Agassi, Sampras Team Up

After weeks of battling for the No. 1 ranking, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have joined a common cause.

The two Americans are on the U.S. Davis Cup team and the loser may be Italy, opponents in the quarterfinal tie.

Agassi, No. 2 in the computer rankings, meets Italy’s top player, Andrea Gaudenzi, No. 19, in the opening singles today at the Palermo Tennis Club.

Sampras is next up, playing Renzo Furlan, No. 67 in the world.

The man who stabbed Monica Seles during a tennis match two years ago and possibly ended her career was a “politically crazed fanatic” who hated Serbs, her lawyer told a Hamburg, Germany, court.

Seles was born in Serbia, once part of former Yugoslavia. She has since become an American citizen.

Assailant Guenther Parche’s defense lawyer asked for lenient treatment of a man of “limited intelligence.”

Sentencing is set for Monday.