Graf, Seles Fall to Davenport and Williams

The serve remains strong and the forehand is as dangerous as ever, but a long layoff after knee surgery has robbed Steffi Graf of the consistency that once was among her trademarks.

Germany’s Graf was undermined by unforced errors and an erratic backhand as she lost, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, to top-seeded Lindsay Davenport in Saturday’s semifinals of the Bank of the West tournament at Palo Alto.

In the other semifinal, third-seeded Venus Williams slammed 12 aces, including one on the first point of the match and another on the final point, to beat second-seeded Monica Seles, 6-3, 6-4, in their first meeting.

Williams dominated on her serve throughout the match. Even when she wasn’t piling up aces, Williams was hitting service winners and forcing Seles to virtually bunt back other serves.

Davenport, ranked third in the world, had lost in the semifinals of this tournament five of the previous six years. She reached her first final in the event by using her consistent play to take advantage of Graf’s mistakes.

“I think I’ve picked up my game a lot, I’m a little more consistent,” Davenport said. “People say [Graf] has been out for a year and a half and she’s not ranked that high anymore, but it’s still a good [victory].”

Graf was seeded fourth despite falling to No. 57 in the world since having reconstructive left knee surgery last year. The women’s tour has given her a special co-ranking of No. 7 until the U.S. Open, allowing Graf to be seeded at this and two other tournaments.

Graf has had a difficult recovery from the knee surgery. Her comeback has been stalled by other injuries, and she became so frustrated earlier this year that she considered retiring.

She said Saturday’s match, which lasted more than two hours in intense heat, was a good way of judging how far she still has to go in her comeback.

“I haven’t had a lot of matches or three setters in the past 1 1/2 years, so it’s definitely something that makes me realize what I have to work on,” said Graf, who was cramping in both legs in the third set. “There are a few things that I have to work on--definitely return of serve.”

*

Sixth-seeded Magnus Norman advanced to the final of the Croatia Open at Umag with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica. Czech Bohdan Ulihrach defeated Mariano Puerta of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3, in the other semifinal. . . . Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy advanced to the final of the Generali Open at Kitzbuhel, Austria, with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Francisco Clavet of Spain. Gaudenzi will meet Albert Costa of Spain, who defeated Franco Squillari of Argentina, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.

Motor Racing

Mika Hakkinen won his seventh pole position of the season during qualifying for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

Driving for McLaren, Hakkinen won the pole for today’s race by getting around the 4.2-mile track in 1 minute, 41.838 seconds.

Alex Tagliani of Canada won the pole for today’s Toyota Atlantic Championship race at the Quebec’s Player’s Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

Tagliani was timed in 1 minute 2.056 seconds around the 1.5207-mile course.

Cristen Powell, 19, seeking her second top-fuel victory, had a track-record time of 4.590 seconds at 299.80 mph to lead qualifying in the NHRA’s Northwest Nationals at Kent, Wash.

Arie Luyendyk was released from Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis after being treated for a mild concussion he suffered during a crash at the International Race of Champions on Friday.

Miscellany

Bruny Surin won the 100 meters in the Canadian track and field championships at Montreal, beating Olympic champion Donovan Bailey with a time of 9.89 seconds.

Surin, 31, turned in the third fastest time in the world this year behind Trinidad and Tobago’s Ato Boldon, who has run 9.86 twice. Bailey, who holds the world record of 9.84, was second in 9.93.

Britain’s Christian Malcolm completed a sweep of the sprints by winning the 200 meters in the World Junior Championships at Annecy, France. Malcolm, timed in 20.44 seconds, had won the 100 meters on Wednesday.

The Montreal Canadiens re-signed captain Vincent Damphousse to a one-year contract. Damphousse, second on the team in scoring last season with 18 goals and 41 assists in 76 games, will earn the same $3.275-million salary he received last season.

In a unprecedented move, a judge in Rio de Janeiro sentenced a soccer fan to 12 years in jail for beating a rival fan to death in a Sao Paulo stadium in 1995.

Adalberto Benedito dos Santos was convicted of killing Marcio Gasparin da Silva, who died from blows to the head during a melee between opposing fans.

Cuba, set to defend a title it has won 21 times, rolled over Nicaragua, 14-2, in the semifinals of the World Baseball Championships at Rome.

The game was stopped after seven innings because of a 10-run rule.

In today’s final, the Cubans meet South Korea, which defeated Italy, 8-2.

Nigerian center Julius Nwosu was suspended for two months after testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine at the World Basketball Championship at Athens, Greece

Nwosu, who played briefly in the NBA and CBA, was tested after Nigeria’s 80-68 loss to Spain on Wednesday.

Australian Layne Beachley won the Kahlua Women’s Classic at Huntington Beach, defeating Rochelle Ballard of Hawaii in a women’s professional surfing competition. In the men’s competition, Danny Wills, the points leader on the world surfing tour, moved on to the next round by defeating Kaipo Jaquias of Hawaii at the $150,000 Op Pro Surfing championship, also at Huntington Beach.

Bowler Don Helling won the PBA Tour’s Showboat Senior Invitational at Las Vegas, defeating Mike Durbin, 248-201, in the championship game.