Elena Dementieva of Russia came from a set down to defeat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 to win the Paris Indoor Open on Sunday.
The Czech broke Dementieva’s opening service game but the top seed broke back. It was Safarova who showed the cooler nerve in the tiebreak, taking it 7-5.
Dementieva came back powerfully in the second set, though, twice breaking serve.
The Russian cranked up the pressure in the seventh game to break for a 4-3 lead.
Safarova saved two championship points in her next service game and a third on Dementieva’s serve. But the Russian made no mistake with her fourth.
■ABN AMRO TOURNAMENT
REUTERS, ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Swedish third seed Robin Soderling clinched the ABN AMRO World Indoor Tournament title when Mikhail Youzhny withdrew injured in the final on Sunday.
Youzhny had complained about a slight leg injury after his win over Novak Djokovic in the semis. However, the Russian began the final by breaking Soderling’s service game.
The Swede recovered immediately, breaking Youzhny twice to take the first set 6-4 and after an early break in the second left him 2-0 down the Russian gave up.
■SAP OPEN
REUTERS , SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Fernando Verdasco upset top seed Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the SAP Open on Sunday.
Roddick started well, breaking his Spanish opponent twice to win the first set.
But after being broken early in the second, Roddick received a code violation for belting a ball way up into the stands when he missed a passing shot.
He fought off two set points at 5-4, but second seed Verdasco sealed the second set with an ace.
The two went it at tooth and nail in the third set, but the Spaniard broke to lead 5-4 and served out the match with another ace.
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
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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