Agassi Blasted by Sampras, Drops Out of Rich Event

His head clogged and his stomach upset, Andre Agassi played to a booing and whistling crowd Wednesday in a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Pete Sampras, then dropped out of the ATP Championship at Hanover, Germany.

“I am still feeling weak; I wasn’t fit to play,” Agassi said. “It wasn’t enjoyable to go and play out there.”

Agassi said he became ill two days before coming to Germany. He will be replaced in the season-ending, round-robin tournament by alternate Thomas Enqvist of Sweden.

Thomas Muster of Austria stayed alive in the $3.3-million event by beating Michael Chang, 6-4, 6-3. Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia advanced to the semifinals by defeating Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1).

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Spaniards Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez pounded their way into the quarterfinals of the $2-million WTA Championships at New York.

Martinez outlasted Judith Wiesner of Austria, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, before Sanchez Vicario defeated big-hitting Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

In the quarterfinals, Martinez will play Iva Majoli of Croatia, and Sanchez Vicario will play fifth-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, who defeated Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 6-4, 6-1.

Olympics

Four unidentified athletes from the Atlanta Olympics could be banned for four years if the International Olympic Committee orders the retest of potentially positive samples. The samples, which detected anabolic steroids, were done by a test known as high resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS). The IOC decided not to accept the results because the equipment used was previously untested. The IOC has not identified the athletes or their sports.

Boxing

Don King said he didn’t need Lennox Lewis to put on a show, promising to incorporate a tribute to Elvis Presley and a new song by Hank Williams Jr. into a weeklong series of events climaxing with a World Boxing Organization heavyweight title fight Jan. 11 between Henry Akinwande and Scott Welch in Nashville.

King lost the right to promote the more prestigious World Boxing Council title fight between Lewis and Oliver McCall last week because he failed to produce a contract to stage the fight within 15 days of getting the promotional rights, as required under WBC rules.

The Nashville card will feature five championship bouts, including Felix Trinidad challenging Kevin Lueshing for the International Boxing Federation welterweight championship.

Soccer

Carlos Hermosillo and Ricardo Pelaez scored first-half goals to lead Mexico to a 3-1 victory over El Salvador in an exhibition match at the Coliseum before an announced crowd of 54,512.

Names in the News

Kelli Kuehne, who won her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur golf championship this year, turned professional and will make her pro debut at the JCPenney Classic next month. . . . Terry Jastrow resigned as senior producer for ABC Sports golf coverage, effective Jan. 1, to devote more time to his television partnership with Jack Nicklaus. Jastrow, 48, has been a producer of golf at ABC Sports for 27 years. . . . Ubiratan Pereira Maciel of Brazil and longtime Spanish coach Antonio Diaz-Miguel were nominated for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Pereira Maciel, a center, helped Brazil to five South American championships and the 1963 World Championship. Diaz-Miguel coached the Spanish national team in six Olympics, winning a silver medal in 1984.