MADRID — Novak Djokovic kept his perfect start to the season and against Rafael Nadal on Sunday.
Djokovic defeated Nadal on clay for the first time in 10 tries, beating the top-ranked Spaniard 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open and extend his unbeaten start to the season to 32 matches.
The second-ranked Djokovic squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set, but recovered to end Nadal’s latest winning streak on clay at 37 matches and earn the Serb his third straight victory over Nadal in tournament finals this season.
Djokovic’s sixth title of 2011 allowed him to surpass Bjorn Borg’s 31-match season-opening run in 1980. He trails only John McEnroe’s 42-0 start in 1984.
In the women’s final, Petra Kvitova won her third title of the season by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Garmin’s Farrar finishes seventh
PARMA, Italy — Alessandro Petacchi won a mass sprint to take the second stage of the Giro d’Italia, with Mark Cavendish finishing second to take the overall lead.
Lampre’s Petacchi captured the Giro’s longest stage, completing the 151-mile ride from Alba to Parma in 5 hours, 45 minutes, 40 seconds. Tyler Farrar of Boulder- based Garmin-Cervelo placed seventh in the chaotic sprint.
“We just have to look at what went wrong and try to make it right for the next few days,” Farrar said on the team website.
Capel heads to Duke
DURHAM, N.C. — Former Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel has taken a job as an assistant on coach Mike Krzyzewski‘s Duke staff. Oklahoma fired Capel in March.
• Butler says guard Shelvin Mack is keeping his name in the NBA draft June 23 and won’t return for his senior season.
• Stanford guard Jeremy Green is skipping his senior season and entering the NBA draft.
• Tennessee all-SEC guard Scotty Hopson is entering the draft and said the firing of coach Bruce Pearl “played a lot into my decision.”
Footnotes.
Huo Liang won the men’s 10-meter platform event in the USA Diving Grand Prix, part of a strong weekend for China at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Aquatic Center. Americans Christina Loukas and Abby Johnston won the synchronized 3-meter springboard.
• Former Kansas State and NFL player Mack Herron is in police custody after being charged with heroin possession in Chicago. The 62-year-old played for the New England Patriots in the 1970s.
• The Czech Republic overcame the arrival of Alex Ovechkin to beat Russia 3-2 and maintain a perfect record at the hockey world championship. Also Sweden beat Switzerland 2-0 to secure a place in the quarters. The result means the United States also advanced.
• Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, clinching his third win of the season ahead of teammate Mark Webber. Vettel extended his overall lead in the Formula One standings.
The Associated Press
