Mason, Ohio – Roger Federer raised both arms triumphantly when his ace finished it off. After years of having everyone else’s number, he had a special one of his own.
Fifty for Federer.
The Swiss star reached another measure of tennis greatness on Sunday, winning his 50th tournament title by beating James Blake 6-1, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
At age 26, Federer became the fifth-youngest player to reach 50, and only the ninth overall in the Open Era – since 1968 – to win so many tournaments.
“It’s not a goal I set for myself in my career, but it’s definitely a nice number to get to, especially in terms of titles,” Federer said. “It’s really a lot, you know, so it’s great.”
Federer improved to 7-0 against Blake, who has won only one of their 19 sets – off a tiebreaker in the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year.
TENNIS
Henin tops Jankovic in Rogers Cup
Top-ranked Justine Henin defeated Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (3), 7-5 to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto, her first tournament since losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Henin has won all seven meetings against the third-ranked Jankovic.
Jankovic had a 4-1 lead in the opening set before Henin pulled even, eventually winning in a tiebreaker.
Henin kept up her strong play in the second set, winning her sixth title of the season in the warm-up to the U.S. Open.
“It’s important to win this kind of match,” Henin said. “It gives you a lot of confidence and it (was) very emotional, too. It was so intense and we could feel it on the court.”
The game of the match came at 5-5 in the second set with the players going to deuce nine times before Henin eventually won it.
HORSE RACING
Student Council upsets Lava Man
Barely a week after being purchased, Student Council made his first trip to the West Coast and stunned defending champion Lava Man to win the $1 million Pacific Classic by a half-length at Del Mar, Calif.
Sent off as the even-money favorite, Lava Man faded to sixth in front of 35,320, the largest crowd since 2002 and third-largest in the race’s 17-year history.
Eager to win the Pacific Classic after his Super Frolic finished third last year and fifth in 2005, Ro Parra bought Student Council on Aug. 10 for an undisclosed price from Will Farish, who owns Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Ky., and bred Student Council.
At 23-1 odds, Student Council and Richard Migliore covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:07.29 and paid $48.80, $31.80 and $20.60. The horse’s time was the slowest in race history, although the Classic was being run on Polytrack for the first time.
SOCCER
Dynamo regains lead in the West
Brian Ching scored in the first half and the Houston Dynamo went on to defeat FC Dallas 1-0 in Houston to retake the lead in the Western Conference.
It was Houston’s league-leading 10th shutout of the season and gave the Dynamo a one-point lead in the conference standings.
Houston (11-7-4) had lost two straight in MLS play after an 11-game unbeaten streak.
Dallas (11-7-3) snapped a six-game unbeaten string and slipped back to second place in the Western Conference.
Taylor Twellman scored in the 72nd minute to give the New England Revolution a 1-0 victory over the host Kansas City Wizards.
New England, playing its second road game in three days, improved to 11-5-6 with 39 points and extended its lead in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference to six points over D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls, who are tied for second.
WNBA
Liberty grabs last playoff spot in East
Shameka Christon scored eight of her 15 points in the final six minutes to lead the host New York Liberty to a 58-52 victory over the Chicago Sky, giving New York the last postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Liberty began the day tied with Washington for fourth place in the East, with New York holding the tiebreaker. The Mystics beat Connecticut on a last-second shot about 45 minutes before the start of the Liberty’s game, making it necessary for New York to win to reach the playoffs.
FOOTNOTES
Crimson Tide’s Castille is arrested
Alabama star cornerback Simeon Castille was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Tuscaloosa police spokesman Capt. Greg Kosloff said Castille was arrested in an entertainment district near campus. He was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Jail and released after posting bond. Police declined to release details of the incident.
Through team spokesman Jeff Purinton, coach Nick Saban said he didn’t have all the facts of the case and would deal with the situation “internally.”
Castille was one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference last season. He led Alabama with five interceptions and three recovered fumbles.
Indonesia’s Chris John (40-0-1) defeated Japan’s Zaiki Takemoto (21-7-1) on a technical knockout in Kobe, Japan, to retain his WBA featherweight title.
Elaine Youngs made a perfectly placed shot on the right sideline to give her and teammate Nicole Branagh the title at the AVP Boston Open with a 15-21, 21-19, 16-14 victory over Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in Quincy, Mass.
Alessandro Ballan won the 142-mile Cyclassics cycling race in a mass sprint to the finish in Hamburg, Germany.
