Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
By BOB GREENE
AP Sports Writer
STARS
- Michael Chang defeated surprising Bohdan Ulihrach 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to win his second consecutive Newsweek Champions Cup title at Indian Wells, Calif.
- Lindsay Davenport downed Romania's Irina Spirlea 6-2, 6-1 to capture the State Farm Evert Cup at Indian Wells, Calif.
- Thomas Johansson of Sweden won his first ATP Tour title, the Copenhagen Open, by beating Martin Damm of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
SPEAKING
"It was a wonderful week for me, the best week of my life." - Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, who reached the final of the Newsweek Champions Cup after shocking top-seeded Pete Sampras in the second round.
"She hits the ball so hard and so deep, you have no time to go back and you have no time to come in. She was always in the right position, like she knew where I was going to hit the ball." - Romania's Irina Spirlea on her one-sided loss to Lindsay Davenport in the State Farm Evert Cup final.
"Hopefully each time I play Thomas from here on out, I'll go out there with confidence, that's he's human and that I can beat him regardless of records and all that stuff." - Michael Chang after beating Austria's Thomas Muster in the semifinals of the Newsweek Champions Cup.
"It was to become No. 1 in the world in tennis, and I did that. It was very difficult, but with work, practice and positive thinking, I did it." - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario when asked by students at a La Quinta, Calif., school what was her main goal.
"I change them every night." - Austria's Thomas Muster when asked how he cares for his bad knees when playing a lot of matches on hardcourts.
STANDING IN THE WINGS
Sixteen-year-old Venus Williams showed at the State Farm Evert Cup that she is ready to begin making her mark on the Corel WTA Tour, despite playing a limited schedule. Venus reached the quarterfinals of a pro tournament for the first time where she barely lost to eventual winner Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-1).
STRICTLY AMERICAN
When Michael Chang successfully defended his Newsweek Champions Cup crown, it marked the seventh straight year an American has won the title. The last non-American to win the hardcourt tournament was Sweden's Stefan Edberg in 1990.
SWEEPING TITLES
Lindsay Davenport became the first player to sweep both the singles and doubles titles in the nine-year history of the State Farm Evert Cup. The last players to reach the finals in both were Martina Navratilova and Helena Sukova, Navratilova winning the singles, then losing to Sukova and partner Jana Novotna in the doubles.
STATISTIC SURPRISE
Pete Sampras may be ranked No. 1 in the world, but he trails Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman in number of match victories this year. With a 21-6 record, Bjorkman is second only to Goran Ivanisevic's 24-5 mark. Sampras is third at 17-1.
STICKING TOGETHER
Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Canada's Daniel Nestor won the Newsweek Champions Cup doubles title in Indian Wells, Calif.
Singles champion Lindsay Davenport teamed with Natasha Zvereva of Belarus to win the State Farm Evert Cup doubles in Indian Wells, Calif.
Russian Andrei Olhovskiy and New Zealander Brett Steven combined to win the Copenhagen Open doubles crown.
SENIOR EUROPEAN TOUR
The ATP Senior Tour of Champions will have tournaments in Prague, Czech Republic; Poertschach, Austria; Paris; Pesaro, Italy; Franfurt, Germany; and London.
SCHEDULE Tournaments this week
Corel WTA Tour
$1,750,000 The Lipton Championships, hardcourt, Key Biscayne, Fla.
ATP Tour
$2,450,000 The Lipton Championships, hardcourt, Key Biscayne, Fla.
$300,000 St. Petersburg Open, indoor carpet, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tournaments Week of March 24
Corel WTA Tour
$1,750,000 The Lipton Championships, hardcourt, Key Biscayne, Fla. (2nd week)
ATP Tour
$2,450,000 The Lipton Championships, hardcourt, Key Biscayne, Fla. (2nd week)
$203,000 Grand Prix Hassan II, clay, Casablanca, Morocco
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