Upstart del Potro upsets Roddick

Lanky teenager Juan Martin del Potro upset American Andy Roddick 6-1, 7-6 (2) in the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles on Sunday to win his third championship in less than a month.

Running his match-winning streak to 14 in a row, the 19-year-old Argentine broke Roddick’s serve three times in the first set and did not allow a break in the match.

Roddick, who had not lost his serve in 24 games heading into the final, recovered to hold serve in the second set, but del Potro won the final five points of the tiebreaker.

The title was del Potro’s first in a hardcourt tournament.

He captured his first career ATP title by upsetting Richard Gasquet in Munich on July 13, then beat Jurgen Melzer to win the following week in Kitzbuehel, Austria. Both those tournaments were on clay.

The victory over the 25-year-old Roddick, the former No. 1 who is ranked ninth, was the biggest so far for del Potro, will move into the top 20 in the world rankings.

Del Potro became the first teenager to win the Los Angeles tournament since Pete Sampras did it as a 19-year-old in 1991.

Motor Sports

Schumacher wins again

Tony Schumacher raced to his fourth straight victory and ninth of the season, winning the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., to move within two Joe Amato’s Top Fuel win record of 52.

Schumacher powered his dragster to a performance of 3.865 seconds at 310.05 mph to outrun Cory McClenathan (3.900 at 306.74) in the final round at Brainerd International Raceway.

Schumacher has three career wins at the Minnesota dragstrip.

•Connecticut police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old motocross rider who died Saturday after crashing during practice at a racetrack in Stafford, Conn.

Anthony Hart of Henderson, Nev., was critically injured when he lost control of his motorcycle and hit an outer track barricade at Stafford Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Hart was the brother of Carey Hart, the motocross and reality television star formerly married to pop star Pink.

He crashed while practicing for the Doug Henry New England Grand Prix.