Davenport victorious in return to tour
Lindsay Davenport won her first singles title after almost a year’s absence from the tour, defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 Sunday to capture the Bali Open at Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
Davenport was playing her first singles tournament since having a baby in June. And the 31-year-old Californian eliminated some strong opponents en route to this title: second-seeded Hantuchova, top-seeded Jelena Jankovic and fifth-seeded Eleni Daniilidou.
“I’m a little bit in shock,” said Davenport, who won this event in 2005. “It’s just overwhelming and exciting. I swear this is probably the first tournament I’ve played in four years where I didn’t have anything wrong with my lower extremities.”
•Svetlana Kuznetsova, routed by Justine Henin in the U.S. Open final last week, won the opening singles match to clinch the Fed Cup final with a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 victory over Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in Moscow.
Elena Vesnina defeated Mara Santangelo 6-2, 6-4 in the second match to make the final score 4-0.
•Second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez won the China Open, defeating third-seeded Tommy Robredo 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in Beijing.
•Sixth-seeded Gilles Simon of France rallied past Victor Hanescu of Romania 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the BCR Open in Bucharest, Romania.
Basketball
Russia wins Euro title
Jon Robert Holden scored with two seconds remaining to lift Russia over Spain 60-59 in the final of the European Basketball Championship at Madrid, Spain.
Holden stripped Spain center Pau Gasol with 27 seconds to play then pump-faked before his jump shot bounced high and in for the win.
Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko led Russia with 17 points as the Russians won their first European title in 22 years.
•Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors agreed to a new contract, keeping Nelson as the team’s coach again this season.
The Warriors did not announce terms of the new deal but the Contra Costa Times reported that Nelson would get a raise from $3.1 million to $5.1 million for the next two years.
•Tina Thompson scored 21 points and Candice Wiggins added 18 to help the United States rout Australia 96-64 in an exhibition game at Trenton, N.J.
Miscellany
Rags to Riches out
Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches injured her right front leg and will miss the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, but could return next year, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
The popular 3-year-old filly sustained a hairline fracture of the pastern while finishing second to Lear’s Princess in Saturday’s $250,000 Gazelle Stakes at Belmont Park.
•Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and 400-meter runner Sanya Richards shared the $1 million jackpot when they won their events at the season’s final Golden League meet in Berlin.
Isinbayeva cleared 15 feet, 9 3/4 inches. Richards won in 49.27 seconds, the fastest time this year.
•Jarrod Shoemaker and Laura Bennett earned spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic triathlon team.
Shoemaker, from Sudbury, Mass., was timed in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 44 seconds, good for 11th in the qualifying event at the ITU BG Beijing World Cup.
Bennet, from North Palm Beach, Fla., was third in 2:02:06.
•Ben Matsubu posted a five-fish limit weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces and earned a 14-pound victory in the Bassmaster Elite Series Sunshine Showdown in Kissimmee, Fla.
•Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won the season-ending San Francisco Best of the Beach volleyball tournament, beating Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs 21-14, 28-26 for their record-tying 13th AVP Crocs Tour victory of the year.
In the men’s final, Casey Jennings – Walsh’s husband – and Matt Fuerbringer beat Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 21-18, 27-25 for their first victory of the year.