Villeneuve’s Victory the Pits for Gugelmin

Jacques Villeneuve passed Mauricio Gugelmin in the pits during their final stops Sunday and held on to win the season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami.

It was the second Indy-car victory for the 23-year-old Canadian, who was the PPG Cup rookie of the year in 1994.

Gugelmin, a former Formula One driver in his second season in the Indy-car series, was leading Villeneuve by about one second when rookie Andre Ribeiro, a fellow Brazilian, hit a tire wall and brought a caution period in the 90-lap, 164.61-mile race.

The leaders took advantage of the yellow flag to make their final fuel and tire stops and Villeneuve’s Team Green Reynard-Ford shot out of the pits in front.

Villeneuve beat Gugelmin to the finish line by 1.022 seconds, with three-time PPG Cup champion Bobby Rahal a close third.

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Terry Labonte, continuing to enjoy the best stretch of his 18-year Winston Cup career, held off Dale Earnhardt over the closing laps to win the Pontiac Excitement 400 in Richmond, Va. Labonte led the final 87 laps and finished about 12 car-lengths ahead of Earnhardt for his second consecutive victory on Richmond International Raceway’s 0.75-mile trioval.

It was the 14th career victory for Labonte and his third in the last 11 events.

Tennis

Jim Courier capitalized on a strong serve to defeat Australian qualifier Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, and win the MassMutual Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., for his second title this year.

South Africa’s Joannette Kruger notched her first tournament victory when she defeated eighth-seeded Kyoko Nagatsuka of Japan, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, in the Puerto Rico Open final in San Juan. . . . Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, ranked 10th in the world, overpowered countryman Paul Haarhuis, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to win the indoor ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. . . . Thomas Muster of Austria won the Mexican Open for the third year in a row, defeating unseeded Fernando Meligini of Brazil, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.

Miscellany

Don Zimmer, 64, coach of the Colorado Rockies, was resting comfortably Sunday in the intensive-care unit of St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson after experiencing a temporary loss of blood flow to the brain.

Denver Bronco owner Pat Bowlen, who crashed into a tree while skiing Saturday, remained hospitalized with a bruised breastbone.

Bill Cotter of Nenana, Alaska, was the early leader in the 1,161-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Heavyweight Tommy Morrison (43-2-1, 37 KOs) knocked out 7-foot Marselles Brown (14-6) in the third round at Muskogee, Okla.

While boxer Gerald McClellan remains critical but stable a week after being knocked out in a world title fight, medical experts would like to see ringside doctors halting fights before the referees do.

Britain’s professors of sports medicine have launched their own investigation into the dangers of boxing.

Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva of Brazil won the $100,000 Women’s Professional Beach Volleyball World Championship in Rio de Janeiro. Karolyn Kirby and Deb Richardson of the United States placed third.