Krajicek Defeats Chang

Richard Krajicek sent a signal to the challengers for his Wimbledon title, defeating Michael Chang 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4 in a Heineken Trophy semifinal at Rosmalen, Netherlands.

The third-seeded Krajicek has a surprise opponent in today’s final. Guillaume Raoux, a qualifier who is ranked 105th, upset No. 4 seed Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 6-0, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

The final of the coinciding WTA tourney between third-seeded Ruxandra Dragomir of Romania and unseeded Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands was abandoned for the day because of rain.

Ten years after winning the title, Pat Cash qualified for the first round of this year’s Wimbledon by beating Israel’s Oren Motevassel 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon, England.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Steve Bryan of the United States will replace Andre Agassi in the draw.

Jana Novotna and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario will meet today in the rain-delayed final of the Eastbourne women’s grass-court championship in Eastbourne, England, as the tournament spilled into an extra day.

Sanchez Vicario, seeded No. 4, first beat sixth-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania 6-4, 6-4, then defeated Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 7-5, 6-1.

The second-seeded Novotna struggled to complete a 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4 win over Ai Sugiyama. Novotna then beat Natasha Zvereva 6-7 (9-7), 6-0, 7-5.

In the biggest upset, top seed and defending champion Monica Seles was beaten 7-5, 7-5 by Schultz-McCarthy in the quarterfinals.

Greg Rusedski won his first title when he beat Karol Kucera 6-4, 7-5 in the Nottingham Open in Nottingham, England. Rusedski, Canadian-born but now a British citizen, took just 63 minutes to wind up the match.