The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 13

THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1998 SPORTS -a ixuseasKi is caim Records tough five-set win after refusing to crack early MAJOR-LEAGUE ROUNDUP Belle sets record for club's homers Chisox's slugger hits 42nd to topple O's mm! -i 5 Associated Press NEW YORK Greg Rusedski stood at the net, preparing for the overhead shot that promised to give him match point. The court was wide-open, with opponent Wayne Ferreira way out of position after running down a lob. Rusedski slammed the ball right into -the net prolonging a U.S. Open match yesterday that had already passed the three-hour mark. Instead of dwelling on the blown opportunity, the sixth-seeded Rusedski calmly wrapped up the match four points later.

The 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 64 victory moved him into a second-round match against Bohdan Ulihrach. "I think it's just being mentally stronger and being experienced," said Rusedski, the Canadian-turned-Briton who saved two match points in the fourth set. "I should have never missed that overhead, but I guess I made all the club players in the world feel good." Reaching the final of the U.S. Open last year as an unseeded player has had a lot to do with that confidence. Before last year's tournament, Rusedski had lost in the first round of the U.S.

Open in all three of his appearances. Rusedski looked as though he was about to make another quick exit Tuesday, but regained control with his big serve in the final two sets. He finished the match with 19 aces, while Ferreira had 13. "I wasn't really pleased the way I started, but I was pleased the way I fought today and stayed in the match," said Rusedski, who had a blister during the match and has been i fighting a left ankle problem all sum- mer. Rusedski lost in the first round at Wimbledon and didn't play again until mid-August at Indianapolis while the ankle healed.

He said it was not a prob-; lem yesterday, and he removed tape from the ankle midway through the match. In fact, Rusedski showed his fitness by hurdling the net while going for a volley during the match. The point was awarded to Ferreira because a player is not allowed to cross the net while the ball remains in play, but it showed the 'ankle's strength. Fifth-seeded Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champ, had 16 aces as he beat Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, Jonas Bjorkman, the 12th seed, defeated Cedric Pioline 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7) And Australia's Mark Philippoussis throwing error led to two unearned runs to put Seattle ahead in the seventh inning as the Mariners got their first road victory this season over Boston. Ken Griffey who had five homers in his previous nine games, went l-for-3 with a single and remained at 47 homers, most in the AL.

Tigers 12, Rangers 8 At Detroit, Deivi Cruz hit his first grand slam as Detroit beat Texas a few hours after Tigers manager Buddy Bell was fired and replaced on an interim basis by coach Larry Parrish. Juan Gonzalez raised his RBIs total to 145, tying the Rangers record he set two years ago. Braves 6, Astros 4 At Atlanta, Javy Lopez kept up a torrid pace by homering in his fourth straight National League game and the Atlanta bullpen stymied another Houston comeback as the Braves defeated the Astros. Lopez's three-run homer highlighted a four-run fourth inning. After Houston rallied to the game 4-4, Ozzie Guillen drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the sixth.

The Braves, who squandered a two-run lead in the ninth inning Monday, got three scoreless innings from their bullpen, dapped off by Kerry Ligten-berg's 25th save. Lopez has punctuated the best season of his career with an McGwire-like power surge, homering 10 times in the last 26 games. During that stretch, he homered in three straight games twice before putting together the current four-game streak. Lopez, whose previous career-high was 23 homers, has 32 this season the most by a Braves catcher since Joe Torre's 36 in 1966. But only 31 of Torre's homers came while he was behind the plate.

Earl Williams had 33 homers in 1971, but just 19 while catching. The Braves, who squandered a two-run lead in the ninth inning Monday, broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth against Astros reliever Scott Elarton (1-1) on Ozzie Guillen's two-out, run-scoring single. Chipper Jones led off with his 32nd homer and reached 100 RBIs for the third straight year. He is only the fifth player in franchise history to have three straight 20-homer, 100-RBIs Associated Press BALTIMORE Albert Belle set a club record with his 42nd home run and drove in four runs as the Chicago White Sox beat Baltimore 9-5 last CHISOX 9 night, sending the Orioles to their ninth ORIOLES 5 straight American League defeat. Belle's fourth-inning solo shot off Doug Drabek broke the White Sox single-season mark, set in 1993 by Frank Thomas.

His three-run double in the ninth gave him 337 total bases, breaking the club record of 336 set by Joe Jackson in 1920. Belle, who went 2-for-2 with three walks, has homered in two straight games and has 23 since the all-star break. He has already set the Chicago single-season record for extra-base hits. Rookie Jim Parque (5-5) allowed three runs in six innings to help Chicago to its seventh win in nine games. Jaime Navarro pitched the final three innings for his first save.

The White Sox are 8-2 against the Orioles, with five of those wins coming during Baltimore's current skid. Eric Davis and Chris Hoiles homered for the Orioles, whose nine-game losing streak matches a season high. Drabek (6-10), activated from the disabled list before the game, allowed five runs and four hits in 5'A innings. He had not pitched since July 31 because of a strained left hamstring. Yankees 7, Athletics 0 At New York, David Wells flirted with his second perfect game of the year as New York defeated Oakland.

Wells, who retired all 27 Minnesota Twins on May 17 at Yankee Stadium, retired his first 20 batters in order. With two outs in the seventh, Jason Giambi hit an 0-2 pitch into centre field for a single. Wells finished with a two-hitter and struck out a season-high 13. Blue Jays 2, Royals 1 At Kansas City, Alex Gonzalez and Shannon Stewart homered and Chris Carpenter allowed four hits in seven innings as Toronto beat Kansas City to win its fifth straight. Carpenter (10-7) struck out six and walked three.

The Blue Jays (72-66) are a season-high six games over .500. Mariners 7, Red Sox 3 At Boston, reliever Derek Lowe's TIMOTHY CLARY, AFP set victory over Wayne Ferreira. Marois scores junior tennis upset Proving his point But Lynx pitcher DeSilva unlikely callup PATHICKEY The Gazette REPENTIGNY Melanie Marois has made a habit of beating up on kids her own size, but yesterday she moved up a class and played the role of giant-killer. Marois, one of the youngest players in the draw created the big surprise on Pay Two of the Videotron Canadian junior International tennis championships. The recently crowned Canadi- Ttnt 'an 14-and-under champion upset 12th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slova- kia 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) in a battle that lasted more than 254 hours.

I The match figured to be a mismatch. Hantuchova is only a year older than Marois. but she has more experience ccDand is ranked 17th in the International Greg Rusedski celebrates a tough five controlled his big serves enough to beat Christian Ruud 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. Philippoussis next faces Sebastien Lareau of Boucherville, who won his first-round match over Raymond Del-gado of Paraguay 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. In the women's draw, things unfolded according to seed.

No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport-whipped Catalina Cristea 6-0, 6-2; Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, seed Tennis Federation junior (18-and-un-der) rankings, while Marois is No. 619. But the youngster from Sainte-Foy will move up after yesterday's win. She not only receives points for becoming the only Canadian to reach the second round of the girls singles event, but she'll also collect bonus points for beating a top-20 player.

Marois wasn't the only Canadian to post an upset win yesterday Rob Steck-ley of Toronto beat ninth-seeded Andy Ram of Israel 64, 7-5, while hometown favourite Marie-Eve Pelletier came close before dropping a 6-3, 3-6, 64 decision to lOth-seeded Kildine Chevalier of France. This is Chevalier's third appearance in Repentigny and she is hoping to add to an impressive list of past perfor banged his head in a scrap with Brad May in March. In all, Niedermayer missed 49 games last season, 26 concussion-related, 15 because of a dislocated thumb, and another eight due to arthroscopic knee surgery. The head injuries concern the Leafs. Niedermayer also suffered a serious concussion as a junior.

Toronto has already asked for, and received, medical information from the Panthers' doctors, and they've talked to Russian coach Vladimir Yurzinov, who worked with Niedermayer during a camp in Finland last month. VANCOUVER -Vancouver Canuck general manager Brian Burke declared Monday he is prepared to let Pavel Bure spend an entire season on the suspended list and forfeit an approximate $8 million U.S. in salary -rather than make a poor trade. won't sign for more than two years, in view of the NHL market's galloping inflation. There's also this consider, now that the Canadiens are approaching the start of training camp: Koivu is one of eight players still unsigned by the Canadiens.

Vladimir Malakhov heads a list which includes Patrice Brisebois, Martin Rucinsky, Brian Savage, Turner NHL NOTEBOOK Niedermayer's health questioned Potvin deal held up by Leafs' wish to check out Florida defenceman ed third, scored a 64, 6-3 victory over Jennifer Capriati; eighth-seeded Steffi Graf, a five-time champion trying to find the spark that gave her a Grand Slam sweep a decade ago, beat Corina Mary Pierce, the former Australian Open champion and 12th seed, defeated Meike Babel 6-1, 4-6, 6-2; Anna Kournikova, seeded 15th, beat Lea mances. She reached the quarter-finals in 1996 before losing to Montrealer Cristina Popescu and she was a semi-finalist last year. It continued to be a frustrating tournament for the other Canadian players, although two others came close yesterday. Karim Rahimtoola took Japan's Ryota Taguchi to three sets before losing 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, while Valery Vladea lost 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 6-2 to qualifier ErinBurdetteof theUS. Jonathan Arpin of Repentigny, who was forced to qualify for a spot in the main draw, lost to Alex Bogomolov of 6-2.

7-6(7-0). The losses left only two Canadians -Steckley and Charles-Antoine Sevigny of Cap-de-la-Madeleine alive in the boys' singles draw. The tough-talking GM said he has not had any decent offers for the superstar winger, nor does he expect any in the foreseeable future. Bure stated last month that he is through with the Canucks "for personal reasons." "This could take a while," Burke said. "I'm not trading him until I get the right deal.

If that's a month that ends in the letter that's fine. This is bigger than Pavel Bure. The issue is who is going to run this hockey team and who makes the decisions." The Canucks have a number of craters in their lineup that could be filled, at least partially, by a Bure trade but Burke was unfazed by the possibility of a weakened roster. "You can't believe the fan mail and e-mails I'm getting," Burke said. "They say don't trade him, let him sit, we'll happily support you without him in the lineup and nothing coming back." free agents Stevenson, Scott Thornton and Jose Theodore.

At least four Malakhov, Brisebois, Rucinsky and Savage -aren't likely to report to camp without contracts. Shayne Corson also wants to have his contract sweetened, but unlike his free-agent colleagues, he still has two years remaining on the five-year contract he signed before joining the Canadiens from St. Louis. i The Expos had bigger matters on the table yesterday than which players to call up from the minor leagues and when to call them. The signing of Vladimir Guerrero to a five-year contract sent the same kind of positive vibes throughout the organization that Expos hope will ignite interest in Montreal fans.

"That's great, great news," manager Pat Kelly, of the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx, said before the team took the field last night after an overnight bus trip that saw them arrive home at 5 a.m. "With (Rondell) White, (Ugueth) Urbina and (Chris) Widger and now Vlad signed for the long term, the Expos are well on the way to making sure they'll have an outstanding team in a year or two." Kelly didn't want to talk about which of his players will be summoned by the Expos for the final few weeks, since his team has to play six more games of their International League schedule. But one of the players who has been contributing the most in recent weeks is unlikely to be getting a call. RHP John DeSilva is 4-1 in five starts since joining Ottawa last month. But DeSilva will be 31 by the end of the month and will likely be passed over -again in favour of younger prospects.

"When you talk about prospects, you invariably think about the younger guys," Kelly said. "But I'll tell you what DeSilva has done. He's shown he can pitch in the big leagues." Which is really all DeSilva can hope for. He understands his plight. "I'm not on the 40-man roster, so I don't expect to be called up," said DeSilva, scheduled to pitch for the Lynx tonight.

"It would be great, but the main thing I wanted to do these past few weeks was to show baseball people that I can pitch and I can get people out." DeSilva has had the proverbial cup of coffee with three major-league teams the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. But since being drafted out of Brigham Young by the Tigers in 1989, DeSilva has managed only 40 days in the majhors. He won a game with the Orioles, but for the most part has been in the minors or on the disabled list. DeSilva did not pitch last year after shoulder surgery. It had nothing to with baseball.

He slipped on a rock while fishing in a creek and badly damaged his shoulder fortunately the left one, rather than the one on his pitching arm. EXPOS FARM REPORT IAN MacDONALD Invited to the Expos minor-league camp this year, DeSilva was released. "I hadn't faced hitters in a year and I wasn't sharp," DeSilva said. "I understand younger pitchers deserve a longer look. But I wanted to prove I can pitch." Through a contact he had made with the Expos, DeSilva heard about an Independent League in New Jersey.

That's where he started this summer. DeSilva proved he could still pitch, compiling an 8-1 record and a 1.56 earned-run average. He kept calling the Expos when it was obvious he wasn't being noticed in New Jersey, and finally Dave Littlefield, the Expos' player development director, gave him a shot at Ottawa. Though his chances of pitching for the Expos this month are slim, DeSilva feels he's proved that his control of a moving fastball can get batters out at any level. learn to concern yourself only with the things you can control," DeSilva said.

"You go out each time and pitch as well as you can. If I keep doing the job I'm doing, good things are bound to happen." Ottawa Lynx (Triple-A International) 68-67 (fourth) 3B Jose Fernandez has been put on the disabled list with a knee injury. Slugging 1BLF Fernando Seguignol was 3-for-4 with two doubles Monday. LHP Ted Tilly has 39 strikeouts in 33 innings. Harrisburg Senators (Double-A Eastern) 69-66 (second) C3b Michael Barrett leads the playoff bound Senators with his .320 average and 18 home runs.

2B Geoff Blum is still hitting over .300, while CF Peter Bergeron is hitting .243. Jupiter Hammerheads (Class-A Florida State) 37-27 (first) OF Milton Bradley, called up from Vermont early in the season, lifted his average by 43 points during a solid August. The defensive whiz has 15 stolen bases. Vermont Expos (Summer-A NYPenn) 35-39 (second) 3B Scott Hodges, one of seven first-round picks from the '97 June draft on the team, hit .364 in August. He had a 10-game streak, was blanked for a game and then reeled off a 15-game run.

Canadian Press TORONTO There is but one obsta- cle keeping Florida Panther centre Bob Niedermayer from becoming a Toronto Maple Leaf. And if Florida and Toronto can't Overcome it, a mammoth deal principally sending goaltender Felix Potvin "and defenceman Jeff Ware to the Panthers for Niedermayer and defence-pian Rhett Warrener could be scuttled. The two sides are haggling over Toronto's insistence that any deal for Niedermayer be conditional on the centre passing a physical, sources said Monday. Niedermayer, the fifth over-all draft i pick by Florida in 1993, suffered a serious concussion in last season's opening game when checked heavily by Eric Lindros. His season ended because of post-concussion syndrome after he Houle still must sign eight KOIVU Continuedfrom Page El That's why Koivu's value to the Canadiens is sky-high.

It's also why the Canadiens would like to get his name on a long-term contract, but that's un-'tlikely. Even if he gets Damphousse numbers in his next contract, Koivu.