Agassi Loses to Henman in Comeback

Andre Agassi played his first match in more than three months Monday, and it showed.

Agassi, 36, lost, 6-4, 6-4, to Tim Henman in the first round of the grass-court tournament at Queen’s Club in London, a tuneup for Wimbledon.

“It’s the first match in a long time,” Agassi said. “Wasn’t terribly pretty. Today I wanted to go out there and start average and end good. I feel like I started more uncomfortable than I wanted and ended pretty ordinary. That’s not good.”

Agassi had played only eight matches since the U.S. Open in September because of a bad back, with his last appearance coming at the Indian Wells tournament in March.

“I felt good physically, and mentally I was looking forward to it,” Agassi said. “But feeling good in a match is a whole different proposition.”

Henman, who also has been struggling because of a bad back, attacked at every opportunity and forced Agassi to make mistakes.

Defending champion Andy Roddick opens today against Frank Dancevic.

Jarkko Nieminen beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany.

Top-seeded Roger Federer is scheduled to play Wednesday against Rohan Bopanna. Federer has won the event the last three years.

Federer strengthened his hold on the No. 1 ranking despite losing to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, and women’s champion Justine Henin-Hardenne jumped two spots to No. 3 on the WTA Tour.

Federer picked up extra points because he fared better this year than last at Roland Garros, when he lost to Nadal in the semifinals. They’re followed by the same men who were Nos. 3-6 before the French Open: David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic, Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko.

In the women’s rankings, French Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova rose four spots to No. 6.

Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters stayed at Nos. 1 and 2, followed by Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova, who dropped from No. 3 after exiting Roland Garros in the first round.

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HOCKEY

Selanne, Ducks Near Agreement

The Mighty Ducks are expected to re-sign forward and leading scorer Teemu Selanne as soon as today, weeks before he could have entered the free-agent market.

Ducks officials would not comment. Terms of the potential deal were unavailable, but Selanne has let it be known that he is seeking no more than a one-year contract.

General Manager Brian Burke and Selanne’s agent, Don Baizley, have had discussions over the last few days. After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals, Selanne made it clear he preferred to stay in Anaheim.

Selanne, 35, is expected to get a sizable raise from the $1-million salary he earned this season.

-- Eric Stephens

All drug tests given to NHL players were clean during the first season of the league’s anti-doping program, adopted last year in the labor agreement that ended a yearlong lockout.

“I suppose it’s safe to say that the results confirmed what we knew already, which is the use of performance-enhancing drugs is not prevalent in our sport,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail.

There were 1,406 tests conducted in the program that began in January. Daly said he was informed of the results two weeks ago.

Mark Hardy, an assistant coach with the Kings the last seven seasons, has been hired by the Chicago Blackhawks as an assistant. Hardy was fired at the end of last season when the Kings cleaned out the front office and coaching staff.

Former Kings general manager Dave Taylor interviewed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a front-office job. Taylor has one year left on his contract with the Kings and could still return to the team in a yet-to-be-determined job.

-- Chris Foster

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MISCELLANY

Kansas State’s Clayton Is Suspended

Thomas Clayton, Kansas State’s leading rusher last season, has been suspended for one game after a misdemeanor battery conviction and will sit out the Sept. 2 opener against Illinois State, the school announced. Clayton, who will be sentenced July 10, could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. He rushed for 637 yards in 137 carries last season.

The Chicago Bears signed fullback J.D. Runnels, their sixth-round draft pick from Oklahoma.

Forsythe Championship Racing and Champ Car driver Mario Dominguez announced that they have ended their relationship.

Dominguez, 30, who signed with the team at the start of the 2005 season, earned one of his two Champ Car World Series victories last year. But he has also been responsible for two crashes this season that have taken out teammate and former series champion Paul Tracy.