Hewitt Ends Gonzalez’s Run; Moya Ousts Ferrero

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt beat unseeded Fernando Gonzalez, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, Saturday night to advance to the final of the Cincinnati Masters Series at Mason, Ohio.

The Australian star will face Carlos Moya today in the championship match. The 16th-seeded Moya beat Spanish countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-4.

Hewitt, preparing for his U.S. Open title defense, has won four titles this year, including Wimbledon and the Masters Series event at Indian Wells.

Gonzalez has won a tournament in his native Chile but has not progressed beyond the round of 16 in any of the major tournaments before this event, when he beat fourth-seeded Tim Henman and 12th-seeded Andy Roddick.

“He’s a tough guy to play. He gives you absolutely no rhythm,” said Hewitt, who had never played Gonzalez and struggled in the first set. “He just hits the ball as hard as he can every time.”

Moya used precise shotmaking to defeat the eighth-seeded Ferrero.

“I had a special feeling that today was going to be my day,” Moya said. “I just had the feeling that something was going to happen. I don’t know why.”

Moya broke Ferrero’s serve only twice--once in each set--but that was enough.

*

Teenage qualifier Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated fifth-seeded Martina Sucha of Slovakia, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, to reach the championship of the Nordic Light Open at Espoo, Finland.

Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic won the other semifinal, beating Patricia Wartusch of Austria, 7-5, 7-6 (4).

Kuznetsova, a Russian who turned 17 in June, will play in her first WTA final. She is ranked 123rd in the world.

Pro Basketball

Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban won’t let his players compete in the World Championships unless a dispute with the NBA over insurance coverage is solved.

“I’m not willing to accept a risk of millions and millions of dollars just so our guys can play in this tournament,” Cuban said.

NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik told the Dallas Morning News in Saturday’s editions that he expects the Mavericks to be represented in the championships.

“Our view is that the Mavericks don’t have the right to withhold consent,” Granik said.

Cuban said the NBA’s interpretation of “adequate” does not cover total contract value, leaving team owners at high financial risk of long-term injuries during the Aug. 29-Sept. 8 World Championships in Indianapolis.

The newspaper reported that it appears Cuban could only officially deny permission to would-be German teammates Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Bradley, because the German Basketball Federation has struggled to secure what the NBA deems as “adequate” coverage.

Cuban, however, included Canada’s Steve Nash and Team USA’s Michael Finley and Raef LaFrentz in his pronouncement.

Granik told the newspaper that the final say for Nash, Finley and LaFrentz belongs to the players. He expects all three to play.

Gymnastics

Tasha Schwikert had little trouble winning her second consecutive title in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Cleveland, finishing with 75.550 points, well ahead of Tabitha Yim (74.625).

Ashley Postell was third at 73.425. Cuban-born Annia Hatch, competing in her first U.S. championships, was fourth with 72.650.

Three-time junior champ Kristal Uzelac, competing despite a broken little toe on her right foot, only did the uneven bars Saturday night. She scored a 9.525.

Schwikert’s sister, Jordan, withdrew after her first event. She was competing with three stress fractures in her back.

Tasha Schwikert’s multiple titles put the 17-year-old in some illustrious company. Kim Zmeskal, the first American woman to win the world all-around title, was a three-time U.S. champion. Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller won two crowns, as did Cathy Rigby.

Miscellany

John Dutton threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns as the San Jose SaberCats advanced to the Arena Bowl with a 52-40 victory over the Orlando Predators at San Jose.

The Sabercats will play the winner of today’s semifinal game between Chicago and Arizona for the Arena Football League championship.

Dutton completed 25 of 36 passes and didn’t throw an interception. San Jose (15-1) led, 24-13, after Daron Alcorn’s field goal at the halftime buzzer.

Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck defended his World Boxing Assn. cruiserweight title by stopping Canada’s Dale Brown with a technical knockout in the eighth round at Marseille, France.

On the undercard, Panama’s Santiago Samaniego took the World Boxing Council super-welterweight title by defeating Frenchman Mamadou Thiam, whose handlers threw in the towel in the 12th round.

Mexico’s Gerardo Espinoza won the vacant North American Boxing Organization junior-featherweight title, unanimously outpointing Puerto Rico’s Omar Adorno in a 12-round bout at San Jacinto, Calif.

Colin Jackson won his fourth consecutive 110-meter hurdles title at the European Championships in Munich, Germany, while British teammate Ashia Hansen won the women’s triple jump.

Jackson, 35, who has won more medals at major championships than any other British athlete, won in a season’s best time of 13.11 seconds.

Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks won the 200 meters in the African Championships at Tunis, Tunisia, earning his second gold medal as the five-day competition drew to a close.

The two-time Olympic silver medalist clocked 20.10 seconds as he raced across the finish line ahead of Ghana’s Abdul Aziz Zakari.

Lance Armstrong’s final push in the Clasica San Sebastian World Cup cycling race in Spain was not enough. The four-time Tour de France winner was in pursuit of the lead group with 20 miles to go but finished off the pace in 46th place. He was 41 seconds behind France’s Laurent Jalabert, who finished in 5 hours 46 minutes 30 seconds to win the event for the second consecutive year.

Jalabert stole the lead in the home stretch from Italy’s Dario Frigo in the 142-mile race.

*

T.J. Simers is on vacation.