Auto Racing
IndyCar opens with Power; Hamilton makes ammends
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Will Power has picked up right where he left off last season. In Victory Lane.
Power won the season-opening IndyCar Series race through the streets of St. Petersburg with a dominating run Sunday. It continues a streak he started last season by winning three of the final five races, including the final two.
He passed pole-sitter Takuma Sato for the lead with an outside move headed into the second turn on Lap 31, and the Australian was never really challenged again. Power did have to beat Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves off pit lane during caution stops.
SEPANG, Malaysia – Lewis Hamilton led a one-two finish for the Mercedes team at the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg by 17.3 seconds at the Sepang International Circuit, with defending world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull third.
Hamilton led throughout, making up for his retirement in the season-opening race in Australia and winning in Malaysia for the first time at his eighth attempt.
Cycling
Rodriguez makes it two at the Volta a Catalunya
BARCELONA, Spain – Joaquim Rodriguez won his second Volta a Catalunya title in his hometown of Barcelona after protecting his overall lead for a fourth consecutive stage Sunday.
Dutch cyclist Lieuwe Westra of Astana broke away to win the seventh and final stage, a rainy 74.9-mile ride around the Catalan capital finishing with eight laps of the Montjuic hill, in 2 hours, 36 minutes, 14 seconds.
Rodriguez stayed with nearest rival Alberto Contador to protect his four-second lead over the Spaniard in the overall standings and repeat his Volta victory from 2010. The Katusha rider took the lead of this edition, the 94th, on Wednesday when he surged past Contador, Nairo Quintana and Tour de France winner Christopher Froome to a summit finish at La Molina in the Pyrenees mountains
Golf
Bowditch earns first win; Nordqvist claims Kia Classic
SAN ANTONIO – Steven Bowditch held on to win the Texas Open in windy conditions Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory and a spot in the Masters.
The 30-year-old Australian bogeyed the par-5 18th for a 4-over 76 – the highest closing score by a winner since Vijay Singh finished with a 4-over 76 in the 2004 PGA Championship – for a one-stroke victory.
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Anna Nordqvist rallied to win the Kia Classic on Sunday at Aviara for her second victory in her last four LPGA Tour starts.
Two strokes behind leaders Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas entering the round, Nordqvist closed with her second consecutive 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Salas.
The Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major tournament of the year, is next week in Rancho Mirage.
Tennis
Djokovic keeps Nadal from his first Sony Open title
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Novak Djokovic won his fourth Key Biscayne title, while Rafael Nadal failed again trying for his first.
Djokovic dominated from the start and closed out the victory by winning a remarkable exchange to beat Nadal 6-3, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the Sony Open.
Nadal fell to 0-4 in finals at Key Biscayne, one of just three ATP Masters 1,000 events he has yet to win. Only six-time champion Andre Agassi has won the men’s event more than Djokovic.
Djokovic erased the only break point he faced, committed just 15 unforced errors and won a scrambling, 30-shot rally on the final point.
He completed a March sweep after beating Roger Federer in the final at Indian Wells two weeks ago. Even so, Nadal will remain ranked No. 1 and Djokovic No. 2.
Associated Press
