Novotna Hangs On for Emotional Win

Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic survived 63 unforced errors and 2 1/2 hours in the hot sun to defeat Iva Majoli of Croatia, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), in the Lipton Championships Wednesday at Key Biscayne, Fla.

When Majoli blew an overhead shot on the final point, Novotna flung her headband in the air, crumpled at the baseline and remained flat on her back for 10 seconds.

“It was just such a relief that you could not believe it,� Novotna said. “I was just lying there saying, ‘That’s it. I don’t have to run any farther.’ �

In the semifinals, the third-seeded Novotna will face top-seeded Martina Hingis, who blitzed No. 10 Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-4, 6-1. Monica Seles and Austrian Barbara Paulus, who advanced Tuesday, will meet in the other semifinal.

While Novotna stumbled to victory, top-ranked Pete Sampras won in a walkover when unseeded Hendrik Dreekmann of Germany was unable to take the court. Dreekmann sprained his right ankle Tuesday night when he tripped over uneven pavement while walking to his hotel after dinner.

Sampras’ opponent in the semifinals Friday will be Spaniard Sergi Bruguera, who beat unseeded Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, 6-0, 6-3. Bruguera lost only three points in the first set. Thomas Muster and Jonas Bjorkman advanced Tuesday.

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Prosecutors in Mannheim, Germany, dropped their investigation into Steffi Graf’s taxes in return for the tennis star’s paying a fine and making a charitable contribution.

Graf said she accepted the deal “with a heavy heart,� adding, “I know that I have nothing to blame myself for and did nothing to make myself liable to prosecution.�

The amounts were not disclosed.

Graf’s father, Peter, was convicted in January of evading millions of dollars in taxes on his daughter’s winnings and sentenced to nearly four years in prison.

Pro Football

The NFL announced that its 1997 schedule will begin Aug. 31, the earliest regular-season start in the league’s 78 seasons.

The 14-game opening-day schedule features a rematch of the 1996 Super Bowl finalists, with the Dallas Cowboys playing the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

The Green Bay Packers begin defense of their Super Bowl crown the next day, a Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears.

The 16-game season is again spread over 17 weeks, with each team getting one bye from Weeks 3 through 10.

Linebacker Derrick Thomas has signed a seven-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs for a reported $27 million, making him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.

Miscellany

Marty Tregnan, 79, president of the Griffith Park Men’s Golf Club and president emeritus of the Los Angeles Municipal Golf Assn., died Tuesday at his home in North Hollywood after returning from an L.A. City Council meeting.

He was found by Claire Darden, his longtime companion. Darden said Tregnan had been having heart problems and was contemplating open heart surgery.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Olympic medalist Amanda Beard, who recently had surgery to remove a cyst from her right wrist, has been selected to the U.S. team that will compete April 17-21 in the III FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The 14-member team also includes Steve West of Huntington Beach and Chad Carvin of Laguna Hills.

Sandra Whyte scored three goals and Cammi Granato added two goals and three assists, leading the U.S. women’s national hockey team to a 13-0 exhibition victory over Russia at Lake Placid, N.Y. The United States outshot the Russians, 52-9.

The Olympic champion U.S. women’s soccer team will play Australia, Italy and Canada in the U.S. Women’s Cup ’97 tournament, beginning May 31.

Olympic 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey of Canada, in a tuneup for his showdown against Michael Johnson at 150 meters in Toronto on June 1, will run in a relay race in the Harry Jerome Classic in Burnaby, Canada, on May 18, said Bailey’s agent, Paul Donovan. The May 18 race marks Bailey’s 1997 Canadian debut.

Chad Faulkner, 10, of Batesville, Ind., regained consciousness after being in a coma for nearly a week after being hit in the head by a hockey puck while watching a junior league game in Windsor, Canada.

Faulkner and his family were in Windsor visiting relatives when they decided to attend the hockey game. The child’s injury prompted an outpouring of affection in his hometown and in Windsor, just across the border from Detroit.

Matt Belden, a punter and kicker for Oregon who tore a muscle in the Ducks’ 1995 season opener against Utah, has decided to give up his college career after the injury never responded to medical treatment.

Sandy Hollway was named the new chief executive of the Sydney Organizing Committee for the 2000 Olympics Games (SOCOG) after Mal Hemmerling resigned. Hollway will be SOCOG’s third chief executive in 3 1/2 years.

Lola, which decided five months ago to race this season in Formula One, withdrew after only one race because of a lack of funding.