Doors to Hall Swing Open for Navratilova

Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 career Grand Slam tournaments and a record 233 tournament titles, took her place Saturday in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Navratilova was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Newport, R.I., along with Australian Mal Anderson, a former U.S. singles champion and Davis Cup star in the 1950s, and Californian Robert Kelleher, a former non-playing U.S. Davis Cup captain and an administrator who played a key role in the advent of the open tennis era.

Navratilova, whose athleticism, fitness and dedication to aggressive serve-and-volley tactics set her apart on the women’s tour, said the thing about her career that made her most proud was summed up in the word “commitment.”

Dr. Renee Richards, who once helped coach Navratilova, presented Navratilova for induction, calling her “a true freedom fighter.”

In the Hall of Fame tournament played in conjunction with the induction ceremony, Peter Wessels of the Netherlands beat Australia’s Wayne Arthurs, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-4, to advance to the final. Wessels will face Germany’s Jens Knippschild, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg.

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Top-seeded Magnus Norman overcame a second-set scare to beat Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic, 6-2, 7-5, setting up an all-Swedish final against Andreas Vinciguerra in the Swedish Open at Bastad. Vinciguerra reached his second consecutive Swedish Open final by beating Austrian qualifier Markus Hipfl, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), in a semifinal that lasted nearly three hours. . . . Incessant rain continued to plague the Swiss Open, forcing organizers to move the final to Monday. Only two quarterfinals were completed.

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Brothers Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti of Ecuador teamed to defeat Britain’s Tim Henman and Arvind Parmar and give the South Americans a 2-1 lead in a Davis Cup World Group qualifier at Wimbledon, England. The Ecuadorans, facing Britain without the injured Greg Rusedski, won, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, and took a giant step toward reaching next season’s 16-team World Group. Rusedski withdrew because of a foot injury. . . . In other Davis Cup World Group qualifiers, the Netherlands defeated Uzbekistan, 3-0, and Romania took a 2-1 lead over Zimbabwe.

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The 22nd Tracy Austin doubles tennis tournament, featuring amateur teams of all ages, will be held Friday through Sunday at the Rolling Hills Estates Tennis Club at Ernie Howlett Park and the Jack Kramer Club. Top finishers in the open division split a $2,000 pot. Proceeds from the $30 entry fees will benefit the Pepper Tree Foundation, which maintains and develops parks and trails in Rolling Hills Estates. Details: (310) 541-4585 or (310) 377-1577.

Pro Basketball

Donnie Walsh, president of the Indiana Pacers, denied coaching candidate Isiah Thomas is using money from a contract with the Pacers to pay off a $750,000 debt to former owners of the Continental Basketball Assn. Thomas, with backing from investors, purchased the CBA last year for $10 million. He must sell it before taking an NBA job.

Names in the News

Cristina Teuscher of New Rochelle, N.Y., who won four NCAA swimming titles while at Cornell, set two meet records at the USA Swimming Challenge Long Island Open at East Meadow, N.Y. Teuscher, 20, won the 200-meter freestyle in 2 minutes .73 seconds and the 400 individual medley in 4:44.85 to qualify in both events for the Olympic trials in Indianapolis on Aug. 9-16. . . . Alice Lord-Landon, 98, a pioneer in women’s swimming and a one-time world-record holder in the 400-meter freestyle, died at her daughter’s home in Ormond Beach, Fla. In 1984 she led U.S. athletes in the opening procession at the Los Angeles Olympics in a reproduction of her 1920 uniform. . . . New Mexico State gave basketball Coach Lou Henson a contract extension through the 2003-04 season. . . . Rutgers point guard Tasha Pointer, a three-year starter, was hit in the eye with a pellet from a BB gun shot by a 16-year-old boy in Chicago, leaving a pellet lodged in her left eyelid. The injury will require surgery, but doctors say the long-term prognosis is good. . . . The NHL expansion Minnesota Wild has signed first-ever draft pick Marian Gaborik, 18, of Slovakia. . . . Robert Smith beat Norm Duke, 202-201, to win the U.S. Open bowling title at Phoenix.

Miscellany

A near-mint condition card depicting Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner, issued in 1909 by the American Tobacco Co., fetched a winning bid of $1.1 million on the eBay online auction house.

The winning bidder, whose identity was not released, will pay $1.265 million, which includes a 15% buyer’s premium.

Tom Curtis notched a 58th-minute try and Samoa’s rugged defense made it stand in a tense final quarter at San Francisco to give the visitors a 19-12 win over the United States and rugby’s Pacific Rim Championship.