Nadal beats Federer to win Dubai Open

Rafael Nadal, playing only his second tournament in four months, beat top-ranked Roger Federer 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Saturday in the final of the Dubai Open.

Federer had won this event the past three years. The Swiss star had captured his two other tournaments in 2006 – the Australian Open and Doha Open. Nadal, seeded second, ended Federer’s 56-match hardcourt winning streak.

The 19-year-old Nadal, the 2005 French Open champion, recently recovered from a foot injury that kept him out of most tournaments the last four months. Nadal made his return in Marseille two weeks ago, where he reached the semifinals.

•Nadia Petrova beat Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 7-5 to win the Qatar Open for the second WTA title of her career.

•Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt overcame a sluggish start to beat Paul Goldstein 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals of the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas. Hewitt will face James Blake in today’s championship. Blake beat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (2), 6-1 in their semifinal match.

Boxing

Lacy loses title

Wales’ Joe Calzaghe cut Jeff Lacy around both eyes and knocked him down in the final round, earning a lopsided, unanimous decision to capture the American’s IBF super-middleweight title and hold on to his own WBO crown for the 18th time in Manchester, England.

•Indonesia’s Yohannes Christian John kept his WBA featherweight title with a unanimous decision in Jakarta, Indonesia, over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez.

Horse Racing

Samurai wins race

Corinthian finished a length ahead of First Samurai in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, but only after the colt cut off First Samurai in the stretch and then veered out and bothered Flashy Bull before crossing the finish line at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

After a steward’s inquiry, Corinthian was disqualified and placed third, moving First Samurai into first and Flashy Bull into second.

•Lava Man won the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, with Kentucky Derby champion Giacomo finishing fifth in Arcadia, Calif.

A former $50,000 claimer, Lava Man was three-quarters of a length in front of Magnum at the wire, with Wilko another 7 1/2 lengths behind in third.

Miscellany

Davis takes Cup

American speedskater Shani Davis outperformed teammate Joey Cheek to win the overall World Cup title in the 1,000 meters at Heerenveen, Netherlands. Olympic champion Davis clocked 1 minute, 8.91 seconds, while Cheek came in 13th and finished second in the overall rankings.

•Janica Kostelic won the combined in Hafjell, Norway, edging Anja Paerson by 0.13 seconds, and is now within reach of the World Cup overall title. Kostelic, who won the Olympic combined gold at the Turin Games, had a total time of 2 minutes, 6.92 seconds in the super-G and slalom.

•Jonathan Horton, who competes for the University of Oklahoma, won his first major gymnastics title at the American Cup in Philadelphia, while Nastia Liukin held off fellow American Shayla Worley to capture the women’s event.