In brief: Sharapova wins first clay-court title
Maria Sharapova entered the Bausch & Lomb Championships in hopes of gaining some experience on clay.
She got a lot more than that – she won her first clay-court title.
Sharapova overcame five double-faults and 33 unforced errors to beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7), 6-3 in Sunday’s final at Amelia Island, Fla. The top-seeded Russian became the first player on the WTA Tour to win three times in 2008. She also won the Australian Open and at Doha.
Sharapova improved to 22-1 this year, earned a crystal vase and $95,500, and maybe more important, gained valuable experience on clay. She hopes it carries over to the Family Circle Cup in South Carolina next week and to the French Open in May.
Cycling
Ullrich makes deal
Charges against former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich have been dropped in exchange for a sizable fine, German magazine Focus reported Sunday.
The retired German cyclist, who has been linked to the Spanish doping scandal Operation Puerto, will pay $1.59 million to end the two-year investigation by the Bonn district attorney’s office, Focus said.
The district attorney’s office declined to confirm the magazine story, saying a news conference about Ullrich will be held today.
Miscellany
Lochte set four records
Ryan Lochte led the way as the short-course swimming world championships concluded at Manchester, England, with six more world records to bring the total for the meet to 18 overall.
Lochte set four marks and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe established three at the last major international meet before the Beijing Olympics.
All but one of the records were set by athletes wearing the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, which has also been worn in 18 of the 19 long-course world record-setting performances since it was introduced in February.
“At Miami Beach, Fla., Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh opened the AVP Tour season with a victory, beating second-seeded Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh 21-15, 17-21, 15-13 in the AVP Gold Crown Miami Open.
In the men’s final, top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers successfully defended their title, beating Nick Lucena and Sean Scott 21-14, 21-13.
“At London, Martin Lel of Kenya won the London Marathon for the third time in four years, setting a course record in the rain and wind.
Irina Mikitenko of Germany captured the women’s race in only her second attempt at the distance.
“Kevin Martin ended his long wait for a world title, guiding Canada to a 6-3 victory over Scotland in the World Men’s Curling Championship at Grand Forks, N.D.
The Canadian skip, who came up short in his two previous bids for a championship, helped his team steal a key point in the seventh end and then secured the winning margin with two points in the ninth end.
“Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, rallied from 10th place to win the Lone Star Shootout, edging Elite rookie Clark Reehm of Russellville, Ark., by 12 ounces in the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Del Rio, Texas.