Monday, Aug. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Pete Sampras heads to next week's U.S. Open with new confidence.
The world's top-ranked player handled the blazing serves of Goran Ivanisevic on Sunday to win the RCA Championships for a record third time, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5. It was his first tournament triumph since April.
"Whenever you win, it brings you a lot of confidence, and that is one thing I was looking for here and going into Flushing, I feel fit and ready to go," said Sampras, who is 25-4 in the Indianapolis tournament.
The finalists are taking a different route to the Open, the year's final Grand Slam event, which begins Aug. 26.
"I'll take the next day or two off and get up to Flushing on Tuesday or Wednesday and get into a good groove," Sampras said. "Get used to the courts and there is definitely some room to get better."
Ivanisevic, still seeking his first tournament triumph ever in the United States, will play the du Maurier Open in Toronto this week.
The victory, in a match that began two hours late because of rain, was Sampras's first in three matches with Ivanisevic on hardcourts, giving him an 8-6 overall edge in head-to-head competition.
In other tennis tournaments:
* Alex O'Brien's perserverance paid off at the Pilot Pen International in New Haven, Conn. O'Brien, who had never advanced to a final in his pro career, took full advantage of his wild-card entry into the Pilot Pen field. He beat 10th-seeded Jan Siemerink 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 Sunday for the title, becoming a first-time champion. At No. 169, he is the ATP Tour's lowest-ranked winner of the year.
* Lindsay Davenport positioned herself a serious contender for the U.S. Open title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory Sunday over Anke Huber in the Acura Classic at Manhattan Beach, Calif. She's been on a roll since winning the Olympic gold medal two weeks ago. Her ranking was projected to rise three spots to No. 7 today. Her highest-ever ranking was sixth two years ago.
Calf roper killed
Professional calf roper Shawn McMullan was killed when the pickup truck he was riding in was struck by a station wagon traveling the wrong way on Interstate 84 in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. McMullan, 26, of Iraan, Texas, died in the 3 a.m. accident that closed eastbound lanes of the freeway for about 5 hours. The lone occupant in the station wagon, Dawn Marie Ryba, 28, of White Salmon, Wash., also was killed. McMullan was one of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's most successful calf ropers over the last four years. He finished third in the world standing the past three seasons and had career earnings of $511,451.
Zorich out for season
Chicago Bears defensive tackle Chris Zorich will miss the entire 1996 season because of a knee injury. The team said Zorich, a starting lineman popular with the local fans because of his Chicago-area roots and his work with the poor, suffered a torn ligament in his left knee in the first quarter of Saturday's 31-21 exhibition loss at New Orleans. It was thought to be a mild sprain, but an MRI revealed the tear. The former Notre Dame lineman has played in 76 consecutive regular-season games since 1991, when he was picked in the second round of the 1991 draft. He has been a starter the past three seasons.
Churchill Downs accident
Two horses working out at Churchill Downs collided in a bizarre accident that killed both animals. Rare Reason and Miss Carson were working out on the track when Miss Carson's bridle broke near the finish line. No people were injured in the collision Saturday morning near Louisville, Ky. The 4-year-old filly threw exercise rider Mark Fuchs and headed up the stretch, where Rare Reason was coming toward her in a workout. The two horses collided head-on near the three-eighths pole. Track superintendent Butch Lehr said head-on collisions between horses are rare. He said he remembered only one other in more than 20 years working at Churchill.
Tapia dominates
Johnny Tapia's life outside the ring is still a bit shaky. Inside the ropes, the WBO junior bantamweight champ is solid as ever. Tapia, troubled by cocaine use in the past and currently on probation for assaulting his wife last year, made his seventh title defense Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M., by pounding out a unanimous decision over Argentina's Hugo Soto. Tapia (37-0-2) dominated the 12-round title bout, landing an assortment of left jabs, hooks and combinations to the head and body of Soto (44-4-2). The win was Tapia's fourth this year -- three of them title defenses. He knocked out Giovanni Andrade in the second round in Inglewood, Calif., in February; scored a non-title knockout of Ramon Gonzales in San Antonio, Texas, in April and stopped Ivan Alvarez in eight rounds in Las Vegas in June. Tapia won the WBO title in October 1994 when he scored a TKO win in Albuquerque over Henry Martienz.
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