Auto Racing
NASCAR’s Kurt Busch says Gene Haas serious about F1
AUSTIN, Texas – NASCAR driver Kurt Busch says team owner Gene Haas is serious about making a strong entry in Formula One now that the sport’s governing body has opened the door for the first U.S.-based entry in decades.
Haas co-owns a NASCAR team with Tony Stewart that fields cars for four drivers, including Busch, who attended Sunday’s MotoGP race in Austin.
Mike Conway wins a wild IndyCar race at Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Mike Conway has won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, grabbing the lead when Scott Dixon was forced to stop for fuel two laps from the finish.
Conway was the surprise winner of a race that took a dramatic turn when leader Ryan Hunter-Reay triggered a seven-car accident 24 laps from the finish.
Cycling
Terpstra beats the favorites in the Paris-Roubaix race
ROUBAIX, France – Niki Terpstra of the Netherlands won the Paris-Roubaix race for the first time on Sunday, making a decisive break near the end of the one-day classic to win it by 20 seconds and upstage pre-race favorites Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara.
Belgian rider Boonen was looking to win the race for a record fifth time, and the Swiss star Cancellara, who finished in third place, for a fourth time.
Terpstra outwitted his Omega Pharma-QuickStep teammate Boonen after pulling ahead with about 3.7 miles remaining. Known as the “hell of the north” because it is so grueling, the race features about 31 miles of cobblestone sections along the 160-mile route.
NFL
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Smith arrested at LA airport
LOS ANGELES – San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International after authorities said he became belligerent during a security screening and threatened that he had a bomb.
The 24-year-old player was randomly selected for a secondary screening at Terminal 1 and became uncooperative with the process, airport police Sgt. Karla Ortiz said. She said he told a TSA agent that he had a bomb before walking to the gate. When airport police officers caught up with him, Ortiz said Smith became uncooperative and was taken into custody.
Tennis
Fernando Verdasco wins the US Men’s Clay Court title
HOUSTON – Fernando Verdasco won the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Sunday for his sixth ATP World Tour title and first since 2010, beating Spanish countryman Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 (4).
The 30-year-old Verdasco ended a six-match losing streak in tournament finals. He also reached the doubles final and had been on the court six hours longer than Almagro going into the final.
Garcia-Lopez beats Granollers for Grand Prix Hassan II title
CASABLANCA, Morocco – Eighth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez won his first title in nearly four years after rallying to beat fourth-seeded Marcel Granollers 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Spanish final on clay at the Grand Prix Hassan II on Sunday.
Cornet saves match point to beat Giorgi in Katowice Open
KATOWICE, Poland – Alize Cornet saved a match point before beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5 Sunday in a three-hour final to win the Katowice Open for her fourth career WTA title.
The Frenchwoman led 5-3 in the second set before dropping four consecutive games against Giorgi, who was playing her first career tour final. Cornet bounced back by taking a 3-0 lead in the decider but then had another mini-slump as Giorgi won five of the next six games to take a 5-4 lead.
Associated Press
