Sports briefs 7/11/05

Colleges

• Longtime Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson was hired as the new coach at Oklahoma on Sunday, succeeding Larry Cochell, who resigned last season after using a racial slur during off-camera interviews.

The 59-year-old Stephenson, who ranks second in Division I career victories, returns to the program for which he was a recruiting coordinator and hitting instructor for five seasons in the 1970s. He replaces former Oral Roberts coach Sunny Galloway, who took over as interim coach when Cochell resigned May 1.

Motorsports

* Juan Pablo Montoya took a risk to win the British Grand Prix, one of the few moves that's worked this season for the former Indy 500 champion.

He beat Fernando Alonso, who finished second to extend his Formula One points lead. This was Montoya's first victory of the season and first with McLaren-Mercedes.

Tennis

* French Open champion Rafael Nadal captured his seventh title of the year Sunday, overcoming a sluggish start to beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the Swedish Open final.

Only top-ranked Roger Federer with eight titles has won more tournaments in 2005. Nadal, seeded first and ranked third, has won 29 straight matches on clay, his last loss coming in April. He is 54-8 overall this year and 43-2 on clay.

* Argentina's Gaston Gaudio won the Swiss Open on Sunday, defeating Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4 for his fourth title this year.

Gaudio, seeded second, had lost the final of this tournament in 2002 and lost in the semifinals in 2000 and 2003.

"It's great to finally win this title," he said. "I'd come close so many times."

Gaudio, the 2004 French Open champion, has seven career titles.

* The United States was without two of the best players in women's tennis for the Fed Cup against Russia, and it showed.

The defending champion Russians completed a 4-1 victory Sunday and will play for the title at France on Sept. 17-18. The French reached the final for the third straight year, defeating visiting Spain 3-1 in Aix-En-Provence in a rain-shortened semifinal.

The Americans needed to scramble in their semifinal because of injuries to Australian Open champion Serena Williams and top-ranked Lindsay Davenport.

The United States has won the Fed Cup 17 times -- more then any other nation -- and has been runner-up nine times. Its last title, however, came in 2000.

The Americans began the day down 2-0 in the best-of-five competition on indoor clay at Olympic Stadium, and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams kept her team alive by downing Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 in reverse singles. Russia then clinched its spot in the final when Anastasia Myskina beat Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-4.