TENNIS
Istomin wins first title
Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan beat Sam Querrey of the United States 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) in the final of the grass-court Nottingham Open to win his first ATP title on Saturday. The No. 92-ranked Istomin dropped to his knees with a scream after winning his first title match in a battle of big servers at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Querrey recovered from 5-2 down in the second set by breaking twice to take it to a tiebreaker, which he led 4-1. The American was looking to end a three-year wait for a title, having last won in Los Angeles in 2012, and was the only seeded player -- at No. 12 -- to reach the semifinals in a tournament of upsets. Istomin dropped just one set on his way to the title, although he was helped by the retirement of defending champion Marcos Baghdatis early in their semifinal on Friday. That kept Istomin fresh for the final, while Querrey had a tough three-setter against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
• Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic won her first title by beating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in the Eastbourne final on Saturday, enhancing her burgeoning reputation ahead of Wimbledon. The 18-year-old Bencic won on grass in windy conditions on the south coast to deny the ninth-seeded Radwanska a second title at Eastbourne, after 2008. Watched by compatriot and mentor Martina Hingis, Bencic covered her face in her hands after driving a forehand winner past Radwanska on the first match point to end a third set that lasted just 24 minutes. Bencic, ranked 31st, won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon in 2013, and previously lost two WTA finals, including one on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch this month. She showed great variety and subtlety with her clean groundstrokes on Saturday, handling the blustery conditions better except for a period in the second set when she became frustrated and called for her coach. The WTA says Bencic, at 18 years and 109 days, is the youngest player to win a top-level title since Caroline Wozniacki won her first title at New Haven in 2008 at 18 years and 43 days. Wimbledon starts Monday.
BASEBALL
Stanton breaks hand
For the second year in a row, Giancarlo Stanton's chances of winning the major league home run title have been hurt by an injury. The Miami Marlins slugger has a broken left hand, which is expected to sideline him four to six weeks. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday and will meet with a hand specialist. Stanton, who grimaced as he swung and missed for strike three Friday night in the ninth inning of the Marlins' 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, said the injury became worse as the game progressed. Stanton led the majors with 27 home runs and 67 RBI when sidelined. Last year he was in the thick of the home run race when a beaning ended his season on Sept. 11, and he finished tied for second in the majors with 37 home runs. Stanton has 12 home runs in June, tying the franchise record for any month. Despite his power surge, the Marlins had been woeful lately, batting .201 and averaging two runs a game over the past nine games through Friday.
• Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Paco Rodriguez has had a setback in his recovery from elbow tendinitis and needs surgery that will sideline him for an additional eight to 10 weeks. Rodriguez made four rehab appearances with Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Class AAA Oklahoma City with hopes of returning to the big league club on Monday before the new trouble. Rodriguez, who is 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 18 appearances, has been out since May 29.
• The Atlanta Braves have placed rookie starting pitcher Williams Perez on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise in his left foot. Perez, unbeaten in eight starts, left Friday night's loss to Pittsburgh in the fifth inning shortly after getting hit in the foot with a line drive off the bat of Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison. Perez attempted to stay in the game but left two batters later. X-rays were negative but Perez said the foot felt worse on Saturday morning and it was unlikely he would have been able to make his next start. The Braves called up RHP Jake Brigham from Class AAA Gwinnett to take Perez's spot on the roster. The 27-year-old Brigham is a career minor leaguer. Brigham took a perfect game into the ninth inning for Class AA Mississippi earlier this month.
HOCKEY
1st Chinese player taken
For the first time, a Chinese player has been selected in the NHL Draft. Andong Song was selected by the New York Islanders with the No. 172 pick in the draft on Saturday. The defenseman started playing hockey on tiny rinks in Beijing when his mother was trying to find him a sport, then his family moved to Canada when he was 10. Song was a member of the varsity team at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, and plans to attend Philips Andover Academy in Massachusetts next year as a postgraduate student. Song says being the first Chinese draftee comes with a lot of pressure, but says it's "good pressure" and he hopes to make his homeland proud.
HORSE RACING
Betty wins Goose
Include Betty swept by the field Saturday to win the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park. Trained by Tom Proctor, Include Betty improved to 4 for 10 with her third stakes victory. She previously captured the Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs and the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. Drayden Van Dyke was aboard for his second Grade 1. The 2014 Eclipse Award winner as the nation's leading apprentice rider, Van Dyke cracked the Grade 1 circle in March at Santa Anita by capturing the Frank Kilroe Mile. As usual, Include Betty dropped far back in the early stages. The trailer in the 10-horse field, Include Betty split horses on the turn before swinging to the outside for the winning rally. The time was 1:44.68 for 1 1/16 miles on the track still rated fast as light rain fell. Include Betty prevailed by three lengths, paying $12.80, $5.20 and $3.60. Wonder Gal edged Chide by a nose for second, returning $4.10 and $3.20. Chide paid $5.30 to show.
TRACK AND FIELD
Felix must decide: Run 200 or 400
EUGENE, Ore. — Allyson Felix’s dalliance with the 400 meters has led to a dilemma of whether she will run the event at worlds or hand off the spot to a teammate.
Felix needed just 50.19 seconds — along with a powerful kick and a lean at the finish — to edge Natasha Hastings on a scorching Saturday at the U.S. championships.
The schedule at worlds is just too tight for Felix to consider racing the 400 along with the 200, which is her signature event and one she doesn’t have to run at nationals because she already has an automatic bye in the event to Beijing later this summer.
Hanging in the balance is Francena McCorory, who had the fastest time in the world heading into the race, but struggled around the track and finished fourth. The top three qualify.
Should Felix not run the 400 at worlds, McCorory would likely take her place.
Felix was behind most of the way Saturday before turning it on with the finish line in sight.
“I just buckled down and went for it,” Felix explained.
That describes Justin Gatlin, too.
In his first race at nationals, the 33-year-old sprinter won the opening heat of the 200 in 19.92 seconds on a steamy afternoon. According to USA Track and Field, it’s the fourth-fastest time in the first round of a 200.
Gatlin was feeling particularly fresh after skipping the 100 because he has an automatic bye to worlds from his 2014 Diamond League title.
Isiah Young had the second-fastest time of the afternoon, finishing 0.07 seconds behind Gatlin. The sprinters train together in Florida.
Gatlin was a spectator Friday night when Tyson Gay (Arkansas Razorbacks) cruised to victory in the 100. Gatlin said if he would’ve been racing that night, he might have run 9.6 seconds on the super-fast Hayward Field track. That sort of time would have beaten Gay — who’s not running the 200 — and broken Gay’s American record of 9.69 set in 2009.
Sports on 06/28/2015