In brief

Toe injury ends event for Agassi

By wire services
Published March 19, 2005

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - Andre Agassi pulled out of his scheduled Friday afternoon match against Lleyton Hewitt because of a sore and swollen toe.

Agassi, 34, had advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open with a hustling 6-4, 6-1 victory over Guillermo Coria two days earlier.

Agassi said he was uncertain what the injury was, but that his left big toe began bothering him Thursday night.

"When I woke up (Friday morning), it was blown up like a balloon, twice the size. I was pretty shocked by what I saw. I can't bend it or move on it," Agassi said, explaining that the soreness was in the knuckle of the toe. "It's just impossible for me to do anything."

It was the first time Agassi could not take the court when scheduled in 1,092 matches.

Also, No. 3 Maria Sharapova failed to win a game for the first time as a pro, losing 6-0, 6-0 to top-ranked Lindsay Davenport. Kim Clijsters, defeated Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 and faces Davenport in today's final.

Davenport, peppering the lines with her powerful groundstrokes, seemed almost stunned at the way the match was going.

"It was kind of a weird sensation, an odd position to be in, to win a match against such a good player and not have lost a game," Davenport said.

NAVRATILOVA PLANS: Martina Navratilova, an 11-time champion at the Family Circle Cup, will return to play doubles next month at the tournament in Charleston, S.C. Navratilova, 48, has won four Family Circle singles titles and a record seven doubles crowns on the clay courts. She hasn't said who she'll team with at the event.

Seven months after a scandal that shook the Athens Olympics, Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou were cleared of evading drug tests in a surprise decision that could be challenged by the IAAF. Kenteris, 31, and Thanou, 30, missed drug tests on Aug. 12, one day before the 2004 Summer Games began. But a Greek sporting tribunal voted 4-1 to clear the runners, instead blaming coach Christos Tzekos for the no-shows. The International Association of Athletics Federations, which temporarily suspended the athletes in December, could reject the decision.

EXPOSURE CHARGE: Wrestler Joe Williams pleaded not guilty to an indecent exposure charge in a case while he was an assistant coach at Iowa. The case stems from a visit Williams, 30, made Nov. 14, 2003, to an Iowa City apartment.

EX-OFFICIAL INVESTIGATED: A former high-ranking official of Turin's Olympic organizing committee is under investigation for possible fraud. Marcello Pochettino, former vice director general of TOROC, was fired along with chief executive Paolo Rota on March 7. The investigation by the Turin prosecutor's office is the result of testimony Rota gave a day after the two were fired.

Honduras is the next opponent, but the more pressing target for the U.S. men's team is Mexico, which has never lost to the Americans at home. The Americans face Honduras today in Albuquerque, N.M., in their final tuneup for the March 27 World Cup qualifying match at altitude in Mexico City. The Americans have been training in Colorado Springs, Colo., at 7,400 feet and play today at about 5,300 feet.

MATCH POSTPONED: A match in Australia was indefinitely postponed because organizers feared a repeat of rioting between Serb and Croat supporters. Two people were arrested and two police officers injured on Sunday during the game between Croatian-backed Sydney United and Serbian-supported Bonnyrigg White Eagles in Sydney.

Steve Omischl led a Canadian 1-2 finish in men's aerials and Nina Li won the women's event to claim China's first ever gold at the World Freestyle Championships in Ruka, Finland. Omischl won with 258.98 points and runner-up Jeff Bean had 253.61.

[Last modified March 19, 2005, 01:02:12]