Agassi rallies for second-round victory
PARIS, May 29 (UPI) -- Andre Agassi pulled off yet another Grand Slam comeback Wednesday in the second round of the French Open.
Agassi rallied to defeat 19-year-old Mario Ancic of Croatia, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. It marked the fifth time Agassi had rallied from a two-set deficit to win a match. He also did it here last year in the fourth round against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and in the 1999 French Open final against Andrei Medvedev.
Top-seeded Serena Williams, meanwhile, cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian of Switzerland. Williams is seeking her fifth straight Grand Slam title.
The oldest player in the men's draw at 33, Agassi looked his age in the first two sets and appeared ready to continue the disappointing performance of Americans early in this tournament.
Five Americans bowed out in the first round Tuesday, including No. 6 seed Andy Roddick and Michael Chang, who was playing his final match at Roland Garros.
But Agassi, always one of the best-conditioned players on tour, taught his younger and less experienced opponent a lesson, closing out the third set with an overhead lob winner before finding renewed energy in the final two sets.
Agassi was not the only American to win a grueling battle Wednesday as up-and-coming 18-year-old Ashley Harkleroad outlasted ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 9-7, in a match that lasted three hours, eight minutes.
Ranked 52nd in the world, the Georgia native reached the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time.
Williams barely has been tested in her first two matches, having lost just nine games. But Williams was not as sharp as she could have been, overcoming 30 unforced errors to extend her French Open winning streak to 30 matches.
Serena's sister, Venus, the No. 3 seed, returned to action Tuesday after missing nearly a month with a strained abdominal muscle and dispatched fellow American and lucky loser Samantha Reeves in her first-round match.
In other matches on the men's side, 1998 champion Carlos Moya of Spain defeated Australian Mark Philippoussis, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). Moya also defeated the hard-serving Philippoussis, who rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Alex Kim on Monday, in straight sets in the second round here last year.
No. 7 seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina advanced with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over German Nicolas Kiefer, and No. 11 Rainer Schuettler of Germany ousted Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
Brazil's Flavio Saretta, celebrating his 25th birthday, outlasted No. 17 seed and 1996 winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, in just under four hours.
Patrick Roy retires
DENVER, May 29 (UPI) -- Patrick Roy, the NHL's winningest goaltender and four-time Stanley Cup champion, officially announced his retirement Wednesday.
Roy said he had decided in September that this would be his final season. In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche netminder has been bothered by arthritic hips.
"I've had a blast, it's been unbelievable," he said. "I've been so fortunate to have lived a dream and have fun for more than 18 years, earning a living playing the game that I love. I should say how blessed I am."
Arguably the greatest goaltender in league history, Roy recorded 551 victories in an 18-year career. He won three Vezina Trophies and three Conn Smythe Trophies, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.
Roy also is the NHL's career leading in games played (1,029) and also ranks first in playoff victories (151) and shutouts (23).
The youngest player to win the Conn Smythe at age 20 when he led the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup title in 1986, Roy won another championship with the Canadiens in 1993.
In December 1995, the Avalanche made the best trade in club history when they acquired Roy with Mike Keane from Montreal for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.
Roy's tenure with Montreal came to a disappointing in December 1995, when he demanded a trade after coach Mario Tremblay left him in too long in a lopsided loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
That season, Roy led the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup title and earned his fourth in 2001, beating Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the finals.
Twins win fourth straight
MINNEAPOLIS, May 29 (UPI) -- Dustan Mohr's two-run home run snapped a tie in the fourth inning Wednesday, allowing Minnesota to edge Oakland, 6-5.
Minnesota won its fourth straight game.
Mohr's homer gave the Twins a 6-4 lead and the bullpen held the lead by allowing just one run in the final three innings.
Joe Mays (6-3) got off to shaky start, giving up three runs in the top of the first. But Mays settled down and recorded his third straight win, yielding four runs and eight hits in six innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
Johan Santana gave up an RBI single to Erubiel Durazo in the seventh, but LaTroy Hawkins and J.C. Romero combined for 1 1/3 innings before Eddie Guardado got the final three outs for his 15th save.
Guardado got Terrence Long to line to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz for a game-ending unassisted double play. Mientkiewicz tied the game with a three-run homer in the bottom of the second.
The Athletics outhit the Twins, 13-6, but stranded 11 runners and left the bases loaded in the fifth and eighth innings. Only in the fifth was Oakland retired in order.
Other American League results: Cleveland 8, Detroit 2; Seattle 5, Kansas City 2; Baltimore 6, Anaheim 2; Chicago 8, Toronto 0; New York 6, Boston 5; Tampa Bay 6, Texas 4.
Furcal leads homer assault
ATLANTA, May 29 (UPI) -- Rafael Furcal homered twice Wednesday night, including one of four in the first inning, as Atlanta routed Cincinnati, 15-3.
The Braves produced six round trippers.
Furcal, who opened a game with a homer for the seventh time in his career, added a solo shot in the second for his first career multi-homer game. Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield followed Furcal in the first inning with homers, marking just the second time in major league history a team has opened a contest with three straight homers.
Javy Lopez, who went three for four with four RBI, also homered in the first off Jeff Austin (2-3), who failed to escape the opening inning for the second consecutive start.
Austin surrendered five runs and four hits with a walk and retired just two batters. On Friday night, the righthander allowed five runs without recording an out against Florida, allowing three hits and walking four.
Russ Ortiz (7-3) benefited from the offensive outburst, yielding two runs and two hits in six innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Jung Bong allowed a run and struck out five in three innings to notch his first career save.
Other National League results: Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 4; Philadelphia 11; New York 3; St. Louis 3, Houston 1; Colorado 6, Los Angeles 0. Florida swept a double header from Montreal, 4-3 and 6-0.
Woods returns for Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio, May 29 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods will make his first appearance on the PGA Tour since the Masters when he tees off Thursday at the Memorial Tournament.
Woods took four weeks off after the Masters before finishing tied for 29th at the TPC of Europe in Germany two weeks ago.
That tournament, however, was played on sub-standard greens, and Woods is delighted to get back to the smooth putting surfaces at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village, where he won three times in a row before surrendering his title to Jim Furyk last year.
This will be Woods' last appearance before the U.S. Open, which starts June 12 at Olympia Fields in suburban Chicago. Woods, who played the course with Michael Jordan on Tuesday, does not think this year's U.S. Open course will favor the long hitters as much as last year's venue, Bethpage Black.
"It's going to be a heck of a test," he said. "Anybody can win. I think there is going to be a good mixture of guys on top of the board.
"Olympia has a good mixture of holes. You'll see somebody go low early because the opening holes are short, but the closing holes are something else. From (No.) 9 in, you've really got to drive your ball well. The greens are not up to speed yet and the rough will probably grow another inch by the time we get there."
If Woods is to win this week, he will have to beat the strongest field since the Masters, one that includes five of the top seven players in the world.
Ernie Els returns to the PGA Tour for the first time in a month while Masters champ Mike Weir is back in action after two weeks off. Throw in Vijay Singh, who won the Byron Nelson Championship two weeks ago, and European No. 1 Padraig Harrington, and the field is pretty impressive.
However, Davis Love has pulled out due to a death in the family.
Sparks remain unbeaten
MINNEAPOLIS, May 29 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Sparks made 20 of 20 free throws and got 28 points from Lisa Leslie Wednesday night to down Minnesota, 83-80.
Two-time defending champion Los Angeles has won 12 straight games dating to last season, including an unbeaten run through the playoffs. This year, they have been phenomenal at the line, making 58 of 64 free throws.
After Minnesota's Svetlana Abrosimova made two free throws to cut the deficit to 77-76, Mwadi Mabika actually missed a free throw for Los Angeles. But Tamika Williams was called for a lane violation\, and Mabika made the replacement foul shot before adding another for a 79-76 edge with 59 seconds to go.
Sheri Sam hit a pair from the line before Nikki Teasley made a clutch basket with 24 seconds to play, restoring the three-point lead. Abrosimova made a jumper, but Tamecka Dixon sank two free throws to make it 83-80 with 13 seconds to play.
On Minnesota's last possession, Los Angeles switched its defenders on the perimeter shooters, forcing Abrosimova to take an off-balance three-pointer that hit only the backboard.
Teasley scored 16 points, Dixon added 15 and Mabika 10 for the Sparks, who shot 47 percent from the field. Leslie grabbed 11 rebounds.
Flyers trade Cechmanek to Kings
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 29 (UPI) -- The Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday traded goaltender Roman Cechmanek to Los Angeles for a second-round pick in the 2004 draft.
Cechmanek had a 1.83 goals-against average this past season, ranking second to Dallas' Marty Turco, but has been criticized for his unorthodox style. He was often caught out of position in the final two playoff losses to Ottawa in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
A native of the Czech Republic, Cechmanek went 33-15-10 with six shutouts in 58 regular season games. He helped the Flyers eliminate Toronto in the conference quarterfinals and posted a pair of shutouts in the semifinal series against Ottawa but allowed nine goals over the last two games.
Cechmanek's inconsistency in the playoffs did not bother the Kings, who are in need of a goaltender with Felix Potvin eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
