Davenport Makes Impressive Return

Lindsay Davenport completed a strong tuneup for Wimbledon, sweeping Spain’s Magui Serna, 6-2, 6-0, in only 43 minutes Saturday to win the Eastbourne, England, grass-court tournament.

“It’s not just a warmup for Wimbledon. . . . It’s also a tournament victory and a return to the tour,” Davenport said. “After you’ve played so well the day before, you’re never sure if you can keep it going, but I was able to do that. I’ve got to be ecstatic going into Wimbledon now. I can’t wait to get back there. I’m happy, excited and eager.”

Davenport, a 1999 Wimbledon champion and 2000 runner-up, was playing in her first tournament since a knee injury sidelined her for three months.

Davenport is seeded No. 3 behind No. 1 Martina Hingis and No. 2 Venus Williams at Wimbledon, which begins Monday.

Justine Henin of Belgium won the Heineken Trophy tournament at Den Bosch, Netherlands, beating countrywoman Kim Clijsters, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in a rematch of their French Open semifinal.

Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the men’s final against Guillermo Canas of Argentina. The top-seeded Aussie defeated fourth-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-2. Canas defeated Tommy Robredo of Spain, 7-5, 6-4, in the other semifinal.

Thomas Johansson of Sweden showed he is ready for Wimbledon, winning his second consecutive grass-court title by beating Harel Levy of Israel, 7-5, 6-3, in the final at Nottingham, England.

Basketball

Maurice Cheeks reportedly has entered the Portland Trail Blazers’ coaching picture, meeting this week with General Manager Bob Whitsitt.

Cheeks, an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers, traveled to Portland, Ore., Thursday and met with Whitsitt at a hotel, the Oregonian said.

Whitsitt, in keeping with his policy, did not acknowledge any meeting, or even if Cheeks was in the running to replace the fired Mike Dunleavy.

Kevin McHale can resume work with the Timberwolves July 18, a nearly two-week reduction of his penalty stemming from the Joe Smith salary-cap dispute.

McHale, the Minnesota vice president of basketball operations, has been on a forced leave of absence since Dec. 9.

Dean Smith, 70, agreed to a new contract as a North Carolina consultant, receiving a salary of $9,200 that will match the pay he earned in 1961 as a first-year Tar Heel coach.

Between salary and pension, he has received $162,750 annually since retiring in 1997 as the winningest coach in college basketball history and becoming a consultant to the athletic department.

Cheryl Littlejohn, fired as the women’s basketball coach at Minnesota after an investigation uncovered evidence of NCAA violations, has been hired as coach at Chicago State.

Bubba Jennings, the fourth-leading scorer in Texas Tech history, accepted an assistant coaching position under Coach Bob Knight.

Hockey

Barring a trade, the Buffalo Sabres are seriously considering spending $9 million to retain the rights to All-Star goalie Dominik Hasek for one more season.

Uncertain is whether the Sabres will keep the six-time Vezina Trophy-winner or trade him to get some value in return.

Hasek, who said he wants to play for one more season and with a contender, has completed the guaranteed portion of his contract. The Sabres, however, have until Saturday to determine whether to pick up a one-year, $9-million option or risk losing Hasek to unrestricted free agency.

The Phoenix Coyotes traded veteran defenseman Jyrki Lumme to the Dallas Stars for right wing Tyler Bouck in an effort to trim their payroll.

Three of Phoenix’s five highest-paid players have been traded. The Coyotes’ Jeremy Roenick intends to sign with another team as a free agent after July 1.

Lumme, 34, is scheduled to earn $4.2 million next season. Roenick earned $5 million last season.

Miscellany

Kostya Tszyu recorded a unanimous decision over Oktay Urkal at Montville, Conn., to retain his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn. super-lightweight titles.

Also on the card, unbeaten Zab Judah of New York easily defended the International Boxing Federation welterweight title, stopping Denmark’s Allan Vester at 2:58 of the third round.

Former Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin surrendered to police in Denton, Texas, a day after Denton County authorities issued an arrest warrant on a felony cocaine possession charge. Irvin posted a $2,500 bail bond and released. If convicted, Irvin could face six months to two years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.

Wide receiver Sylvester Morris, who caught 48 passes as a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs, could sit out all of next season after undergoing knee surgery.

Lance Armstrong moved up to third in the Tour de Suisse overall standings while Italy’s Vladimir Belli took the leader’s yellow jersey at Gotthard, Switzerland. . . . The Italian Cycling Federation lifted a week-old suspension of cycling events in the country after a doping ethics code was approved.

Romania’s greatest soccer player, Gheorghe Hagi, will take over as coach of the national team.