Capriati Can’t Overcome Mauresmo in Montreal

Amelie Mauresmo defeated Jennifer Capriati, 6-4, 6-1, Sunday in the final of the Rogers AT&T; Cup at Montreal, a hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.

The seventh-seeded Mauresmo of France earned $182,000 for her eighth career WTA Tour title and second of 2002.

“I just wanted to play a few matches and get my game in order and see how I’m doing against the best players,” Mauresmo said. “I guess it went pretty well. The main thing is to be ready for the U.S. Open.”

Serving at 4-4 in the first set, Mauresmo won two points on serves the second-seeded Capriati argued were out and took a 5-4 lead. She then took the set by breaking serve when a Capriati backhand flew wide.

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James Blake won his first ATP Tour title, beating Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at Washington.

The sixth-seeded Blake broke Srichaphan’s serve to tie the second set, 3-3, and took the tiebreaker when Srichaphan’s backhand sailed long.

Blakeimproved to 3-0 lifetime against the 14th-seeded Srichaphan.

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Greg Rusedski of Britain produced the only two service breaks and rallied to defeat Felix Mantilla of Spain, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, to win the RCA Championship at Indianapolis.

Rusedski, seeded 14th, used a serve that reached 132 mph to win his second title of 2002 and 12th of his career.

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Pro Football

Even with two quarterbacks sidelined by injuries, the Pittsburgh Steelers handled the Washington Redskins--until Sage Rosenfels and the backups led a three-touchdown rally in the fourth quarter.

Rosenfels completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Darnerien McCants with 2:11 left at Landover, Md., as the Redskins overcame a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Steelers, 35-34.

Coach Steve Spurrier’s team is 3-0 and has scored 110 points in exhibitions, but it was dominated by the Steelers, who led, 17-0, when the starters were playing in the first half.

Kordell Stewart sustained a mild concussion and Charlie Batch cut his chin, but it didn’t matter who the Pittsburgh quarterback was early on. Batch capped an 83-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Dan Kreider and rookie Antwaan Randle El ran 32 yards on a reverse to finish a 99-yard drive--both against the Redskins’ first-string defense. The Steelers gained 221 yards in the first half.

Rosenfels struggled against Pittsburgh’s starters in the second quarter--completing six of 10 for 54 yards with an interception and a fumble--but he returned in the fourth to throw touchdown passes to Leonard Stephens, Derrius Thompson and McCants. In all, Rosenfels completed 17 of 25 for 244 yards.

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Miscellany

Shaquille O’Neal rested at home Sunday after a high fever forced him to spend about 24 hours in an Orlando, Fla., hospital before being released Friday.

Laker officials on Sunday night awaited results of tests they hoped would reveal the cause of a 103-degree temperature that, in part, caused him to miss a weekend event in Tampa.

“We’re waiting the results of the tests,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “Right now, that’s where it stands. It is our assumption he would not have been released had there not been some improvement. That being said, we still don’t know what caused the fever.”

The results were expected today.

On Thursday, O’Neal suffered a spike in his body temperature, which eventually dipped and then rose again before doctors controlled it. He was released with instructions to rest and take fluids, according to Perry Rogers, O’Neal’s agent.

Both the Lakers and Rogers said they hoped O’Neal’s illness would not complicate plans for O’Neal’s toe surgery, which is not yet scheduled.

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Four-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong placed third in the Zurich Cycling Championship at Zurich, Switzerland, finishing just over a minute behind winner Dario Frigo of Italy. Frigo completed the 147-mile race in 5 hours 56 minutes 54 seconds. Italy’s Paolo Bettini was second, 1:09 behind Frigo. Armstrong finished in the same time as Bettini.

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Misty May and Kerri Walsh defeated top-seeded Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, 21-15, 19-17, to win the FIVB tournament in Maoming, China.