Seve Ballesteros was admitted to a hospital yesterday after feeling dizzy and fainting.

Ballesteros, the winner of three British Opens and two Masters, was taken to La Paz hospital in Madrid, Spain after briefly losing consciousness, the hospital said in a statement. His condition was stable, and he was undergoing diagnostic tests, the hospital said.

No further information on his condition or treatment would be made available under instructions from Ballesteros' family, the hospital said.

Ballesteros, 51, who has a long history of back pain, officially retired from competition in 2007. He earned 50 victories on the European Tour.

He's known for his brilliant improvisational play and was a stalwart of European golf, playing a key role in reviving the continent's fortunes in the Ryder Cup both as a player and later as captain when he led Europe to victory against the United States in Spain in 1997.

He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999.

Former NBA head coach Paul Westphal was hired as the Mavericks' executive vice president of basketball operations. Westphal, who was a Dallas assistant coach last season, will assist general manager Donnie Nelson and work in scouting. Westphal was already under contract with the Mavericks this season but wasn't part of new coach Rick Carlisle's staff.

• Knicks center Eddy Curry practiced for the first time this season after he was sidelined last week because of a bacterial infection. Curry missed the Knicks' entire training camp in Saratoga Springs, leaving his hotel room only for visits to Saratoga Hospital. That cost him valuable time as he tries to grasp new coach Mike D'Antoni's system. Curry said his temperature reached 104 degrees during the week and he needed six IVs during his last trip to the hospital. He still felt groggy Sunday before deciding to take part in the Knicks' first practice at their training facility.

Amelie Mauresmo rallied to beat Alize Cornet, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The former top-ranked Frenchwoman will play second-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia in the next round of the dual WTA and ATP tournament. Safina won her fourth title this season Sept. 21 in Tokyo and is at a career-high No. 3 in the world rankings. Dominika Cibulkova progressed when Marion Bartoli retired with a left toe injury while trailing, 6-1, 4-1, and wild card Vera Dushevina upset Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

• Juan Carlos Ferrero, once ranked No. 1 but now No. 44, beat fourth-seeded Ivo Karlovic, 6-4, 7-6 (4), Monday in the opening round of the BA Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria. Ferrero played from the baseline and held serve throughout. He conceded just four points on his serve in the second set. In other matches, fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco defeated Victor Crivoi, 6-4, 6-4; Feliciano Lopez topped Agustin Calleri, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4); and Carlos Moya downed Michael Berrer, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).

• Lena Litvak defeated Alison Riske of Peters Township, 7-5, 6-3, in a qualifier for the Dick's Sporting Goods Women's Challenger at Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford.

• Carnegie Mellon's James Muliawan defeated two Johns Hopkins players and claimed the Wilson ITA Southeast regional men's championship in Fredericksburg, Va. Muliawan beat Andrew Wang, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, then topped David Maldow, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Leonardo Piepoli twice tested positive for a blood booster during the last Tour de France, officials said, and German cyclist Stefan Schumacher's team suspended him for suspected use of the same substance. The two became the second and third riders to test positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood booster EPO, during the Tour. Riccardo Ricco has already admitted to CERA use.

The three riders combined to win five of the 21 stages at cycling's premier race, which has struggled to maintain its credibility after being rocked by doping scandals three years in a row.