Tennis -- Racism Charges Follow On-Court Flare-Up -- Garrison- Jackson, Shriver Lob Insults

BIRMINGHAM, England - An on-court flare-up between Pam Shriver and Zina Garrison-Jackson, which was followed by charges of racism, overshadowed their quarterfinal match at the Edgbaston tournament yesterday which Garrison-Jackson won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

During the match, played on an indoor court because rain made grass-court tennis unplayable, Shriver fired the ball at Garrison-Jackson and swore at her opponent's fans.

In the other quarterfinal matches in the DFS Classic, fifth-seeded Lori McNeil ousted third-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France 6-4, 6-3; 17-year-old Chanda Rubin won 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Italy's Laura Golarsa and Larisa Neiland ended Australian qualifier Kristine Radford's run with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

After her match, Garrison-Jackson still was fuming over her run-in with Shriver.

"She acted like a b - - - -. I couldn't believe that she didn't get a warning," Garrison-Jackson said.

The 29-year-old from Houston said that she was sure Shriver was "a good person at heart."

"But I heard some of the things she was saying about me, like calling me stupid," she said. "I would never say things like that about her."

Garrison, who is African-American, said she considered some of Shriver's actions and comments to be racist.

Shriver, who is white, denied that allegation.

"There are a lot of things about me, but I don't have a racist bone in my body. That hurts a little bit," Shriver said.

The 30-year-old from Baltimore said that she would apologize to Garrison-Jackson for her behavior on what she described as "not a good day."

FERREIRA, STICH IN FINAL

LONDON - Defending champion Wayne Ferreira outgunned Todd Martin 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Queen's Club grass court tournament yesterday to set up a showdown with his doubles partner, Michael Stich.

Ferreira had problems handling Martin's consistent serve until midway through the match. He also was overpowered in the first-set tiebreaker as the American moved to a 5-1 lead.

Stich saved four match points before beating Australian Jamie Morgan 5-7, 6-4, 8-6. Stich struggled for 2 hours and 8 minutes to beat the 83rd-ranked Morgan, an upset winner over Stefan Edberg on Friday in another three-set battle.

Other tournaments

Eighth-seeded Arnaud Boetsch of France reached the final of the Continental Grass Court Championships in Rosemalen, Netherlands, by upsetting No. 4 seed Alexander Volkov of Russia 6-3, 6-3. Volkov several times hurled his racket to the turf in frustration at his own unforced errors.

The other semifinal was suspended because of rain, with Australian Wally Masur leading third-seeded MaliVai Washington 7-5, 3-3. The match will be completed today, and the final will follow later in the day.

-- Top-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria and Jordi Burillo of Spain won semifinal matches in Italy's City of Florence ATP. Muster beat Alex Corretja 6-4, 6-3 and Burillo ousted Ronald Agenor 6-4, 6-4.