ROME — Rafael Nadal is looking unstoppable on clay for a fifth consecutive year.
The top-ranked Spaniard won his record fourth Rome Masters on Sunday, beating defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (2), 6-2 for his third clay-court title in three weeks, adding to his victories at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open.
Having dropped only one set over the three-week stretch, it’s tough to imagine someone taking three sets from Nadal at the French Open, which begins in three weeks.
The Spaniard will be aiming for a record fifth consecutive title at Roland Garros, which would break a tie with Bjorn Borg, who won six French Opens overall.
• Svetlana Kuznetsova upset top-ranked Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, and capture her first WTA title since September 2007.
It was Safina’s first tournament since becoming No. 1 two weeks ago. Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion now ranked No. 9, was in command in the all-Russian showdown with an aggressive, big-hitting game, winning on her third match point with an overhead smash.
• Venus and Serena Williams said they are interested in playing the Fed Cup final against Italy in November despite skipping the United States’ victory over the Czech Republic last weekend.
• Jelena Dokic, currently ranked 31st in the world, said in a magazine interview that her father, Damir, physically abused her during their tumultuous relationship earlier in her career.
Worsham downs Capps in final
MADISON, Ill. — Del Worsham raced to his first funny car win of the season at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Worsham drove to a 4.135-second run at a top speed of 302.48 mph to defeat No. 1 qualifier and current points leader Ron Capps.
Antron Brown (top fuel), Jeg Coughlin (pro stock) and Eddie Krawiec (pro stock motorcycle) won their respective categories.
Kreuziger holds on
GENEVA — Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic won the six-day Tour de Romandie, and Spaniard Oscar Freire won the final stage in a sprint finish.
Kreuziger took control of the race by winning Saturday’s stage through the mountains and maintained his lead of 18 seconds over Vladimir Karpets of Russia.
• Levi Leipheimer won the Tour of the Gila after finishing first in two of the early stages and coming in third behind Lance Armstrong, who finished second overall, in the fifth and final stage in Pinos Altos, N.M.
Dynamo defeats Revolution
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Stuart Holden and Brian Ching scored goals as the Houston Dynamo defeated the short-handed New Eng- land Revolution 2-0 to snap a six-game regular-season winless streak in the series.
Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad had to make just one save for his third shutout of the season while the Revolution played without six injured starters.
The Associated Press
