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■ TENNIS

Almagro upsets Nalbandian

Spain's Nicolas Almagro upset favorite David Nalbandian of Argentina and Italy's top-seeded Flavia Pennetta defeated France's Alize Cornet to take the singles titles at the Mexican Open on Saturday. Sixth-seeded Almagro won in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (1) against top-seeded Nalbandian, acing him 12 times. In the 1 hour, 36 minute women's duel, Pennetta -- who won this tournament in 2005, but lost three other finals matches here in recent years -- downed Cornet 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. Also on Saturday, Oliver Marach of Austria and Slovak Michal Mertinak edged past Agustin Calleri of Argentina and Luis Horna of Peru 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-7 to take the men's doubles title. The Spanish duo of Nuria Llagostera and Maria Jose Martinez defeated the Czech pairing of Iveta Benesova and Petra Cetkovskova in rapid straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, to take the women's doubles.



■ WRESTLING

Taub weighs in and qualifies

Canadian Greco-Roman wrestler Ari Taub has qualified for the Beijing Olympics just by weighing in at the Pan-American Championships. Under federation rules, only nations that entered a wrestler at certain weights at last year's world championships can use the continental championship as a qualifier for Beijing. Taub was one of only three Pan-American athletes to fight in the 120kg class at last year's worlds and the other two won medals to qualify directly for the summer Olympics. So Taub only needed to turn up at the Pan-American championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Friday to earn his ticket. Cuba won five of the eight finals on Friday, although Justin Ruiz earned a qualifying spot for the US in the 96kg class by beating Cuban Yosvani Goichochea. Sixto Ochoa of Peru won the 74kg gold by beating another American, T.C. Dantzler, in the final. Roberto Monzon of Cuba, who won an Olympic silver medal in 2004, won the 60kg final.



■ GOLF

Choi wins Asian award

World No. 6 K.J. Choi was named Johnnie Walker Asian Player of the Year at a gala ceremony in Gurgaon, India, on Saturday. And there was a double celebration for South Korea as deaf golfer Lee Sung scooped the Asian Rising Star award at the event. Choi won twice on the USPGA Tour last season to break into the top 10. He was first named player of the year in 2002. Lee, 28, claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory at last year's Bangkok Open and finished 18th on the regional order of merit. He took up golf at the age of 16 after communication problems forced him to give up baseball. Argentina's Andres Romero, who won his first European Tour title in Germany and reached a world ranking of 29, was named Young Player of the Year. The awards were handed out at a show on the sidelines of the Johnnie Walker Classic.



■ RUGBY UNION

Huxley given all clear

ACT Brumbies fullback Julian Huxley has been cleared of serious injury after suffering a head knock in Saturday's 43-11 Super 14 win over Queensland. Huxley was taken to a Canberra hospital in a neck brace after he began convulsing following a tackle on Queensland lock James Horwill in the opening minutes of the match. Huxley was kept under observation overnight, but released yesterday after scans cleared him of serious injury, local media reported. Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher said Huxley was unlikely to be fit for the next match against New South Wales in Sydney.
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