to do any arm-twisting to get Sampras, who will play in his 15th Davis Cup series but his first since April 2000.

“I actually had a lot of discussions with Pete last year and I felt he wanted to play Davis Cup at different points last year,” McEnroe said.

Sampras, 30, and Roddick, 19, are expected to play singles, with the doubles team probably coming from among the other three players.

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Twins Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo won the opening match of the ATP World Doubles Challenge Cup at Bangalore, India, defeating Ellis Ferreira of South Africa and Rick Leach of Laguna Beach, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Top-seeded Donald Johnson of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Jared Palmer of Palo Alto beat eighth-seeded John Vanhoudt of Belgium and Chris Haggard of Britain, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-3.

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Eighth-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa defeated Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa, 7-5, 6-4, and Russia’s Anna Kournikova defeated Spain’s Cristina Torrens-Valero, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific tournament at Tokyo.

Baseball

The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Scott Spiezio, 29, by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $2,275,000. Spiezio batted .271 with 54 runs batted in and had career highs in doubles (29) and triples (four). He tied a club record for highest fielding percentage of .999 at first base.... Outfielder Lance Berkman and the Houston Astros agreed to a $10.5-million, three-year contract. Berkman was third in the National League with a .331 batting average, and had 34 home runs with 126 RBIs. He led the majors with 55 doubles.... Outfielder Randy Winn and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays agreed to a $960,000, one-year contract. The Devil Rays also agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder Troy O’Leary.... Free-agent outfielder Ricky Ledee and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract.... Reliever Travis Miller and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a $545,000, one-year contract.... Left-hander Takaki Nomura, a 10-year Japanese League veteran, and the Milwaukee Brewers finalized a one-year contract for reportedly $600,000.... Second baseman Pokey Reese reached a preliminary agreement on a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, pending a physical.... The Chicago White Sox traded outfielder Chris Singleton to the Baltimore Orioles for minor league second baseman-outfielder Willie Harris.... Free-agent reliever Dan Miceli and the Texas Rangers agreed to a minor league contract.... Mike Thurman, 9-11 with a 5.33 earned-run average for Montreal last season, signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees.

Miscellany

John Daly, the 1995 British Open champion, has paid his $160 membership fee and has indicated he will play the minimum 11 PGA European Tour events required for membership, tour officials said.

Basketball player Tony Cole, one of three Georgia athletes involved in the case of the alleged rape of a female student, has been sued by two women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Cole at the Community College of Rhode Island in 1999 and 2000.

Cole, teammate Steve Thomas and football player Brandon Williams were suspended Jan. 16 as university police investigated the Georgia case.

An affidavit later indicated the Georgia woman said she had consensual sex with Cole.

Thomas and Cole were reinstated to the team last week, and Williams is about to join the football team’s off-season program.

ESPN announced that the 10th ESPY Awards show will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on July 10.

Japan’s Keitaro Hoshino scored a unanimous decision over Joma Gamboa of the Philippines for the vacant World Boxing Assn. 105-pound title at Yokohama, Japan.