In brief: Nadal beats Federer, passes Agassi
Tennis: Rafael Nadal won a record 18th Masters title by beating Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the Madrid final on Sunday.
Nadal reversed the result of the 2009 final – the last time the pair had played – to win in Madrid for a second time and move one Masters title ahead of Andre Agassi and two in front of Federer.
Nadal, who will return to No. 2 in today’s rankings, is 15-0 on clay this season after having won in Monte Carlo and Rome. He has lost only two sets during that run.
Both players dropped serve early in the first set before the second-seeded Nadal broke decisively to lead 4-3.
In the second set, Nadal claimed a tightly contested tiebreaker after two breaks of serve each.
•Australia, U.S. tied in World Team Cup: Lleyton Hewitt beat John Isner in straight sets to pull Australia into a tie with the United States on the opening day at the World Team Cup in Duesseldorf, Germany.
Sam Querrey put the Americans ahead by defeating Peter Luczak 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, but former No. 1 Hewitt beat 19th-ranked Isner 6-2, 6-4 to even the score.
A doubles match today will decide the winner in the Red Group, which also includes Spain and the Czech Republic.
The Blue Group is made up of Argentina, France, Germany and defending champion Serbia.
The winner of each group will meet in Saturday’s final.
Messi matches record, nets title
Soccer: Lionel Messi helped Barcelona retain the Spanish league title, netting two goals in a 4-0 win over Valladolid in Madrid to match the team scoring record set by Brazil striker Ronaldo.
Messi scored in the 62nd and 76th minutes. He raised his league total to 34 goals this season and his total in all competitions to 47. Ronaldo had 34 goals for Barcelona in the 1996-97 season.
•Inter seals fifth straight Serie A title: Inter Milan beat Siena 1-0 to seal its fifth consecutive Serie A title, in Rome.
Diego Milito took a pass from Inter captain Javier Zanetti and scored his 22nd goal of the season to break the deadlock in the 57th minute at Siena’s Artemio Franchi stadium.
•England’s World Cup bid chief quits after sting: The chairman of England’s World Cup bid and soccer federation quit both jobs after accusing 2018 bid rivals Spain and Russia of bribery.
David Triesman insisted he was a victim of “entrapment” and his comments were “never intended to be taken seriously.”
Triesman was secretly taped by The Mail on Sunday newspaper suggesting Spain was planning to bribe referees at the upcoming World Cup with the help of Russia, which didn’t qualify, and then support the Russians’ bid.
The newspaper taped Triesman while talking two weeks ago with Melissa Jacobs, a former aide from his time as a government minister.
Wittles extends hit streak to 45 games
College Baseball: Florida International sophomore infielder Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak with a fourth-inning single against South Alabama at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to move into a tie for third place in NCAA Division I history with a 45-game hitting streak.
Wittels tied the 45-game hit streak Arizona State’s Roger Schmuck put together in 1971.
Former Major League All-Star Robin Ventura holds the NCAA Division I record, hitting in 58 straight while at Oklahoma State in 1987.
Tour of California gets going
Cycling: Mark Cavendish of Great Britain surged to the front in the waning meters with the help of his teammates and won the opening stage of the Tour of California in Sacramento, Calif.
Cavendish, a 10-time Tour de France stage winner who rides for the American HTC-Columbia team, was timed unofficially in 4 hours, 10 minutes and 6 seconds in the 104.2-mile road stage from Nevada City.
•Sorensen wins stage, Vinokourov retains lead: Danish rider Chris Sorensen won the first uphill finish of the Giro d’Italia, and Alexandre Vinokourov maintained the overall leader’s pink jersey in Terminillo, Italy.
Taking advantage of an early breakaway, Sorensen clocked 4 hours, 50 minutes, 48 seconds in the eighth stage, a 117-mile leg from Chianciano Terme to Terminillo.
The stage ended with a 10-mile climb to the Terminillo ski resort in central Italy, with the upper section of the climb shrouded in fog.