BRIEFLY : SAMPRAS, RIOS AREN'T IN U.S. OPEN FORM.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras lost 6-3, 6-4 to qualifier Leander Paes, ranked 100th in the world, while U.S. Open defending champion Patrick Rafter was ousted by Frenchman Guillaume Raoux 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, removing the two highest seeds in the Pilot Pen International on Thursday in New Haven, Conn.

Also, Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic knocked out third-seeded Petr Korda 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Rafter beat Sampras in the Cincinnati tournament final Sunday, and four days later both men said they were ready for a break.

``I felt very flat. Playing three weeks in a row has taken its toll emotionally,'' said Sampras, who plans to return home to Orlando, Fla., to recharge for the U.S. Open.

Rafter, whose loss broke a career-high 11-match winning streak, including victories in his past two tournaments, said he also felt drained.

``You can lose to anyone, any given day,'' said Rafter, the tournament's No. 2 seed and the third-ranked player in the world.

The losses could have helpd Chile's Marcelo Rios hold onto his No. 1 world ranking, but he also lost Thursday in the RCA Championships to Byron Black in Indianapolis. Sampras will regain his No. 1 ATP ranking Monday.

Meanwhile, Andre Agassi battled Wayne Black of Zimbabwe for nearly two hours before advancing to the RCA quarterfinals with a 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-1 victory.

Steffi Graf, upset by Spain's Magui Serna 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the $1.3-million du Maurier Open in Montreal, also claims to have hit the wall in her game.

``I have no consistency in my game at all right now,'' said the dejected Graf, the former world No. 1. ``At the end, I was just trying to get the ball in the court. I had no feel at all.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Martina Hingis made a lot of errors, but beat Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Second-seeded Jana Novotna and fifth-seeded Monica Seles also reached the quarters.

OLYMPICS: Signaling a new resolve in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs, the IOC proposed to set up a special agency to coordinate drug-testing around the world.

The IOC executive board, meeting in emergency session to address the drug scandals which have tarnished the sports world this summer, called for the creation of an ``Olympic movement anti-doping agency.''

At present, the IOC is directly responsible for drug testing only during the Olympic Games. International sports federations supervise their own drug controls the rest of the time.

Two former East German doctors and a coach who confessed to giving performance-enhancing drugs to female swimmers from 1978 to '89, were convicted in Berlin of causing bodily harm, but all were spared prison time and given fines.

Five defendants had admitted giving anabolic steroids to unwitting athletes, some as young as 12 at the time, as part of East Germany's drive to create Olympic champions. But all denied knowingly damaging the health of the young athletes, saying they knew little about possible side effects of the pills.

The Berlin state court ruled, however, that simply administering anabolic steroids to the athletes was enough to warrant conviction, regardless of whether they suffered later side effects.

BASKETBALL: Former UCLA basketball stars Tyus Edney and center George Zidek, both of whom played in the NBA last year, will sign one-year contracts to play with the Zalgiris Basketball Club in Kaunas, Lithuania, in the Euro League. Edney played for Boston last season; Zidek played for Denver and Seattle. Another member of UCLA's '95 NCAA title team, Ed O'Bannon, recently signed with a club in Spain.

HORSE RACING: Halory Hunter, the Kentucky Derby contender owned by the Celtic Pride Stable of Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, is going to stud. The 3-year-old colt who broke his left front leg in his final workout before this year's Preakness will stand at Lane Ends Farm for $7,500 for a live foal starting next year.

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Photo

PHOTO Pete Sampras barely has enough energy to throw his racket during his straight-set loss to qualifier Leander Paes at the Pilot Pen International.

Bob Child/Associated Press