Three-Set Win Finally Ends No. 1 Kafelnikov’s Drought

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, ended his seven-match losing streak Monday with a 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-4 victory over No. 158 Chris Woodruff in the first round of the $2.4-million Italian Open at Rome.

“I’ll take any win at this stage,” Kafelnikov said.

The Russian had not won a match since February. He won the Australian Open and an indoor event at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, early in the year, but since has been dreadful.

At his previous event, in the Czech Republic, the promoter refused to pay Kafelnikov a $100,000 appearance fee, claiming the Russian hadn’t tried hard enough.

Andre Agassi, playing for the first time in a month, defeated Jerome Golmar of France, 6-3, 6-4. In a matchup of former French Open champions, Michael Chang outlasted Thomas Muster of Austria, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-4), 6-4. Todd Martin, seeded No. 11, withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

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Defending champion Conchita Martinez of Spain defeated Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, at Berlin in the opening round of the German Open, a tournament featuring 16 of the world’s top 20 players.

The top seeded players, led by No. 1 Martina Hingis, are scheduled to begin play today and Wednesday.

Soccer

Forward Debbie Keller, who claimed she was excluded from the U.S. women’s national team in retaliation for a sexual harassment lawsuit, lost her case against the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Arbitrators Mark Crane, Dan Burns and Herbert Channick delivered the decision orally, USSF general counsel John Collins said. “There was no finding of retaliation by the federation . . . ,” Collins said.

Keller, a two-time national player of the year, filed the $12-million suit last Aug. 25, claiming that Anson Dorrance, her coach at North Carolina, had made uninvited sexual advances and harassed her during and after her college career. That suit is awaiting trial.

Pro Football

Outside linebacker Jamir Miller, who led the Arizona Cardinals last year with 150 tackles, agreed to a $1.3-million, one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns, the Tribune, a suburban Phoenix newspaper, reported. Miller will sign with the expansion team this week after his agent and the Browns finalize the contract.

Jessie Armstead signed a seven-year, $33-million contract with the New York Giants, making him one of the NFL’s highest paid linebackers.

The Giants also signed center Lance Scott, a starter most of the last two seasons, to a two-year contract.

New York Jet Coach Bill Parcells, Joe Namath and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley were among 1,000 mourners who attended the funeral of Jet owner Leon Hess, who died Friday. Later, Parcells denied rumors that he might be involved in a group interested in buying the Jets.

College Basketball

Cal State Fullerton will not appeal the four-year probation and other penalties handed down by the NCAA last week against the men’s program, according to Judith Anderson, the school’s executive vice president.

Under terms of the probation, Fullerton may not give scholarships to community college basketball players for three years, and total scholarships will be reduced from 13 to 11 for each of the next two years.

Sophomore forward Jon Sanderson, who started every regular-season game last year for Ohio State, has decided to transfer. The Buckeyes also will be without 7-foot-3 junior Aleksandar Radojevic, who was planning to play next fall. Radojevic, a native of Montenegro, played last season at Barton County Community College in Kansas but was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for playing four games and a total of 19 minutes for a professional team in Yugoslavia.

Jeff Judkins, an assistant coach at Utah for the last 10 seasons, left to become director of operations at archrival Brigham Young.

Miscellany

International Speedway Corp., the company that operates Daytona International Speedway, said it will buy the 88% of Penske Motorsports Inc. it doesn’t already own for $610 million. The California Speedway in Fontana is one of four tracks owned and operated by Penske. According to terms of the deal, Roger Penske will continue to operate his former tracks.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that the U.S. Grand Prix is set for Sept. 24, 2000, returning Formula One to the United States for the first time since 1991. FIA, the sport’s international governing body, still must approve the date.

An investigation of International Olympic Committee member Phil Coles will focus on possible “linkage” between repeated trips to Salt Lake City and any services given to Olympic bidders there, a committee leader said.

Kevan Gosper, an IOC executive board member from Australia, said Coles’ behavior “somewhat reflects a continuous pattern of misjudgment.”

But Gosper denied speculation that he had been sent to Sydney by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to fire Coles or force his resignation.

Defense lawyers in a malpractice suit quoted Donna Harris-Lewis’ published support of the lead cardiologist who treated her husband, former Boston Celtic captain Reggie Lewis, after he had collapsed and died in 1993. Harris-Lewis testified in the malpractice suit she brought in 1996 against Dr. Gilbert Mudge and two other doctors who treated her husband before his death at 27.

Eight U.S. beach volleyball players were banned from all events, including the Olympics, for trying to organize independent matches.

FIVB, the international volleyball federation, banned Tim Hovland, Mark Kerins, Henry Russell, Chris Young, Troy Tanner, Brent Frohoff, Sammi Unger and Kevin Martin.

Reuben Acosta, FIVB president, said they participated in an event in Huatulco, Mexico, April 3-4 “without the authorization of the Mexican National Federation nor of the FIVB.”

The Czech Republic ended Sweden’s 15-game unbeaten streak in hockey’s World Championships, beating the defending champions, 2-0, at Oslo, and gaining the last semifinal berth . . . Three-time world figure skating champion Elvis Stojko broke his right collarbone last week while practicing at a rink near his home at Brampton, Canada. . . . Louisiana State baseball Coach Skip Bertman was hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.