Injury Keeps Graf Out of Australian Open

Steffi Graf, having recently recovered from a back injury, said Friday she is withdrawing from the Australian Open because of a strained right calf muscle.

Graf said the injury occurred during practice in Boca Raton, Fla.

Graf, 25, has won the Australian Open four times, including last year. Although ranked No. 1 in the world, she has played only two tennis matches since the U.S. Open in September and has been hampered for months by a bone spur in her back.

Graf said the calf injury is unrelated to her back. Graf said she is hoping to play in a tournament in Tokyo the week after the Australian Open.

--JULIE CART

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Henri Leconte of France rallied to beat Spain’s Javier Sanchez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the Qatar Open in Doha. Leconte advanced to a semifinal match against Sweden’s Stefan Edberg, who beat Morocco’s Karim Alami, 6-1, 6-1.

In the other semifinal match, Germany’s Michael Stich will play Sweden’s Magnus Larsson.

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Boris Becker beat Jean-Philippe Fleurian, 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-1), and Anke Huber beat Julie Halard, 6-2, 6-1, to give Germany a 2-1 victory over France in the semifinals of the Hopman Cup tournament in Perth, Australia.

Second-seeded Germany advanced to a finals match against fifth-seeded Ukraine, which beat defending champion Czech Republic in the other semifinal.

Football

Texas’ Lovell Pinkney, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior wide receiver, is heading for the NFL, joining Ohio State offensive tackle Korey Stringer, who also said Friday he will be among the juniors available for the draft. Their numbers will not include wide receiver Derrick Mayes, who said he will remain at Notre Dame for his senior season.

Colorado State Coach Sonny Lubick has delayed signing a contract extension until he learns whether Miami Coach Dennis Erickson will leave for an NFL job, opening a position with the Hurricanes.

Former Mississippi coach Billy Brewer, fired after an NCAA investigation that earned the Rebels a four-year NCAA probation, challenged his dismissal and loss of pay in a lawsuit against Ole Miss Chancellor Gerald Turner and the state College Board.

Baseball

The Japanese baseball commissioner’s office confirmed that the San Francisco Giants had asked whether Tokyo Yomiuri Giant pitcher Masumi Kuwata was available. The Giants were told no, because he must play two more seasons in Japan to become a free agent. Ten seasons are required.

Mickey Hatcher rejoined the Dodger organization when he was hired to be a coach for Great Falls of the rookie Pioneer League.

Winter Sports

Alberto Tomba earned his sixth World Cup victory of the season in a giant slalom, winning by nearly a full second with a total time of 2 minutes 12.01 seconds at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. . . . Austria’s Bernhard Knauss, who has won the first four races of the U.S. Pro Ski Tour, was the top speed-run qualifier at Telluride, Colo. The giant slalom will be run today, the slalom Sunday. . . . In freestyle competition at Whistler, Canada, reigning world and World Cup ballet champion Ellen Breen of West Hills, Calif., stayed unbeaten by winning her second World Cup meet of the season.

Germany’s Gunda Niemann won the women’s 500-meter title in 41.02 seconds at the opening day of the European Speedskating Championships in the Netherlands.

Local hero Rintje Ritsma won the men’s 5,000 in 6:49.67 and finished third in the 500, behind Austria’s Roland Brunner (37.68 seconds) and Davide Carta of Italy.

With a 128.5-meter leap, Andreas Goldberger of Austria won a World Cup ski jump and the Four Hills tournament in Bishchofshofen, Austria, after his rival, Kazuyoshi Funaki, jumped three meters farther, but fell when he landed.

Names in the News

Almon Lockabey of Newport Beach, a former sailing writer for The Times and other publications whose assignments included the Summer Olympics and the America’s Cup, died Friday after a long illness. He was 85.

Miscellany

After threatening to boycott the game, Nigeria’s soccer players got their World Cup bonuses, then beat Japan, 3-0, on the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the first game, Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia, 2-0, in a Group A match. . . . The International Weightlifting Federation said that two female Chinese lifters, Li Dan and Wang Shen, both gold medalists, have been banned for life after testing positive for anabolic steroids during November’s World Championships at Istanbul.