BRIEFLY : DAVENPORT TO FACE WILLIAMS IN FINAL.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Steffi Graf was undermined by unforced errors and an erratic backhand as she lost 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 to top-seeded Lindsay Davenport in Saturday's semifinals of the Bank of the West tournament at Stanford.

Davenport, ranked third in the world, had lost in the semifinals of this tournament five of the previous six years. She reached her first final in the event by using her consistent play to take advantage of Graf's mistakes.

``I think I've picked up my game a lot, I'm a little more consistent,'' Davenport said. ``People say she (Graf) has been out for a year and a half and she's not ranked that high anymore, but it's still a good win.''

Davenport will meet third-seeded Venus Williams, who defeated second-seeded Monica Seles 6-3, 6-4. Williams slammed 12 aces, including one on the first point of the match and another on the final point.

Graf was seeded fourth despite falling to No. 57 in the world since having reconstructive left knee surgery last year. The women's tour has given her a special co-ranking of No. 7 until the U.S. Open, allowing Graf to be seeded at this and two other tournaments.

``I haven't had a lot of matches or three setters in the past 1-1/2 years, so it's definitely something that makes me realize what I have to work on,'' said Graf, who was cramping in both legs in the third set.

Sixth-seeded Magnus Norman advanced to the final of the Croatia Open with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica in Umag, Croatia.

Czech Bohdan Ulihrach, who defeated defending champion Felix Mantilla in the quarterfinals, also reached the final.

SOCCER: Nine members of the U.S. team that went 0-3 at the World Cup are among 11 starters for the USA All-Stars, who will face the league's top world players today at Orlando, Fla., in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.

Although Florida has not been a particularly strong market for the MLS attendance-wise, with Tampa Bay and Miami ranking near the bottom of league averages, a crowd of more than 40,000 is expected.

Most of the 22 starters were picked from the Eastern Conference. One notable Western Conference player who was left off the U.S. team when reserves were announced was San Jose's Eric Wynalda, the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. national team.

From the Galaxy, Cobi Jones starts for the U.S. team and Mauricio Cienfuegos starts for the world team.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lisa Leslie had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Sparks to a 73-65 victory over the host Utah Starzz in WNBA play.

Los Angeles is 2-0 under Orlando Woolridge, the former NBA player who replaced Julie Rousseau as coach before the Sparks' home victory over Phoenix on Friday night.

SURFING: Tim Curran of Oxnard lost to Pat O'Connel of Laguna Niguel at the $150,000 Op Pro Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach.

Australia's Danny Wills, the points leader on the world surfing tour, moved on to the next round by beating Kaipo Jaquias of Hawaii.

BOWLING: Don Helling won the PBA Tour's Showboat Senior Invitational in Las Vegas, beating top-seeded Mike Durbin 248-201 in the championship game. Helling earned $22,000 for his second senior title.

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