Agassi Makes Davis Cup Return Against Russia

Resurgent Andre Agassi, once No. 1 in the world and rebuilding his game after falling out of the top 100, will return to the site of his 1996 Olympic gold-medal performance when he represents the United States in its first-round Davis Cup match against Russia.

The three-day event will be held April 3-5 at the International Tennis Center at Stone Mountain, Ga., near Atlanta.

Agassi is 24-4 lifetime in Davis Cup play and, if he wins both singles matches against the Russians, he would break Bill Tilden’s American record for consecutive singles match victories. Agassi has won 15 in a row, dating to 1991 and including two victories in last year’s quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

Two weeks ago, he won the Sybase Open in San Jose, beating top-ranked rival Pete Sampras for his first tournament victory in almost two years.

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Jan Siemerink beat sixth-seeded Sergi Bruguera of Spain, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), in the first round of the ATP Guardian Open at London.

Eighth-seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia advanced easily, defeating Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark, 6-1, 6-2.

In other first-round matches, Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic defeated Moroccan Karim Alami, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, and Czech Bohdan Ulihrach downed Martin Lee of Britain, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

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Two seeded players--No. 7 Richard Fromberg and No. 9 Byron Black--were upset in the first round of the Advanta Championships at Philadelphia.

Grant Stafford edged Fromberg, 7-6, (7-4), 7-6, (7-4), and Todd Martin defeated Black, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Soccer

Anderlecht midfielder Enzo Scifo said he would not play international soccer again after being left out of Belgium’s squad for a match against the United States.

“The news . . . has deeply disappointed me. I never again want to play under [Belgium Coach Georges] Leekens,” Scifo, 32, told Belgian newspapers.

He said Leekens was showing “a lack of respect.”

Scifo, who has played in 79 international matches, made his debut for the Belgian national side in 1984 and played in the past three World Cup tournaments. He also has played for Inter Milan, Bordeaux, Auxerre, Torino and Monaco.

Leekens said Sunday he wanted to experiment in the matches against the U.S. on Wednesday, Norway on March 25 and Romania on April 22.

The New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer have signed veteran Argentine midfielder and two-time MLS all-star Diego Sonora, who had spent the previous two seasons with the Dallas Burn.

He was allocated by MLS and will fill one of the five foreign-player slots on the MetroStars’ roster.

Football

A proposal to allow the Tennessee Oilers to buy their way out of a two-year contract at the Liberty Bowl will be voted on by Memphis, Tenn., sports officials, a lawyer who helped negotiate the plan said.

John Ryder, attorney for the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority, spent much of the weekend talking with Oiler officials.

Last week, sports authority member Reggie Barnes said it would cost the Oilers $1.466 million to end the contract a year early. The price included a $500,000 penalty.

The Oilers moved to Tennessee from Houston last year and signed a two-year contract to play at the Liberty Bowl while a new stadium is built in Nashville.

But the team received a lukewarm reception in Memphis, where many fans still were angry the NFL did not pick the city for an expansion franchise. The Oilers averaged 28,028 per game, worst in the NFL.

Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville is the leading option for a home next season.

Cycling

Two-time U.S. Olympic cyclist Lance Armstrong says he’s encouraged by his efforts in last week’s first race back after cancer surgery, but realizes that he no longer has the strength for long races.

Armstrong had been sidelined for 16 months after testicular cancer was diagnosed to have spread to his lungs and brain. But after extensive chemotherapy and two operations, including brain surgery in October, 1996, Armstrong, 26, says he is clear of any signs of the disease.

He finished 15th in the five-stage Ruta del Sol cycling tour in Spain last week. “I will no longer try to push myself on stage races and [will] focus on one-day races,” he said.

Motor Racing

Six days after officially launching their 1998 car, the Arrows team proved the surprise package on the opening day of the final preseason Formula One test at Silverstone, England, with the quickest time against two of the front-running teams.

Brazilian Pedro Diniz, driving the new John Barnard-designed Arrows A19, overcame the wet conditions to set a best lap of one minute 38.93 seconds, .02 of a second faster than Benetton’s Giancarlo Fisichella.

German Ralf Shumacher in the Jordan was third-quickest with 1:39.65, and his teammate, former Formula One champion Damon Hill of Britain, could manage only 1:39.90.

Miscellany

After struggling through the early rounds of a sluggish performance, Ed Mahone (16-0-1, 16 knockouts) won the vacant North American Boxing Organization heavyweight championship at the Forum by knocking out Cody Koch (24-1, 20 knockouts) 2:35 into the 10th round of a scheduled 12-rounder.

Joseph Whitney Vogt, 25, a University of Oklahoma journalism student accused of stalking Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller was arrested after the gymnast filed a complaint against him, police in Norman, Okla. said. He will be arraigned today.