Williams Beats Davenport for First Time in Semifinal

Venus Williams beat top-seeded Lindsay Davenport for the first time in four tries, overcoming a slow start Saturday night to win in three sets and reach the finals of the IGA Tennis Classic at Oklahoma City.

Williams, 17, who most recently lost to Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, broke the defending champion’s serve in the seventh game of the third set to win the matchup of power players, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-3.

She advanced to her third career final and will meet Joannette Kruger of South Africa, who rallied to beat France’s Sarah Pitkowski, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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Pete Sampras, the No. 1 player in the world, lost the first three games, then settled in to beat sixth-seeded Tommy Haas, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the final of the Advanta Championships at Philadelphia.

He will play third-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, who beat Sebastien Lareau of Canada, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

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Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic easily handled Italy’s Silvia Farina, 6-4, 6-1, for her 500th victory on the WTA Tour and the right to play Dominique van Roost in the final of the Austrian Open at Linz.

Van Roost, from Belgium, lost the first set, 6-2, in 36 minutes to second-seeded Iva Majoli, but Majoli retired in the second set, complaining about a bad back.

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Third-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat South African Wayne Ferreira, 7-5, 6-4, and joined France’s Cedric Pioline in the final of the Guardian Cup indoor tournament in London.

Pioline beat Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

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Thomas Muster should quit tennis because of his injured left knee, the doctor assigned to Austria’s Davis Cup team said.

Golf

Hometown favorite Karrie Webb avoided a repeat of last year’s final-round collapse, holding on for a five-stroke victory at the $700,000 Australian Ladies Masters at Gold Coast.

Webb, 23, who blew a four-shot lead and settled for one of her four second-place finishes last year, shot a two-under-par 70 for a tournament-record total of 16-under 272.

She was challenged briefly by Annika Sorenstam of Sweden, who also had a 70 and tied for second with Korea’s Hyun Soon Park at 277.

Robert Karlsson shot a five-under 67 to take a two-shot lead over Spaniard Ignacio Garrido after the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates.

Karlsson, a 28-year-old Swede, had six birdies and continued to set the pace in the European PGA Tour event with an 18-under 198 total after 54 holes.

Track and Field

Tisha Waller, an Atlanta grade-school teacher, gave a lesson in high jumping, leaping to an American women’s indoor record 6 feet 7 in the USA Championships in the Georgia Dome. . . . Britain’s Ashia Hansen set an indoor world record with a triple jump of 49 feet 9 inches to take the gold medal at the European Championships at Valencia, Spain. . . . World 100-meter champion Maurice Greene kept up his assault on Donovan Bailey’s world record, clocking 9.99 seconds at Sydney and becoming the first person to break the 10-second barrier on Australian soil.

Miscellany

World Boxing Council lightweight champion Steve Johnston improved his record to 24-0 by successfully defending his title with a unanimous 12-round decision over George Scott (32-1) at Atlantic City, N.J.

The $200,000 base salary for new Nebraska football Coach Frank Solich will exceed what former coach Tom Osborne earned by $50,000, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Free-agent wide receiver Qadry Ismail agreed to a $6-million, four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Olympic silver medalist Ole Kristian Furuseth and teammates Finn Christian Jagge and Tom Stiansen gave Norway a sweep of the medals in a men’s World Cup slalom at Yong Pyong, South Korea. Matt Grosjean, the only American in the field, finished 26th.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. won his 25th pro bowling title, the Storm Flagship Open, by defeating Steve Jaros, 202-146, at Erie, Pa.

Tiger Woods will receive the 1998 Sports Achievement Award tonight at the 11th annual Magic Johnson Sports Star Dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel.