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Lendl and Rose Inducted Into Tennis Hall of Fame

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From Staff and Wire Reports

Ivan Lendl, who grew up in Czechoslovakia, recalled the long hours of practice and pushing from his mother, who also played professional tennis, and coaches during his induction Saturday into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, R.I.

“Tennis is a very unique sport,” Lendl said. “It’s called an individual sport, but I don’t believe that. Without many people along the way, you can’t get to where you want.”

Mervyn Rose, an Australian star from the 1950s who has devoted much of his post-playing career to coaching his country’s Davis Cup team, also was enshrined.

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Lendl’s reign as one of the dominant players of his time--he was ranked No. 1 for 157 consecutive weeks during the 1980s--came from a relentless work ethic etched in a scowl mistaken by some for emotionless, machine-like efficiency.

“In his preparation, match play and concentration, Ivan Lendl is the ultimate match player and professional,” said tennis great Tony Trabert, who introduced Lendl.

Lendl, 41, became a U.S. citizen in 1992 and lives in Goshen, Conn. He reached eight consecutive U.S. Open finals, winning in 1985, ’86 and ’87. He won the French Open three times, the Australian Open twice and 86 other singles titles, as well as six doubles titles. He reached the final at Wimbledon in 1986 and 1987 but never won it. He was 10-0 in Davis Cup matches and led Czechoslovakia to its only title in 1980.

Rose, 71, won the Australian Open in 1954 and the French and Italian titles in 1958. He helped his country bring home the Davis Cup in 1951, 1952 and 1957.

In the semifinal matches after the inductions, South African Neville Godwin survived a match point to beat Denmark’s Kenneth Carlsen, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), and Britain’s Martin Lee beat American James Blake, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5).

Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic defeated defending champion Alex Corretja of Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the final of the Gstaad Open in Switzerland.

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Novak, twice the doubles champion at Gstaad and a doubles finalist at Wimbledon last week, will play Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in today’s title match.

Ferrero, seeded second, defeated third-seeded Sebastien Grosjean of France, 6-4, 6-4. Ferrero will be going for his fifth title of the season.

Eighth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated Jelena Kostanic of Croatia, 6-4, 6-7 (5) 6-4, in a three-hour match on clay to reach the final of the WTA Uniqa Grand Prix at Vienna.

Schnyder will play Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan. Tulyaganova, who eliminated top-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia in the second round, ousted fifth-seeded Paola Suarez of Argentina, 6-0, 7-5, in the other semifinal.

Boxing

In a bout that seemed to feature as much clutching as punching, Hector Camacho used a steady mix of right jabs to set up his left hook in a unanimous 12-round decision over 50-year-old Roberto Duran at Denver.

Camacho, 39, received winning scores of 114-112, 118-108 and 118-108 to improve to 75-4. He captured the fringe National Boxing Assn. title Duran carried into the ring.

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The fight, billed as “When Legends Collide,” more than likely is the last for Duran. He has fought at least once every year except 1985, and his 104-16 record spans five decades.

Hockey

Defenseman Bryan McCabe re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after a season in which he had career highs in points and assists in his first season with the team.

McCabe, a restricted free agent, played in all of the Maple Leafs’ 82 regular-season games, the fourth time he has done so in his six-year NHL career.

McCabe also played in all of Toronto’s 11 playoff games and was the club’s leading scorer among defensemen with two goals and three assists.

He was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 2 and established career highs with 29 points and 24 assists.

Restricted free-agent defenseman Hans Jonsson signed a two-year, $1.65-million contract and right wing Eric Meloche signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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Jonsson was the team’s top-scoring defenseman with four goals and 18 assists in 58 regular-season games last season.

Jonsson, who has played the last two seasons with the Penguins after eight years in a Swedish league, will make $800,000 next season and $850,000 in the 2002-03 season.

Meloche, son of Penguin goaltender coach Gilles Meloche, had 20 goals and 20 assists in his first season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The Edmonton Oilers signed Finnish forward Jani Rita, their first pick in the 1999 draft, to a multiyear contract.

Miscellany

Lennart Johansson has undergone treatment for prostate cancer but insists he will not step down from his job as leader of soccer’s European governing body.

The 71-year-old Swede, who has been the UEFA president since 1990, said in a statement late Friday that he was even considering standing for another four-year term.

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The United States won the World Cup in women’s lacrosse for the fifth time, defeating Australia, 14-8, at High Wycombe, England.

It was the third time in six World Cups that the Americans defeated the Aussies in the final.

England defeated Canada, 9-4, for third place.

Quinn Carney scored three times in her first World Cup final to lead the U.S. and Sarah Nelson, Michele Uhlfelder and Danielle Gallagher each scored twice.

Five-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson dashed through the 200-meter leg of the 800-meter relay to help the United States to an easy victory over Poland in a track meet at Gdansk, Poland.

The team of Marcus Brunson, Derrick Brew, Jerome Davis and Johnson clocked 1 minute 20.98 seconds, 2.30 seconds slower than the world record.

South Carolina linebacker Jeremiah Garrison has been suspended from the team after he was arrested July 2 in Columbia, S.C., for shoplifting.

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Garrison tried to steal a $75 shirt from a store in Columbia Mall, according to a police report. He was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting and released on $2,500 bond, spokesman Kerry Tharp said.

Chicago Bear kicker Paul Edinger was charged with drunken driving after crashing into mail boxes in a residential community in Punta Gorda, Fla.

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T.J. Simers is on vacation.

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