Out-of-Form Becker Upset by Siemerink

The last time Boris Becker played a singles match, the surface was chewed-up grass, the heat was oppressive and a Wimbledon title was on the line.

The weather was hot for his return to the court Wednesday at Mason, Ohio, but everything else was dramatically different. The surface was hard, the stakes were low and the third-seeded German was way off his game.

Becker, playing his first singles match since his loss to Pete Sampras in the Wimbledon final, lost to Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7), in the ATP Championship.

A calf strain that bothered him at Wimbledon forced Becker to rest the last few weeks. He was off-target and a step slow Wednesday.

Top-seeded Andre Agassi wore down injured Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.

Hockey

The Mighty Ducks signed defenseman Bobby Dollas to a multiyear contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 40 points.

In another contract move, the Ducks guaranteed themselves the right to match any offer to right wing Todd Ewen by offering him a 10% raise over his recent $435,000 arbitration award.

The Ducks will play four of their nine exhibition games at The Pond of Anaheim. The home dates are Sept. 20 (Washington Capitals), Sept. 22 (Boston Bruins), Sept 24 (New York Rangers) and Sept. 27 (Dallas Stars).

Pro Basketball

Don Chaney, fired as coach by the Detroit Pistons at the end of last season, was hired as an assistant to new New York Knick Coach Don Nelson.

Indiana Pacer center Rik Smits, 28, was released from a hospital in Johnson City, N.Y., after being treated for a concussion suffered when he was thrown from an all-terrain vehicle.

College Football

The Fiesta Bowl announced an agreement with Frito-Lay that will produce the richest postseason game in college football history. The teams that meet in the Jan. 2, 1996 game will split about $17 million, with another $9 million going to the college bowl alliance.

Seven new inductees will be added to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame today at 10 a.m. In attendance to receive the honor at the Court of Champions on the south side of the Rose Bowl will be the following former players: UCLA quarterback Gary Beban, USC quarterback Pat Haden and end Al Krueger, Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus and Alabama halfback Harry Gilmer.

Being honored posthumously are USC quarterback Doyle Nave and Stanford end Ted Shipkey.

Texas A&M; might lose two recruits as a result of closer scrutiny into their junior college course work, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Defensive end Pat Williams, who was expected to compete for a starting job this fall, and wide receiver Albert Connell failed to earn eligibility certification from Texas A&M; officials by the start of football orientation Monday.

Baseball

South Carolina gets to keep Shoeless Joe Jackson’s will in its archives, and two charities won’t be able to sell it for the baseball legend’s valuable signature, a judge ruled.

Jackson, who was banned from the game for his part in the 1919 World Series “Black Sox” scandal, rarely signed anything, and estimates were that the signature on his will could be worth more than $100,000.

Golf

Co-medalist Virginia Derby-Grimes of Montgomery, Ala., easily advanced through the first two rounds of match play in the 95th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and past champion Carol Semple Thompson of Sewickley, Pa., lost in her bid to win the title 22 years apart.

Derby-Grimes never trailed in defeating Kathleen Takaishi of San Bernardino and Ann Pohira of Winter Park, Fla. Thompson, who won the title in 1973, was upset in her afternoon match by Diane Irvin of Pacific Palisades, 1 up.

Miscellany

Representatives of the Big Sky Conference will visit Cal State Northridge and Sacramento State next week to determine if those schools should be admitted to the league.

Despite some rust from a two-year layoff, Olympic champion Mark Lenzi made a successful return to diving by easily qualifying for the three-meter finals at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Bartlesville, Okla.

In the women’s 10-meter platform, Eileen Richetelli surged ahead of the field with five strong optional dives to easily lead the semifinals with 496.65 points.

The NCAA Women’s Final Four basketball championships in 2000 will be held in Philadelphia.

A T-shirt auction to benefit the 1996 U.S. Olympic team will be held Saturday at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica beginning at 3 p.m.

ESPN and ESPN2 will televise 77 hours of U.S. Olympic trials next year, including 18 hours of track and field.

Names in the News

Makhtar Ndiaye, a 6-foot-9 forward from Senegal, has transferred from Michigan to North Carolina, his third school in as many years, two newspapers reported Thursday. . . . Jay Bright, longtime friend of Mike Tyson, will serve as the former heavyweight champion’s trainer.