In brief

Exit cold, quick for Agassi in Hamburg

By wire services
Published May 11, 2005

HAMBURG, Germany - With a nasty wind blowing and fans wrapped in blankets, Andre Agassi had little to offer Tuesday at the Hamburg Masters.

He was hoping for a good clay-court tuneup leading to the French Open, but instead made a first-round exit with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) loss to Feliciano Lopez.

"My body doesn't respond well to these temperatures," said Agassi, seeded eighth. "The conditions are not good for my game. I feel pretty ordinary."

Also ousted was ninth-seeded David Nalbandian, who lost to Sweden's Robin Soderling 7-6 (8), 7-5 in a match interrupted by thunder and a hail storm, forcing organizers to close the roof over center court.

ITALIAN OPEN: Top-seeded Maria Sharapova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 6-2, a first step in her bid to overtake Lindsay Davenport as the world's No.1.

PRAGUE OPEN: Top-seeded Dinara Safina began her bid for a second title this season with a shaky 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over qualifier Libuse Prusova in Prague, Czech Republic.

FOREST HILLS CLAY COURT CLASSIC: Alex Bogomolov Jr. upset third-seeded Amer Delic 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round in New York.

FRENCH OPEN: Lleyton Hewitt might not be able to play in the tournament after injuring ribs in an accident at his Sydney, Australia, home.

Rick Nash scored his tournament-leading ninth goal in the third period, giving Canada a 2-1 victory over last-place Ukraine at the world hockey championships in Innsbruck, Austria.

NHL: Commissioner Gary Bettman and players' association executive director Bob Goodenow will hold labor negotiations today and Thursday instead of going to Austria for the world championships. The change in plans occurred after a 31/2-hour bargaining session in New York, the eighth official meeting between the sides since Bettman canceled the entire hockey season on Feb. 16 because of the lockout.

COYOTES: Wayne Gretzky is still in talks to become Phoenix's coach, but no decision is close, the team said. A report in the East Valley Tribune said Gretzky and owner Steve Ellman were close to agreement on a three-year contract extension that would make Gretzky the team's new coach and an announcement would be made this week.

AUTO RACING: Dan Wheldon, winner of three of the IRL season's first four races, posted the fastest speed among all Indy 500 drivers - 224.998 mph in his backup car - during practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The first of four days of qualifications is Saturday. The race is May 29.

BOXING: John Ruiz said he wants to fight again, 10 days after announcing he'd retire when he lost his WBA heavyweight title in a unanimous decision to James Toney.

CYCLING: Danilo Di Luca edged defending champion Damiano Cunego in a group sprint to win the third stage of the Giro d'Italia in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy, while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini finished sixth to reclaim the overall lead.

GYMNASTICS: Video replays will be tested at the European championships in Moutier, Switzerland, next month, the sport's latest attempt to avoid scoring errors like the one that plagued the Athens Olympics.

OLYMPICS: The Court of Arbitration for Sport heard an appeal that could result in the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team losing its gold medals from the 2000 Sydney Games. Jerome Young, who already has been stripped of his medal because of doping, ran in the opening and semifinal rounds but did not run in the final. The International Association of Athletics Federations has recommended the entire six-man team be declared ineligible because of Young's drug infraction.

SOCCER: Premiership champion Chelsea defeated Manchester United 3-1 to set a record for points (94) in the top English league.

[Last modified May 11, 2005, 00:47:09]