Wimbledon Titlist Novotna a Winner in Her Homeland

Top-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic defeated France’s Sandrine Testud, 6-3, 6-0, Sunday to win the Czech Open clay-court tournament at Prague.

In the first set, Novotna, the Wimbledon champion and No. 2 player in the world, broke Testud’s serve in the first game, lost her own in the second, then broke Testud’s serve in the seventh and ninth games.

Testud is ranked 13th.

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Alex Corretja defeated Boris Becker, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-3, in the final of the Swiss Open at Gstaad, denying the German a landmark 50th singles title and first on clay.

Corretja, a French Open finalist this year, earned his sixth title, his second this season.

Becker has not won a tournament since taking the Grand Slam Cup in 1996.

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Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden became the first player to win the Swedish Open four times, defeating Andrei Medvedev, 6-2, 6-3, at Bastad.

Gustafsson, who also won the clay-court tournament in 1991, 1992 and 1996.

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Leander Paes of India defeated Neville Godwin of South Africa, 6-3, 6-2, to win his first tournament title, the Miller Lite Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I.

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Gene Malin of Woodland Hills used his home-state advantage again, defeating Ross Boling of Whitelake, Mich., 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to win the USTA National 45 Hardcourt Championship at Westlake Tennis & Swim Club.

The fourth-seeded Malin, 49, won his fourth 45 singles title in the last six years with the victory over 13th-seeded Boling.

In doubles, brothers Dan and Dave Bohannon won their second consecutive title with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Boling and Dave Austin of Camarillo. Dan Bohannon is from Orange and Dave lives in Garden Grove.

Hockey

Free agent forward Steve Thomas, 34, has come to terms with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he originally signed with in 1984.

The Pittsburgh Penguins appear resigned to losing captain Ron Francis to a four-year, $20.8 million offer from the Carolina Hurricanes, the team he played for when they were the Hartford Whalers.

The Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are bidding for Francis, 35, the ninth-leading scorer in NHL history with 1,434 points. The Penguins, who have lost an estimated $37.5 million the past two seasons, aren’t bidding.

Miscellany

Belgium’s Tom Steels, disqualified from last year’s race for throwing a water bottle at a racer, overcame stiff winds and a crash involving a half-dozen riders to win the first stage of the Tour de France at Dublin, Ireland.

Steels survived the concluding circuit of Dublin’s vast Phoenix Park to win the 112-mile stage in 4 hours 29 minutes 58 seconds.

Great Britain’s Chris Boardman retained the leader’s yellow jersey for a second day, finishing 39th.

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz says he’s “mystified” by remarks current coach Bob Davie made questioning Holtz’s mental stability during the 1996 season.

During testimony in a $1-million age-discrimination lawsuit former assistant Joe Moore has filed against Notre Dame, Davie said he speculated to another assistant that Holtz was having mental problems.

“Bob never said anything but positive comments to me personally and frequently came into my office and complimented me on the way I handled various situations,” Holtz said. “Never once has he uttered a complaint or concern to me personally.”

ABC will televise the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4, 1999, the designated national title game of the Bowl Championship Series.

ABC also televises the other three games in the series--the Rose and Sugar bowls on Jan. 1, and the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2. The network’s package also includes the Aug. 30 Pigskin Classic, which matches Purdue at USC, and the Aug. 31 Kickoff Classic between Florida State and Texas A&M; at Giants Stadium.

USC’s Nov. 28 game at home against Notre Dame also will be nationally televised.

Defending champion Germany won three races on the Rotsee lake to capture the Lucerne regatta at Switzerland and the overall World Cup in men’s rowing.

The U.S. women’s eight, which included Amy Fuller of Westlake Village and Sally Scovel of Orange, won the silver medal.

The U.S. defeated South Africa, 143-31, in the men’s World Youth Basketball Games at Moscow. Casey Jacobsen, from Glendora, scored 26 points.

The U.S. women’s team also dominated its competition, defeating France, 126-29.

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* Randy Harvey is on vacation.