Robby Ginepri, who was laid low by a burst appendix earlier this year, won his second Indianapolis title on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over third seeded compatriot Sam Querrey.
The 62-minute win repeated the triumph that Ginepri enjoyed four years ago and was the third title of his career.
Ginepri, who missed two months of the season and lost nearly 15kg in weight following appendix surgery, had not reached a semi-final before this week since Las Vegas in March last year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Querrey has now lost in finals in his last two events after going down a fortnight ago on grass in Newport to Rajeev Ram.
Ginepri out-aced the usually big-hitting Querrey, firing four aces and 13 winners, while Querrey dropped nine costly double faults.
After playing only 21 matches this season, he was unsure of his chances of getting back into the top 20 where he stood in 2005 after winning Indy for the first time.
The title was Ginepri’s third after Indy 2005 and Newport 2003.
He broke serve twice in an opening set that lasted 26 minutes, then secured the upset by coming back from 40-0 down in the 11th game of the second.
■GERMAN OPEN
AP, HAMBURG, GERMANY
Nikolay Davydenko beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday to win the German Open, his first title of the year.
The second-seeded Davydenko captured the 15th title of his career and became the first Russian to win the clay-court tournament.
Mathieu, the 13th-seeded Frenchman, was playing his first final of the year.
Davydenko last won a title in Warsaw 13 months ago. Injuries forced him to miss close to four months at the start of the season.
The 28-year-old Russian fell behind 3-1 but won five of the next six games to clinch the set. Mathieu gained an early break in the second, only to see Davydenko storm back to win the final five games.
■GASTEIN LADIES
AP, BAD GASTEIN, AUSTRIA
Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to capture her first career WTA Tour title at the Nuernberger Gastein Ladies.
The 98th-ranked Petkovic has won eight titles on the lower ranked ITF circuit but had never before reached a WTA quarterfinal.
Petkovic tore ligaments in her right knee at the Australian Open last year and was out for eight months.
The No. 66 Olaru, who upset top-seeded Alize Cornet in Saturday’s semifinals, also played her first career final.
She had won both previous clay-court matches against Petkovic but struggled throughout this time.
■SLOVENIA OPEN
REUTERS, PORTOROZ, SLOVENIA
Russian world No. 1 Dinara Safina beat Italian Sara Errani 6-7, 6-1, 7-5 to win the Slovenia Open tournament on Sunday.
“You [Errani] were a hard time for me but I really wanted to win this tournament,” Safina told reporters.
Fifth seed and world No. 38 Errani initially looked to have got the better of Safina when she took the first set 7-6.
The 23-year-old Russian, who sailed into the finals without losing a set, increased the pressure in the second set to win four straight games and lead 5-1.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and