BRIEFLY\Rosset has hand in Swiss loss.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

A fit of anger likely cost Switzerland the title in the Hopman Cup team tennis championship Saturday night in Perth, Australia.

Swiss star Marc Rosset suffered a possible fracture in his right hand punching an advertising board at the back of the court and had to forfeit in the final set of the decisive mixed doubles, giving Croatia the championship.

Goran Ivanisevic and Iva Majoli trailed Rosset and 15-year-old Martina Hingis 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 5-5, 0-30 when Olympic champion Rosset signaled he was through.

He had slammed his hand into the sign in the previous game after the Swiss pair failed to convert four championship points at 4-5 on Ivanisevic's serve. He had been angered by a controversial line call on the second championship point.

"I know I shouldn't have done that," Rosset said. "It's hard to explain how sorry I feel, but sometimes it's tough to control yourself."

Zimbabwe's Byron Black, a former USC star seeking his first pro title, and top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia will meet today in the final of the Australian Hardcourt championships in Adelaide.

Kafelnikov, the 1994 champion, beat Javier Frana of Argentina 7-5, 6-1, and the eighth-seeded Black defeated Martin Damm of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals.

French Open champion Thomas Muster suffered a stunning upset in the semifinals of the $635,000 Qatar Open tennis tournament, losing to unheralded Younes el Aynaoui of Morocco. El Aynaoui, ranked 110th in the world, defeated the Austrian No. 1 seed 6-4, 6-4.

In Sunday's final, el Aynaoui will play Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, who defeated David Prinosil of Germany 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-3.

Sandra Cacic, 22, of Bradenton, Fla., became the first qualifier in three years to win a WTA Tour event, beating second-seeded Barbara Paulus of Austria 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the final of the Amway Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

BASEBALL

Don Baylor, NL Manager of the Year after leading his expansion team into the playoffs in only its third season, agreed to a two-year extension with the Colorado Rockies through the 1998 season.

"I'm ecstatic," Baylor said. "It was something I wanted done, and they accommodated me with two years."

Terms were not disclosed, but sources said Baylor, who will earn $320,000 this season, will be paid $475,000 in 1997 and $500,000 in 1998.

For the first time, Baylor won't enter the spring with uncertainty about his tenure. In the past, Baylor has gone to spring training with one year remaining on his contract, then has had it extended by one year before the start of the season.

"In the short, three-year history of our franchise, we think Don has done an outstanding job in an almost impossible task," general manager Bob Gebhard said.

A Detroit consulting firm sued former Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain, claiming he defaulted on a $110,000 loan.

FOOTBALL

Ohio State football coach John Cooper said he can prove that some Tennessee players in the Citrus Bowl wore cleats that were too long.

NCAA rules limit the length of cleats to one-half inch, but Cooper told The Columbus Dispatch that some Volunteers used three-quarter inch cleats.

In fact, he said he has one of the shoes worn in the game by Volunteers wide receiver Joey Kent.

Michigan lineman Jon Runyan has decided to skip his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft, The Flint Journal reported. The 6-foot-8, 300-pound Runyan said he will notify the NFL on Monday.

BASKETBALL

Power forward LaPhonso Ellis, who has missed all but six games over the past two seasons because of knee problems, was activated by the Denver Nuggets.

WINTER SPORTS

Austrian Christian Rijavec ignored near-zero weather to win his first World Cup aerials event of the season while Veronica Brenner of Canada earned her third victory in four competitions, at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Kriste Porter of Greenland, N.H., the women's World Cup overall freestyle ski champion for the past two seasons, will miss the rest of this season because of a herniated disc in her neck.

Katja Seizinger of Germany came through with a perfect second run in giant slalom at Maribor, Slovenia, for her second victory of the World Cup season.

Switzerland's Urs Kaelin gained his first World Cup victory in more than six years, beating World Cup champion Alberto Tomba in a giant slalom at Flachau, Austria.

Jens Weissflog of Germany had two perfect jumps to win a World Cup ski jumping event, and capture the Four Hills tournament in Bischofshofen, Austira, for a record fourth time.

SOCCER

Defending champion Nigeria failed to meet a deadline to confirm its participation in the Africa Cup soccer tournament, and league officials announced that Guinea would be the replacement team.

Following the enactment of government funding legislation, the CONCACAF Gold Cup in New York will proceed as scheduled starting Wednesday.

"All is well," CONCACAF secretary general Chuck Blazer said.