TORONTO — Venus Williams‘ tuneup for the U.S. Open hit a surprising roadblock Tuesday with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
Williams, seeded third, lost to an opponent ranked No. 64. Williams was playing at this tournament for the first time since 1997, when she was 17. She has lost all three of her matches at the Rogers Cup.
“I was definitely expecting to play well and to go very far in the tournament,” Williams said. “I’ve got a lot of fans here, so it’s disappointing.”
Williams tried to find some consolation in the defeat, with the U.S. Open starting Aug. 31.
“I have to take it as a positive,” she said. “Now it’ll give me a chance to rest. It’s been a really busy summer for me.”
Kim Clijsters cruised past Elena Baltacha 6-3, 6-4, advancing in her second tournament since taking more than two years off to have a child.
Red Bull gives Vickers extension
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brian Vickers was rewarded for his victory at Michigan with a multiyear contact extension from Red Bull Racing.
Talks about a new contract had been ongoing for several months, with Vickers insistent he wanted to stay with the team. Although verbal agreements had been made, Austria-based ownership had been slow to present paperwork that would have finalized a deal.
It finally came Tuesday, two days after Vickers’ stretched his final tank of fuel to the first victory for Red Bull. The polesitter won when leader Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas with two laps left, giving Vickers just the second Sprint Cup Series win of his career.
“I’m thrilled,” Vickers said. “This has been a long time coming, and there is nowhere else I would rather be. I am looking forward to building on what we have started the last couple of years.”
Mine That Bird has surgery
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird has returned to Saratoga Race Course to prepare for the $1 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 29 after having throat surgery to free an entrapped epiglottis.
Trainer Chip Woolley said the routine procedure went perfectly. He said the 3-year-old gelding will resume training in a couple of days.
The condition, which can interfere with breathing, was discovered during a routine endoscopic examination after a workout Monday at Saratoga.
Footnotes.
Chris John‘s rematch with Rocky Juarez for the World Boxing Association featherweight title will highlight a loaded undercard at Floyd Mayweather Jr.‘s comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19. Former welterweight champion Zab Judah also will meet Antonio Diaz in a 144-pound fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
• Lauren Jackson scored 36 points to lead the Seattle Storm to a 79-75 WNBA victory over the Detroit Shock in Auburn Hills, Mich.
• Diana Taurasi scored 27 points and led a late charge that carried the Phoenix Mercury to a 106-99 road victory over the Chicago Sky. The Associated Press
