TENNIS

Nadal earns seventh Barcelona Open title

Rafael Nadal became the first player in the open era to win two tournaments seven times, beating David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday.

Nadal’s 21st straight win on clay followed up his eighth straight championship in Monte Carlo.

It’s the fourth time Ferrer has lost the Barcelona Open final to Nadal, who saved 12 of 15 break points on the way to his 34th straight victory in the event.

PORSCHE GRAND PRIX: Second-ranked Maria Sharapova cruised past top-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 at Stuttgart, Germany, to win her first title of the year.

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Sharapova lost to Azarenka in the final at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this year, and the Russian had never beaten her rival from Belarus in four previous encounters in a final.

NASTASE TIRIAC TROPHY: Top-seeded Gilles Simon beat Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3 to win the event for the third time at Bucharest, Romania.

FOOTBALL

NFL: University of Maine running back Pushaun Brown agreed to a free-agent contract with the New York Jets.

Brown rushed for 1,093 yards last season and was a third-team all-Colonial Athletic Association selection.

AUTO RACING

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INDYCAR: Will Power won the Sao Paulo 300 for the third straight time, finishing ahead of Ryan Hunter Reay on the 2.5-mile, 11-turn Anhembi circuit.

The Australian was hardly challenged on the streets of South America’s biggest city.

Takuma Sato finished third after starting 25th, and Brazilian Helio Castroneves was fourth after starting 18th. Three-time defending series champion Dario Franchitti recovered from an early spin to finish fifth.

OLYMPICS

BRITISH BAN OVERTURNED: Sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar will be eligible to compete for Great Britain at the London Games after the country’s lifetime Olympic ban for doping offenders was found to be unlawful by sports’ top court.

A Court of Arbitration for Sport panel has decided the British Olympic Association’s 20-year-old bylaw violates the World Anti-Doping Agency code, a person familiar with the ruling said.

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The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the CAS verdict is not being publicly released until today.

Britain, the only country to enforce lifetime bans for dopers, will now have to remove the sanction from its Olympic regulations.

And both Chambers and Millar, who have worked with authorities to help officials crack down on doping, can try to qualify to represent Great Britain at the Olympics, which start July 27.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Fernando Torres got his first hat trick in more than 21/2 years to lead Chelsea to a 6-1 win over Queens Park Rangers.

Tottenham climbed to fourth place with a 2-0 win over Blackburn, moving ahead of Newcastle on goal difference. Chelsea trails Tottenham and Newcastle by one point with three games remaining.

 

From staff and news services

 


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