IN BRIEF

TENNIS

Agassi wins in return to competitive action

Andre Agassi won his first competitive match in three years, beating Mikael Pernfors 6-2, 7-5 on Friday night in the Cancer Treatment Centers of America event on the 30-and-older Outback Champions Series in Surprise, Ariz.

"This was a blast for me," Agassi said. "It's just great being around the guys and having their support. It's a lot of fun."

One of six men to win all four major singles titles, Agassi played his first competitive match since retiring after a third-round loss in the 2006 U.S. Open.

"I was pretty nervous, surprisingly," Agassi said. "I didn't know how I was going to play. But I just stayed inside myself and got more comfortable out there. I pressed for a few shots when I could and took advantage."

The 39-year-old star has no plans to play the Champions Series full time.

"Comeback? No," Agassi said. "This is called a lot of love for Jim Courier. He asked me if I would do this months ago, and I would pretty much do anything for the guy. I said, 'Yeah,' and as a result I started to hit some more balls and get in shape, which is nice. It was great to be back, great to be out there in front of the people, and connecting with them, hitting the ball around with some old friends.

"I could never commit to it fully, because I haven't had the time. And I don't want to come out and mess around. You want to do it decent. You want to have a little pride. You want people to enjoy it."

Agassi will face Wayne Feirrera in today's semifinals.

Aaron Krickstein will play Todd Martin in the other semifinal. Martin beat Jimmy Arias, 6-1, 6-4.

Also: Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing by defeating Marat Safin, 6-3, 6-1.

Nadal outplayed the former top-ranked Russian from the start and remains on track to meet Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final. Djokovic defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

Nadal will face Croatian Marin Cilic, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Djokovic will meet Sweden's Robin Soderling, who defeated Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the other semifinal.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France overpowered qualifier Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to today's semifinals of the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Tsonga's semifinal opponent will be French compatriot Gael Monfils, who downed Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Eighth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia eased into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-0 win over France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin. He will face Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in today's other semifinal after Youzhny knocked out defending champion Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 7-6 (6).

GOLF

Garcia, Drysdale share Madrid Masters lead

Sergio Garcia shot a 5-under-par 67 and David Drysdale had a 65 to share a one-shot lead after the second round of the Madrid Masters.

Garcia and Drysdale were at 13-under 131 at the Centro Nacional de Golf course.

The Spaniard birdied four of his first six holes after the turn, and the Scot hit an eagle on his final hole.

Italy's Emmanuele Canonica (65), England's Ross McGowan (66) and Ireland's Gary Murphy (65) were at 132.

Also: Nathan Smith claimed his second U.S. Mid-Amateur title, defeating Tim Spitz 7 and 6 in the event's 36-hole final in Kiawah, S.C.

Smith took an 8-up lead after the first 18 holes on Friday morning, and the 2003 champion went on to win by the third-largest margin in Mid-Amateur history.

The Las Vegas City Amateur, a 36-hole tournament, begins today at Las Vegas Golf Club. The Southern Nevada Golf Association event concludes Sunday.

Matt Edwards won last year's scratch division, and Eric Conway is the defending net division champion.

HOCKEY

Fleury autobiography: 'I was sexually abused'

Former NHL star Theo Fleury says he was sexually abused by a junior hockey coach.

Fleury's account is detailed in an autobiography titled "Playing With Fire." The book is to be released next week. Excerpts appeared online.

The former Calgary Flames forward accuses Graham James of abuse. James was jailed in 1997 after admitting to sexually abusing two players on his junior hockey team -- one being ex-NHL player Sheldon Kennedy.

Fleury's NHL career was derailed by drugs and alcohol. He tried to come back at age 41 with the Flames in training camp this fall but was cut.

Also: The St. Louis Blues said a three-story escalator at the Scottrade Center will remain shut down during an investigation into why it malfunctioned, injuring 13 people, following the team's home opener.

The escalator was crowded with game spectators when it broke down Thursday. "From what I could tell from looking at it, it looked like the bottom four steps collapsed," said Capt. Bob Keuss of the St. Louis Fire Department.

Four adults and a child were taken to hospitals. Keuss described the injuries as not serious, from twisted ankles to sore backs and necks.

Ontario goalie Mike Zacharias stopped all five Wranglers shots in the shootout, and Chad Starling scored on the Reign's fifth try to post a 4-3 ECHL preseason victory in Ontario, Calif.

The Wranglers open the regular season at home Friday against the Utah Grizzlies.

MISCELLANEOUS

Brits return to defend Ironman triathlete titles

Craig Alexander of Australia and Chrissie Wellington of Britain are back to defend their titles against a deep field at today's Ironman World Championship in Kailuna-Kona, Hawaii.

Wellington will be going for her third straight win when 1,800 professional and amateur triathletes start the 140.6-mile endurance test on the Big Island. Alexander is vying for a second straight crown.

Today's race begins with a 2.4-mile ocean swim in Kailua Bay, followed by a 112-mile bike leg through sun-baked lava fields north along the Kohala Coast, and finishes with a 26.2-mile run to the finish line in Kailua Village.

Also: Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao took a break from training camp in the Philippines last weekend to distribute food and supplies to hundreds of people who have been affected by the country's worst flooding in 40 years.

Promoter Bob Arum said that the back-to-back storms, which have triggered dozens of landslides and killed nearly 500 people, for the most part didn't affect the pound-for-pound king as he trains in Baguio for his highly anticipated fight against Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden on Nov. 14.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is hinting this could be his last season in the NBA.

Ilgauskas, 34, is entering his 12th season -- all with the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is also the final year of his contract.

Ilgauskas said the grind of long seasons, road trips and playing on consecutive nights wear him down.

Sacramento Kings swingman Francisco Garcia will have surgery today after breaking his right forearm while lifting weights.

The fifth-year player averaged 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 65 games for Sacramento last season.

NASCAR is reducing the size of the restrictor plates used by Sprint Cup cars at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in hopes of making it safer for drivers.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said the move will reduce horsepower and take a little bit of top-end speed off the cars.