BRIEFLY : PANTHERS WANT COLTS' TOP PICK.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Carolina Panthers officials met with Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning for an hour Saturday night at the NFL combine and acknowledged afterward that they're interested in moving up in the draft to pick him.

Team president Mark Richardson said the Panthers had told the Indianapolis Colts they were interested in trading for the first pick in the April draft, which the Colts have. The trade would involve sending the Colts quarterback Kerry Collins plus other players or draft choices, probably including the Panthers' first-round pick this year, No. 14 overall.

``We have talked philosophically about whether they would do it,'' Richardson said. ``There have been no active discussions about what would take place. But they're aware if they decide to trade the pick, we would have an interest in talking about it.''

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' four-week search for a head coach continued when he interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.

Gailey and Jones met for nearly three hours Sunday morning and were scheduled to meet again in the evening.

Jones said Gailey's name continued to surface as he talked with NFL coaches, general managers and owners about offensive and defensive coordinators ready to become head coaches.

TENNIS: Martina Hingis is unbeatable to most women tennis players. Not to Lindsay Davenport.

Davenport, ranked second in the world to Hingis, sent the 17-year-old Swiss star to a rare defeat, beating her 6-3, 6-3, in the Toray Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo. Davenport has beaten Hingis in four of their nine matches.

``She would put so much pressure on my second serve,'' Hingis said. ``And I was forced to double fault and take risks.''

Goran Ivanisevic, unbeaten in Croatia, won the Croatian Indoors title for the third straight year, beating Britain's Greg Rusedski 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5).

He was ecstatic in front of his hometown fans, throwing his racket and shirt into the near-sellout crowd of 6,000. The victory, Ivanisevic's 21st career title, was a rematch of last year's final in which he defeated Rusedski.

Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc., has become the title sponsor of the annual men's pro tournament at UCLA (scheduled for July 27-Aug. 2 this year). The event, which started as the Pacific Southwest, will become the Mercedes-Benz Cup.