Hewitt Loses to Malisse at Cincinnati Masters

Lleyton Hewitt lost his composure and his first-round match Tuesday in the Cincinnati Masters at Mason, Ohio, falling to Xavier Malisse, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The fourth-seeded Hewitt became angry at himself and swiped his racket in frustration as Malisse took control early in the third set and held on for his first victory over a top-10 player this year.

“I held my serve and started to feel a lot better,” Malisse said. “At 4-2, I just started to believe that I could get to the third set and anything can happen.”

Wimbledon champion Roger Federer rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10) victory over Scott Draper and Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Nikolay Davydenko, 6-0, 6-2.

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Eighth-seeded Jelena Dokic defeated qualifier Angelique Widjaja, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the Rogers AT&T; Cup at Toronto.

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Thomas Muster, 35, defeated Henri Leconte, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Seniors Tour’s CA Challenge at Graz, Austria, and said he would decide at the end of the tournament whether to return to the ATP Tour after a four-year absence.

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College Football

The 10-member Ohio State committee investigating allegations of academic misconduct against Buckeye running back Maurice Clarett has turned some of its findings over to the NCAA.

A teaching assistant has claimed that Clarett, who helped Ohio State win the national championship last season, walked out of a midterm exam last fall and later passed the course by taking an oral exam.

The NCAA began investigating Clarett for his use of a car that was broken into while on overnight loan from a dealership. Clarett initially claimed he had lost more than $6,000 in clothing, cash and stereo equipment in the theft, but later acknowledged he had exaggerated his losses to police.

Clarett is being held out of practice and Athletic Director Andy Geiger declined to comment on whether the running back would return this week, as Clarett had predicted Monday.

Northern Colorado, a Division II school, forfeited victories over Western State, North Dakota and Minnesota Mankato last season because quarterback Steve Cutlip was academically ineligible but played in four games, including a loss to Montana.

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Pro Basketball

Arvydas Sabonis, the 7-foot-3 center of the Portland Trail Blazers, has told his agent that he probably will not play next season because he wants to spend more time with his family in Lithuania.

Sabonis, 38, was set to earn $7 million in the second year of a three-year deal he signed with the Trail Blazers before last season.

He sat out the 2001-2002 season after citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Restricted free-agent guard Richard Hamilton re-signed with the Detroit Pistons for the seven-year, $62-million deal that he and the team had agreed to last month.

Thieves broke into free-agent guard Rod Strickland’s home in suburban Washington, D.C., between July 30 and Aug. 7 and made off with several of his jerseys, a new sport utility vehicle and several electronic items.

Lauren Jackson set a WNBA record with her seventh consecutive double-double, scoring 32 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to keep Seattle from losing to San Antonio, 87-77, in front of 7,300 at Seattle.... Chamique Holdsclaw scored 19 points to lead Washington over Indiana, 84-80, in front of 5,927 at Indianapolis.... Crystal Robinson’s free throw with 2.1 seconds left after a technical foul was called for an illegal timeout gave New York a 74-73 victory over Connecticut in front of 7,074 at Uncasville, Conn.

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College Basketball

South Carolina center Rolando Howell has been suspended from the team indefinitely after his arrest Saturday on a criminal domestic violence charge, Coach Dave Odom said.

Boxing

Derrick Gainer tore a chest muscle in training and was forced to pull out of Saturday’s fight against International Boxing Federation featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

Marcos Licona (20-3-1) of Westminster will replace Gainer in the 10-round nontitle fight to be televised by HBO.

World Boxing Council super-featherweight youth champion Mike Anchondo (21-0, 17 knockouts) of La Puente and junior-welterweight prospect Juan Valenzuela (17-6, seven KOs) of Culiacan, Mexico, will headline an HBO Latino card at Santa Ana Stadium on Sept. 18.

Anchondo will fight Miguel Angel Huerta (17-5-1, 12 KOs) of Mexico City in a scheduled 10-round bout and Valenzuela will face Juan Antonio Lopez (18-3-1, 13 KOs) of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Americas title.

Also on the six-bout Golden Boy Promotions show will be Santa Ana featherweight Edgar Vargas (2-0).

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Passings

Jay Cowitz, one of the 20 winningest girls’ basketball coaches in California history, died Monday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 49.

In a 19-year career at San Luis Obispo Mission College Prep, Cowitz had 395 victories and his teams won 13 section titles and four Southern California championships.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at Mission Catholic Church in San Luis Obispo.

T.J. Simers is on vacation.