TENNIS

Ferrer’s win eliminates U.S. from Davis Cup

David Ferrer beat John Isner 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to send defending champion Spain back to the Davis Cup final with a 3-1 semifinal victory over the United States at Gijon, Spain, on Sunday.

Helped by Isner’s 70 unforced errors, the fifth-ranked Ferrer rallied to stay unbeaten on clay in the competition with his 16th straight win — while Isner was left slamming his racket in frustration.

Even without Rafael Nadal, Spain, which will try to win its fourth title in five years, stretched its record home-winning streak to 24 matches. It hasn’t lost on clay since 1999.

Spain will play at the Czech Republic in November’s final.

• Tomas Berdych defeated Carlos Berlocq in three sets at Buenos Aires, Argentina, putting the Czech Republic into the Davis Cup final.

Berdych had few problems with Berlocq, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

BELL CHALLENGE: Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens won for her first WTA Tour title, beating eighth-seeded Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-5, at Quebec City.

Flipkens, 26, knocked off top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first round, and topped third-seeded Mona Barthel in the semifinals.

In the doubles final, third-seeded Tatjana Malek of Germany and Kristina Mladenovic of France beat top-seeded Alicja Rosolska of Poland and Heather Watson of Britain 7-6 (5), 6-7 (6), 10-7.

team tennis: Venus Williams helped Washington catch, then beat Coco Vandeweghe in a last-game tiebreaker as the Kastles completed their second straight undefeated championship season in World Team Tennis with a 20-19 victory over Sacramento at Charleston, S.C.

Washington (16-0) has won 32 straight matches the past two seasons.

SOCCER

U.S. WOMEN: Alex Morgan scored a goal and set up another as the U.S. women’s national soccer team overcame a first-half deficit to beat Australia 2-1 in the second game on a post-Olympic tour.

The U.S. has won the first two games on the 10-game tour. The match drew 19,851 to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

BOXING

PORTLAND BOXING CLUB: Women’s lightweight Liz Leddy scored a unanimous decision over Ashley Ann Lozanda of San Juan, Puerto Rico in a New England vs. Puerto Rico meet in Malden, Mass. Leddy smothered the smooth southpaw with intense pressure, wearing down Lozada in a hard-fought bout. The New England team won the competition, 6-4.

WBC: Saul Alvarez stopped 12-to-1 underdog Josesito Lopez late in the fifth round late Saturday night, defending his WBC super-welterweight title with a relentless display of power from a 22-year-old Mexican star who’s ready to fight boxing’s biggest names after dominating one of its most unlikely contenders.

Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KOs) methodically erased Lopez’s improbable title hopes by knocking him down in the second, third and fourth rounds.

• Sergio Martinez outclassed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for 11 rounds, then barely survived being knocked out in the final round late Saturday night to regain the middleweight title in an epic finish at Las Vegas.

A battered Chavez dropped Martinez twice in the 12th round, and was landing big punches as the bell sounded to save Martinez.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Cappie Pondexter had 30 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Liberty rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Washington Mystics 75-68 at Washington.

• Temeka Johnson scored 18 points to lead the visiting Tulsa Shock to an 80-70 victory over the playoff-bound San Antonio Silver Stars.

• Shay Murphy scored 20 of her career-high 22 points in the first half as the Chicago Sky beat the Mercury 86-55 at Phoenix.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Winnipeg Jets agreed to a contract with restricted free-agent forward Evander Kane. Terms were not disclosed.

Kane, 21, had 30 goals and 27 assists in 74 games last season.

— From staff and news services

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