Capriati Falters Against Bovina

Top-seeded Jennifer Capriati wasted a match point and was upset by Elena Bovina of Russia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (3), Wednesday in the second round of the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

“She is a tough player to play because you don’t really know what she is going to do,” Capriati said. “She hits some unbelievable shots.”

Capriati was in trouble from the outset, facing a break point in the second game. She saved that, and had to save another one, before closing the first set with an ace.

It’s the third consecutive year that the Kremlin Cup’s top-seeded player was eliminated in the second round, after Martina Hingis in 2001 and Venus Williams in 2002.

Second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Alexandra Stevenson, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

In the men’s draw, fourth-seeded Marat Safin of Russia lost to Wayne Black of Zimbabwe, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Safin led, 4-1, in the third set.

Taylor Dent had 10 aces and beat third-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain, 6-2, 6-0, in 46 minutes.

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Second-seeded Sebastien Grosjean of France defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, 6-3, 7-6 (8), in the second round of the Japan Open at Tokyo.

Third-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand beat Dick Norman of Belgium, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).

In the women’s draw, top-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan withdrew during her quarterfinal match today against Aniko Kapros of Hungary.

Sugiyama, ranked 12th in the world, was losing, 4-6, 2-3, when she was forced to withdraw because of a sprained finger on her left hand. She injured the finger in a match Wednesday.

Track and Field

Olympic 1,500-meter bronze medalist Bernard Lagat of Kenya was cleared by the International Assn. of Athletics Federations of any drug violation after a sample of his failed to confirm an earlier positive test for the performance-enhancing substance erythropoietin.

Long jumper Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil was suspended for two years by the Brazilian Athletics Federation after testing positive for banned steroids, said her coach, Nelio Moura.

Jurisprudence

A pretrial hearing for Cal State Fullerton basketball player Ralphy Holmes has been delayed until Oct. 8 in Orange County Superior Court.

Holmes is facing felony vehicle theft and misdemeanor hit-and-run charges in a May 2 incident near the university. Holmes, a senior who has been suspended indefinitely by the team, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Miscellany

Ford Racing has terminated its contract with Jasper Motorsports because the team competed at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last weekend in a Dodge.

Ford said it was repossessing all its equipment from the No. 77 team immediately and would cease using driver Dave Blaney in promotions.

Olympic gold medalist and Tour de France runner-up Jan Ullrich is eligible for the 2004 Athens Games, the German Olympic Committee ruled.

Ullrich served a six-month ban for using amphetamines while he was in rehab for a knee operation. He returned to challenge Lance Armstrong at this year’s Tour.