Novak Waits for His Win

Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic won the $600,000 Gstaad Open, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-5, Sunday in a final shortened to three sets because of rain.

Heavy rain delayed the start of the match for 90 minutes. The unseeded Novak and the second-seeded Ferrero played only 11 minutes before the rain resumed. They left the court with Novak leading, 2-1, and it was four hours before they returned.

The delay did not seem to bother Novak, ranked 65th in the world. He won the next four games to take the first set. Ferrero rallied in the second, winning on a tiebreaker. In the third set, Novak finally broke Ferrero near the end to complete the victory.

Neville Godwin of South Africa won his first ATP title, defeating Martin Lee of Britain, 6-1, 6-4, in the final of the $400,000 Hall of Fame Championships at Newport, R.I., the only ATP grass-court tournament in the U.S.

Unseeded Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy overcame the wind and fifth-seeded Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-3, to win the Swedish Open at Bastad for his third WTA title. . . . Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan defeated Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Uniqa Grand Prix at Vienna.

Pro Basketball

Center Todd MacCulloch of the Philadelphia 76ers has accepted an offer from the New Jersey Nets, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

The six-year deal is believed to be worth $33.75 million, the newspaper said, citing a person close to MacCulloch. MacCulloch would receive the $4.5 million midlevel exception this season and 10% increases each season through the 2006-07 season.

The 76ers will have 15 days from Wednesday, when the league’s moratorium on player signings and trades is lifted, to match the offer.

Forward Clarence Weatherspoon of the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly is set to join the New York Knicks. Newspapers in New York and Cleveland reported that Weatherspoon has agreed to a five-year, $27-million contract.

Soccer

Tunisia became the third African nation to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, defeating Congo, 3-0, at Kinshasha to join Cameroon and South Africa in the 32-nation field.

Hege Riise and Danielle Fotopoulos each had a goal and assist in the second half to lead the Carolina Courage to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Spirit in a WUSA game before 4,635 at Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . Bai Jie scored in the 80th minute as the Washington Freedom ended a two-match losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the New York Power before 10,077 at Washington. . . . LaKeysia Beene recorded her seventh shutout in eight games as the Bay Area CyberRays beat the Boston Breakers, 2-0, before 8,065 at Boston.

Guilherme and Denilson scored to help Brazil end a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Peru in a Copa America tournament game at Cali, Colombia. . . . Mexico assured itself of a spot in the second round after a scoreless tie against Paraguay at Cali.

Miscellany

Goalie Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings, recovering from a viral infection, might be released from a Czech Republic hospital soon, the team said. Hasek has been hospitalized in his hometown of Pardubice since July 5.

Linda Hanley and Sarah Straton won their first Assn. of Volleyball Professionals’ women’s title and Brent Doble and Lee LeGrande won the men’s title in The Sunkist Open at Muskegon, Mich.

Ann Strother scored 13 points to help the U.S. defeat China, 84-52, in the FIBA Junior World Basketball tournament at Brno, Czech Republic.

Pongsaklek Singwangcha of Thailand retained the WBC flyweight title by stopping Hayato Asai of Japan in the fifth round at Nagoya, Japan.