Auto Racing
No slowing Hamilton and his Mercedes team in Spain
MONTMELO, Spain – Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg sped away to their fourth consecutive one-two finish at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday in a dominant performance that does not bode well for the rest of the Formula One field.
Hamilton took off from pole position and stayed ahead of Rosberg for a fourth consecutive victory to move ahead of his teammate in the overall standings.
Cycling
Kittel again shows off sprint ability with stage win in Giro
DUBLIN – Marcel Kittel sprinted to a second consecutive stage victory in a wet third leg of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, as Michael Matthews retained the overall leader’s pink jersey.
Kittel looked to have left it too late on his 26th birthday after earlier bike trouble but managed to edge out Ben Swift and Elia Viviani in a bunch sprint at the end of the 116-mile cross-border leg from Armagh to Dublin.
After three wet days in Northern Ireland and Ireland, the Giro travels back to Italy, with a rest day on Monday before the race resumes.
Golf
Brooks wins Madeira Islands after caddie dies on course
SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands – Daniel Brooks made par on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the fog-shortened Madeira Islands Open, which was overshadowed by the death of a caddie earlier in the day.
Scott Henry, who had birdied the last three holes to force a playoff, three-putted for bogey on the first extra hole to finish second.
The event was shortened to 36 holes because of a series of fog delays, and Brooks shot a 5-under 67 to sit tied with Henry (68) at 9-under 135 after the second round.
Play stopped again when Ian MacGregor, the 52-year-old Zimbabwe-born caddy to Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth, collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack on the ninth fairway – Forsyth’s final hole.
Play was restarted after a minute’s silence.
Soccer
Manchester City crowned the premier team in England
MANCHESTER, England – Manchester City won the Premier League for the second time in three seasons with a 2-0 victory over West Ham on goals by Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri.
Two years ago, City won the title on goal difference ahead of neighbor Manchester United after coming from behind to beat the Queens Park Rangers on the final day. Sunday’s victory, however, meant Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Newcastle at Anfield was meaningless, and City finished two points above the Merseyside club.
Tennis
Nadal outlasts Nishikori; Sharapova slays Halep
MADRID – Rafael Nadal won his fourth Madrid Open title Sunday, after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with an injury when tailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final.
Nishikori’s powerful groundstrokes helped him win the first set against the top-ranked Nadal, who couldn’t find a way to counter his Japanese opponent.
Nadal slowly clawed back into the match at the Magic Box and broke twice in the second set to even the match.
Nishikori was in obvious discomfort in the third and received treatment on his lower back before eventually retiring.
MADRID – Maria Sharapova bounced back from a poor start to defeat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday and win the Madrid Open title.
Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last year’s final, crumbled in the opening set, when she held her serve just once.
But Halep’s serve dipped in the second set, and Sharapova started hitting pinpoint ground strokes that kept the Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both her break points in the set to even the match.
Associated Press
