Agassi Withdraws From Monaco Event

Andre Agassi has pulled out of next week’s Monte Carlo Masters Series tennis tournament in Monaco.

Agassi and his managers cited exhaustion as the reason for the withdrawal, ATP spokeswoman Rebecka Hjorth said.

Agassi has won the three biggest tennis events this year--the Australian Open, the Indian Wells Masters Series and the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Agassi, who will be 31 in two weeks, is No. 1 in the ATP Champions Race and third in the 52-week rankings.

American Jan-Michael Gambill and Australians Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis previously withdrew.

American Pete Sampras, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten and Russia’s Marat Safin are expected to take part in the tournament, which begins Monday.

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Third-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia defeated countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva, 6-4, 6-2, but suffered a partial tear of a tendon running down the bottom of left foot in the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla.

After the match, Dementieva was walking on crutches and went to a nearby hospital to have the foot checked. Her status for today’s quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 winner over Lisa Raymond, was listed a questionable.

In other matches, top-seeded Martina Hingis defeated 15th-seeded Henrietta Nagyova, 6-1, 6-3. She advanced to play Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario, who defeated Paola Suarez, 6-2, 6-4. Fourth-seeded Amanda Coetzer defeated 13th-seeded Jelena Dokic, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Third-seeded Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia advanced to the quarterfinals of the $625,000 Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal, with an easy 6-1, 6-3 victory over Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands. Fifth-seeded Magui Serna of Spain was upset in the second round by Russia’s Elena Bovina, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

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A man convicted of stalking Hingis was sentenced to two years in jail but will be freed in less than one.

Dubravko Rajcevic, a 46-year-old Croatian-born naval architect from Australia, will get credit for 375 days he already has served since his arrest at the 2000 Ericsson Open near Miami.

Rajcevic will be on probation for two years after his release, but he will be subject to deportation to Australia at that point, and it is uncertain whether the legal reach of probation will extend there.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum four-year term but told the judge that Hingis’ family would accept two if the sentence included an order to stay away from her.

Miscellany

A University of Florida student newspaper filed a new request in a Daytona Beach, Fla., court to see Dale Earnhardt’s autopsy photos.

The new cross-claim filed by the Independent Florida Alligator against the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office addresses developments in the case that weren’t present when the original request was filed last month.

Meanwhile, the Daytona International Speedway physician who blamed Earnhardt’s death on a faulty seat belt backed away from his previous statements.

Steve Bohannon, the director of emergency medical services at Daytona International Speedway, withdrew his assumption after a medical expert said restraint failure didn’t play a role in Earnhardt’s death Feb. 18 during the Daytona 500.

Lance Armstrong is bitter over accusations he might have used drugs in his two consecutive Tour de France victories, insisting he didn’t cheat in his comeback from cancer. “I was the victim of an atmosphere created by the Festina affair,” he said in the French newspaper L’Equipe. “What matters is that I am innocent.” The Festina cycling team was expelled from the 1998 Tour after a team official’s car was found with doping products.

Bill Johnson continued to make small gains in his recovery from a devastating skiing accident in Montana that left the 1984 gold medalist in a coma. “He’s doing well; he had a good night,” said Lisa Godwin, a spokeswoman for Providence Medical Center in Portland, Ore.

DaMarcus Beasley signed a four-year contract with Major League Soccer, keeping the 18-year-old midfielder with the Chicago Fire, the league said.

The editor of the Sunday Mirror newspaper in London resigned, after publication of an interview that led to the end of the assault trial of two Leeds soccer players. The editor, Colin Myler, had made “a serious error of judgment,” said Mark Haysom, managing director of National Newspapers. After eight weeks of trial and three days of jury deliberations, the judge ended the case against Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate because he said an interview with the victim’s father, published in the Sunday Mirror, could prejudice the jury.