Sunday, September 11, 2011-DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
SPORTS BRIEFS Haslem wants to save season NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Udonis Haslem hopes to be ready — and able — to play soon. The Miami Heat forward says he believes the NBA’s players and owners will come to terms on a new labor deal in time to save the season. Haslem says players have been told “both sides want to get a deal done.”
Vettel gets pole for Italian GP MONZA, Italy — Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has earned the pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. Extending Red Bull’s perfect streak of poles in all 13 races this season, Vettel’s time was 1 minute, 22.275 seconds around the high-speed Monza circuit. Lewis Hamilton qualified second for today’s race.
Klitschko keeps WBC belt WROCLAW, Poland — Vitali Klitschko defeated Polish challenger Tomasz Adamek by technical knockout to retain his WBC heavyweight title Saturday. Italian referee Massimo Barrovecchio stepped in 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the 10th round to stop Klitschko, 40, after an utterly dominant performance by the Ukrainian.
Victims of plane crash mourned YAROSLAVL, Russia — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has joined tens of thousands of people attending a memorial ceremony for the victims of the Russian plane crash that devastated a top ice hockey team. The crash that killed 43 people was one of the worst aviation disasters ever in sports, shocking Russia and the entire world of hockey.
Fundraiser cash might be gone FENNVILLE, Mich. — Authorities are investigating claims that thousands of dollars are missing from T-shirt sales to benefit a foundation that was created to honor a Michigan basketball player who died in March. More than 1,000 Tshirts were sold with assurances that money would go to Wes Leonard’s family or the Wes Leonard Heart Team foundation.
Sullen N.J. team loses first game LINWOOD, N.J. — Playing its first game since four players were killed in a car crash last month, Mainland Regional High School lost to Hammonton 23-7 Friday night. Three teenagers died Aug. 20 when the SUV they were in overturned on the Garden State Parkway just north of Atlantic City.
Prep player had heart failure OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — A Mississippi coroner says the death of a high school football player on the field during a game was caused by a form of heart failure. Latrell Dunbar of D’Iberville High School suffered what was listed as “an acute cardiac event.” What triggered it was not known. The coroner said there was no sign of an injury on the field that led to his death.
White loses in skateboard final SALT LAKE CITY — Pierre-Luc Gagnon denied Shaun White a victory on his birthday, using a strong late run to beat the twotime Olympic gold medalist in the Skateboard Vert finals. The 31-year-old Canadian scored 94.00 points. White, who turned 25 on Saturday, claimed second place with 89.75 points. Veteran skateboarder Bucky Lasek finished third.
5B
TENNIS: U.S. OPEN
Djoko, Nadal in final Federer loses two-set lead
Detroit’s Brandon Inge is hugged by teammate Miguel Cabrera after hitting a walk-off solo home run Saturday. PHOTO BY
By Eddie Pells ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Facing two match points against a beloved player whose name is already in the history books, Novak Djokovic clenched his jaw, nodded his head and flashed an ever-so-slight glimpse of a smile. “I would lie if I say I didn’t think I’m going to lose,” Djokovic said. Might as well go down swinging then, right? He turned violently on a wide, 108 mph serve from Roger Federer for a cross-court, forehand winner that barely nicked the line. The fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium, ready to explode for a Federer victory, instead found themselves taking a cue from Djokovic — who raised his hands, asking them to pump up the volume, and give him a little more love. About 10 minutes later, those same fans were dancing with Djoko as he boogied at center court to celebrate an epic U.S. Open semifinal win — one in which he dug out of a two-set hole, then saved two match points to beat Federer for the second straight year. Top-seeded Djokovic won 6-7 (7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 Saturday to improve to 63-2 on the year. This was only his second career comeback from two sets down, while Federer lost a two-set lead for the second time in three months after going 178-0 lifetime before this year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals. Next, Djokovic will face defending champion Rafael Nadal in a rematch of last year’s final. No. 2 Nadal beat No. 4 Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the later semifinal. Djokovic is 5-0 against Nadal this year. All the meetings have been in tournament finals, including Wimbledon. “I didn’t find the solution yet. I will try my best,” Nadal said. “I play last year’s final against him. I think I played a fantastic match. I will try the same.” Nadal’s four-set win over Djokovic last year made him the fourth man to win three Grand Slam titles in a year since the start of the Open era. Djokovic could become the fifth, though he said regardless of what happens, the
DUANE BURLESON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tigers’ magic number at nine Continued from page 1
Roger Federer, left, and Novak Djokovic leave the court after their semifinal match at the U.S. Open on Saturday. PHOTO BAY ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
comeback win over Federer will always stand out. “It was definitely the biggest win of this year, one of the biggest wins of the career under the circumstances,” Djokovic said. “Roger was in control, playing better. I switched gears and played much better over three sets.” So much better, in fact, that after the fourth set, the prospect of thirdseeded Federer ever getting a match point seemed bleak.
Djokovic, who spent the first two sets shaking his head, commiserating with the folks in his players box, even folding his hands in mock prayer, turned things around suddenly and unexpectedly. He got an early break in the third to capture the momentum. After winning that one, he placed 16 of 20 of his first serves in during the fourth set and tore off his first 15 service points to easily push the match to the distance.
Australian in women’s final By Rachel Cohen ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Sam Stosur reached her second Grand Slam final, her experience showing in a three-set victory over 92nd-ranked Angelique Kerber at the U.S. Open on Saturday night The ninth-seeded Australian won 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in a semifinal that would have seemed overshadowed by the upcoming Serena WilliamsCaroline Wozniacki tilt even if it weren’t relegated to the Grandstand. The 2010 French Open runner-up, Stosur had two record-setting three-set wins earlier in the tournament, so this 1-hour, 46-minute match seemed like a breeze in comparison. She went up 5-0 in the final set, then was broken when she first tried to serve out the match. The second time, Stosur had to save four break points before finally clinching victory with an emphatic backhand volley. “That third set, I just tried to settle down and remember what my game plan was,” she said. Kerber had never been past the third round of a Grand Slam before this tournament. The German still hasn’t beaten a top-10 opponent —
Samantha Stosur reacts after defeating Angelique Kerber in the semifinals at the U.S. Open on Saturday. PHOTO BY MIKE GROLL/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. OPEN WATCH • LATE MATCH: The other women’s semifinal match between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki was incomplete at press time Saturday night. she hadn’t faced any player ranked better than No. 13 in her run at the Open. Stosur needed 3 hours, 16 minutes to win in the third round against Nadia Petrova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 — the longest women’s match at the Open since the advent of the tiebreaker in 1970. Two days later, she was part of the longest
tiebreaker in a women’s Grand Slam, beating Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-7 (15), 6-3. This semifinal wasn’t on the center court of Arthur Ashe Stadium because rain delays meant there were four singles matches Saturday instead of the normal three. It had to be played on Flushing Meadows’ third-largest venue because of water on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Kerber was making only her fourth semifinal appearance at any tour event. She’s projected to rise to a career-high No. 34 after her Open breakthrough.
Busch wins Nationwide race at Richmond By Hank Kurz Jr. ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND, Va. — Kyle Busch took the lead from Carl Edwards during pit stops with just over 30 laps to go and won his eighth NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season Friday night. “That final pit stop, my guys really put the pressure on them knowing how good they’d been on pit road all night,” Busch said after his fourth career victory at Richmond International Raceway. Edwards came back out fourth, and while he and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. battled for position, Busch was able to pull away and win by 0.696 seconds. Busch’s victory was his 51st in the series, the most in history, and came in a race he and Edwards dominated on the 0.75-mile oval. Edwards led 160 laps, Busch 74, including the last 34.
NASCAR WATCH • LATE RACE: The Sprint Cup series race at Richmond, Va., was incomplete at press time Saturday night. The two Sprint Cup Series regulars have won 14 of the 27 races in the series this year. While Busch thanked his pit crew for a “flawless job,” Edwards refused to blame his for the issue that caused him to lose three spots after heading for pit road with the lead. Stenhouse finished third and padded his points lead over Elliott Sadler from 13 to 16 with seven races remaining. Reed Sorenson is third, 29 points back. Ryan Truex was fourth, followed by Kenny Wallace. The second five was Sadler, Aric Almirola, Sorenson, Justin Allgaier and Joe Nemechek.
Stenhouse, who was running second when the race went back to green with 30 laps to go, thought he could have made a better challenge to Busch, but fell short. “I thought we had a little bit for Kyle there at the end. It started off really good. We were kind of running him down and then just lost forward grip,” Stenhouse said. That allowed Edwards to pass Stenhouse, but he, too, ran out of time. “I wish we had one more caution, got another shot at him,” Edwards said, while also crediting Stenhouse for letting him make a run at the leader. Danica Patrick, making her eighth start of the season, finished 18th. She clipped Brad Keselowski while passing him on the inside, sending Keselowski into the wall late in the race. Keselowski, the pole-sitter, was already out of contention and finished 19th.
little weird, but I’m just trying to hit everything hard. As soon as I got that one, I knew it was gone. That’s a great feeling.” Perkins thought his pitch selection was his biggest mistake. “I should have thrown him another slider,” he said. “Drew (Butera) called for a fastball, but I should have shaken him off. The pitch I threw him was the only one he could have hit out.” Inge had only entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement for Wilson Betemit. Al Alburquerque (6-1) picked up the victory with a perfect ninth inning, but sustained an injury to his upper right leg. “He said it was nothing, but I told him that this isn’t the time of year to be a hero,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. “He looked okay, so we left him in, but I’m not sure what the injury is — he’s being looked at right now.” The win lowered Detroit’s magic number for clinching the AL Central to nine over Chicago and eight over Cleveland. “Everyone here that was here in 2009 — and that’s most of us — learned our lesson that year,” Inge said. “If we could have found a way to win one more game in that season, we would have never had to play Game 163 in Minnesota. This year, we want to take care of business as quickly as possible.” Neither starting pitcher was involved in the decision. Detroit’s Max Scherzer allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings, while Anthony Swarzak gave up a pair of runs on four hits in six innings. “That was a battle, because I didn’t have any command on my fastball,” Scherzer said. “They got a couple off me, but I made a few big pitches and I got some big help from my defense.” The Tigers took a thirdinning lead on Betemit’s seventh homer, but the Twins tied it 1-1 in the fourth on Joe Mauer’s third home run of the season. Detroit went back in front in the fourth when Andy Dirks led off with a double, took third on Miguel Cabrera’s one-out groundout and scored on Victor Martinez’s RBI single. Scherzer held the onerun lead until the sixth, when Trevor Plouffe drew a walk, moved to third on Mauer’s base hit. Austin Jackson then made a spectacular leaping catch of Danny Valencia’s drive to deep center, but Plouffe easily scored from third on the play. The game, which drew 38,567 fans, was Star Wars Night at Comerica Park. Before the game, with numerous costumed characters on the field, Plouffe came out of the Minnesota dugout and rubbed his bat on Darth Vader’s helmet. The apparent attempt at good luck didn’t work though, as Plouffe struck out in his first two at-bats.