GOLF
Rain swamps Scottish Open
Colin Montgomerie was facing a desperate battle to qualify for The Open after heavy rain and summer storms brought havoc to the Scottish Open, which was reduced to a 54-hole event on Saturday. Persistent heavy rain in the Inverness region of northern Scotland caused localized flooding and, with portions of the new Castle Stuart course collapsing onto fairways, officials decided to make the event a 54-hole tournament. Sections of the embankment along the side of the first and 12th holes were carried by the storms onto the fairways. Eventually, play was suspended for the day. When play eventually restarts, Montgomerie will be playing out of a hazard at the 10th hole and on six-under-par, five behind the leading trio of Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and the Scottish duo of Scott Jamieson and Peter Whiteford, each at 11-under par. The trio had completed their rounds near lunch on Friday. “The scoring, as everyone could see, was fantastic before the delay. So it’s going to make a big difference going to 54 holes and those like me have been hurt by this decision,” Montgomerie said.
Photos: Reuters
TENNIS
Isner advances to finals
Big-serving American John Isner advanced to his first ATP final this year after beating Germany’s Tobias Kamke 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) in the semi-finals of Hall of Fame Tennis Championship on Saturday. The towering American blasted 12 aces past Kamke, lifting his total for the tournament to 54, to set up a clash with Olivier Rochus after the Belgian defeated US qualifier Michael Yani 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final for the second year in a row. Isner made four finals last year, winning his first title at Auckland, but had not made a final this year and slipped down the rankings from 19 to 46. Overlooked for the US team chosen to play Spain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, Isner was seeded No. 1 for Hall of Fame Tournament in Newport where he has yet to drop a set in getting to the final.
TENNIS
Vinci to face Bergu
Top-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy will face Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the final of the Budapest Grand Prix. In Saturday’s semi-finals, Vinci beat No.3 seed Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4, while No. 7 seed Begu defeated Spain’s No. 5 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 6-4. Vinci, winner of five WTA titles, took a 3-0 lead in the first set, but Zakopalova closed the gap to 5-4, before the Italian wrapped up the set. In the second set, Vinci broke the Czech’s serve at 4-4 and won her own service game to take the match. In the other match, Begu broke Medina Garrigues’ serve at 5-4 in the first set and at 1-1 in the second.
TENNIS
Hercog wins Swedish Open
Slovenia’s Polona Hercog beat Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to win the Swedish Open and claim her first singles title. Eighth-seeded Hercog dominated both the serve and return in the final of the clay-court tournament in Bastad. Hercog won 46 percent of her returns, compared with 22 percent for Larsson. “I had a feeling that I could win the tournament,” Hercog said. “It was of course very tough ... but I’m the winner here. It’s an amazing feeling.”
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