Briefs | Henin, Sharapova to meet today in season finale
Tennis
Henin pursues milestones: Justine Henin of Belgium wants a perfect post-Wimbledon season.
With a win over Maria Sharapova of Russia in today’s final at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain, Henin can become the first women’s player to go unbeaten after Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1989.
Henin defeated fourth-ranked Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4 and Sharapova stopped No. 7 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-2, 6-2 Saturday in the semifinals of the round-robin tournament that features the top eight players.
A win would equal Graf’s 25-match run and make Henin the first player to capture 10 or more titles in a season since Martina Hingis in 1997. Henin has won the French Open and U.S. Open en route to a 62-4 record this season.
“I’m a little bit sad that the season is almost over because it only has good memories,” she said. “There’s one match left, the last of the season, and I want to make the most of it.”
Henin is 6-2 against Sharapova.
Italian player is banned for betting on matches: Italy’s Alessio Di Mauro, ranked 124th in the world, was suspended for nine months for betting on matches, becoming the first player to be sanctioned under the ATP’s new anti-corruption rules.
Di Mauro, 30, was also fined $60,000 after being found guilty of making 120 bets with an online bookmaker from Nov. 2, 2006, to June 12 this year.
“This ruling underlines the ATP’s stated policy of not tolerating players, associates or staff gambling on tennis,” Gayle Bradshaw, the organization’s administrator of Rules & Competition, said in a statement.
Boxing
Cotto wins welterweight bout by unanimous decision: Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico retained his WBA welterweight title with a unanimous decision over Shane Mosley of Pomona, Calif., in an action-packed bout before 15,251 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Judges scored it 116-113, 115-113 and 115-113 for Cotto (31-0).
According to ringside statistics, each fighter landed 248 punches.
Every time Mosley (44-5) has lost, it has been to a champion.
“You’re a young lion on the way to greatness,” the 36-year-old Mosley told the 27-year-old Cotto.
Haye takes title: David Haye of Britain knocked out Jean-Marc Mormeck in the seventh round in Levallois, France, to take the Frenchman’s WBC-WBA cruiserweight title.
Jones to fight Trinidad in January: Roy Jones Jr., 38, and Felix “Tito” Trinidad, 34, who have combined to win 13 world titles, are to fight at a maximum of 170 pounds Jan. 19 in New York.
Skiing
Schild wins World Cup slalom event: Austrian Marlies Schild won a World Cup slalom event in Reiteralm, Austria.
Schild, the defending World Cup slalom champion, edged Nicole Hosp of Austria. Resi Stiegler of Jackson Hole, Wyo., placed fourth.
Figure skating
Weir, Belbin, Agosto triumph at Cup of China: Johnny Weir and ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto posted wins as U.S. skaters excelled at the Cup of China in Harbin.
Weir edged Evan Lysacek in a duel between the former and current American champions.
Belbin and Agosto won in the final free dance.
South Korean Kim Yu-na vaulted from third after the short program to take the women’s title ahead of American Caroline Zhang, 14.
Speedskating
Fabris, Koskela set world records: Italy’s Enrico Fabris and Finland’s Pekka Koskela set world long-track records in a World Cup event at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
Koskela won the 1,000 meters in 1 minute, 7 seconds to surpass the mark of 1:07.03 set by Shani Davis of Chicago.
Fabris took the 5,000 in 6:07.40, beating the record of 6:07.48 set by Sven Kramer of the Netherlands.
Horse racing
Gomez ties Bailey’s mark: Jockey Garrett Gomez tied Jerry Bailey’s North American record of 70 stakes wins in a year with a victory aboard Hucking Hot in the $68,650 Audrey Skirball-Kenis Stakes at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif. Bailey won 70 in 2003.
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