Pavel Surprises Himself With Victory Over Rafter

Andrei Pavel of Romania upset two-time U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter of Australia, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3, Sunday to win the Tennis Masters Series-Canada at Montreal.

“This is the highest by far for me,” Pavel said. “I was late coming over from clay to hard courts. But I won the first match and then the second and my confidence went up. It was perfect. I couldn’t believe it.”

Pavel broke Rafter only once, for a 5-3 lead in the final set, and closed out the match with an ace to win the $400,000 first prize, the biggest payday of his 11-year career.

Rafter broke Pavel twice in the second set, ending the Romanian’s streak of 46 consecutive service games without a break.

When he aced Rafter on match point, Pavel fell to his knees and lay face-first on center court at du Maurier Stadium, while the capacity crowd applauded.

It was Rafter’s first tournament since losing to Goran Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon final.

“To beat Rafter in the final of a Masters Series. . . . I imagine how Goran felt at Wimbledon,” Pavel said. “This is a step back from that, but it’s still a huge tournament. It’s one of the biggest in the world.”

Adriana Gersi of the Czech Republic won her first WTA Tour title, defeating Swiss teenager Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian, 6-4, 6-1, in the PreCon Ladies Open at Basel, Switzerland. Gersi, like Mikaelian, was playing in her first WTA final.

Basketball

Magic Johnson’s 16th annual “A Midsummer Night’s Magic” event was played at Staples Center in front of a crowd of 15,047 Sunday night. Team A, coached by comedian Bernie Mack, beat Team B, coached by celebrity Steve Harvey, 152-149.

Johnson played about 20 minutes, finishing with four points and three assists.

Team A was led by a pair of Clippers. Quentin Richardson scored 26 points while Darius Miles had 22. Baron Davis of the Charlotte Hornets scored 17.

The game benefits the Magic Johnson Foundation’s Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program, which supports college-bound students.

Svetlana Abrosimova scored Minnesota’s final five points in overtime and finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Lynx defeated the Sacramento Monarchs, 79-76, before 7,391 at Minneapolis.

Sacramento (16-12) fell into fourth place in the Western Conference, one-half game behind the third-place Utah Starzz.

Shannon Johnson scored 18 of her 25 points in the second half as the Orlando Miracle (11-17) defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 78-69, in a WNBA game before 6,334 at Orlando. Trisha Fallon led Phoenix (11-16) with 17 points.

Sheri Sam and Elena Baranova each scored 15 points as the Miami Sol beat the Washington Mystics, 52-44, before 10,412 at Miami. Miami (17-11) moved within one game of the New York Liberty (18-10) in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference. Washington fell to 9-18.

Kendall Gill, a free-agent swingman who averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds for New Jersey last season, signed with the Miami Heat. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Duke teammates Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon led the United States to an 84-71 victory over Argentina in the under-21 World Basketball Championship at Saitama, Japan.

Soccer

Katia scored from 30 yards in the 53rd minute, leading the Bay Area CyberRays to a 1-0 victory over the New York Power (8-7-5) in a WUSA game before 9,143 at New York.

Tara Koleski became the first WUSA player to score in three consecutive games, leading the San Diego Spirit (7-7-5) to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers (7-10-3) before 7,125 at Boston.

Miscellany

South Carolina running back Derek Watson has been reinstated to the university and the football team and will be available for the Gamecocks’ opener Sept. 1 against Boise State, Coach Lou Holtz said.

Watson, who gained 1,066 yards and scored 12 touchdowns last season, was suspended from the team in May after he was charged with assault after a female student said he punched her in the arm.

Sarah Price of Britain broke an hour-old world record in the 200-meter backstroke at the Australian short-course swimming championships in Perth.

Price’s time of 2 minutes 4.44 seconds in the 25-meter pool bettered the mark of 2:05.83 set by Australia’s Clementine Stoney.

Stoney set the mark in the main final. Price improved it in the consolation final.