BRIEFLY : WHEN IN ROME, WILLIAMSES WIN.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The Williams sisters breezed into the Italian Open quarterfinals in Rome with impressive victories Thursday.

Venus Williams, the third seed, needed just 57 minutes to eliminate Anna Kournikova of Russia 6-2, 6-2; No. 6 Serena Williams breezed by No. 13 Irina Spirlea of Romania 6-2, 6-3.

Serena's victory set up a clash with No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland. The defending champion advanced by routing unseeded American Corina Morariu 6-1, 6-4 at night.

Sebastien Grosjean, 20, a Frenchman living in Boca Raton, Fla., reached his fourth semifinal in his past six tournaments with a 6-2, 6-1 victory in Delray Beach, Fla., over Cecil Mamiit, the 1996 NCAA singles champion from Eagle Rock and USC.

In Hamburg, Germany, Carlos Moya, seeking to recapture the No. 1 ranking, advanced to the quarterfinals of the German Open by beating Adrian Voinea 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). With top-seeded Richard Krajicek eliminated in the second round, Moya remains the only contender with a chance to dislodge Yevgeny Kafelnikov from the No. 1 spot.

Ticket sales for the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach, Aug. 9-15, go on sale Saturday. Individual reserved seats can be ordered through TicketMaster.

GOLF: Gusty winds that raked English Turn in New Orleans all week were mild. So was the course at the Compaq Classic, where five players shot 65s, four more were at 66 and another nine shot 67s. Russ Cochran's 7-under-par 65 shared the lead with Frank Lickliter, Chris Perry, Doug Martin and Blain McCallister.

Welsh journeyman Stephen Dodd shot a 6-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead in the French Open in Bordeaux.

Fresh off two straight victories, Rachel Hetherington showed no sign of letting up in the Titleholders Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., with a 5-under 67 that left her in a familiar spot - atop the leaderboard, tied with Patti Rizzo and Tina Barrett after the first round.

HOCKEY: Kings right wing Glen Murray underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue from his left shoulder.

BASKETBALL: Michigan State point guard Mateen Cleaves will stay in school next season and not declare himself eligible for the NBA draft as an underclassman. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound All-American made his announcement at a news conference in East Lansing, Mich.

HORSE RACING: NBC has extended its contract to broadcast the Breeders' Cup championship through 2001, the Breeders' Cup said. The network's five-year deal to broadcast the championship races was to have expired after this year's Breeders' Cup on Nov. 6 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla.

DIVING: Mark Ruiz, coming off the first four- gold-medal performance in national competition, qualified fourth for the men's 3-meter finals in the USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ruiz was the highest-finishing American diver, qualifying behind China's Xiong Ni, Russia's Dimitry Sautin and Mexico's Fernando Platas.

FOOTBALL: Former Chicago Bears tailback Walter Payton, who is suffering from a rare liver disease and needs a transplant, taped a public service announcement promoting organ donation. The ad will run during CBS's ``Touched By an Angel'' on May 16, said a spokeswoman for CBS.

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue urged Boston-area business leaders to purchase high-end seats and suites in order to help the New England Patriots build a new stadium. Tagliabue said a partnership between the NFL, state government and private investors is needed to make the stadium work. He cited stadium ventures in Buffalo, Detroit and Seattle as successful examples.

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PHOTO SERENA WILLIAMS

The younger of the fast-rising sisters will play No. 1 Martina Hingis in the Italian Open quarterfinals.