Rafael Nadal won his fourth straight Barcelona Open title with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory over second-seeded David Ferrer in the final Sunday.
Nadal?s 21st straight win at the tournament improved his record to 20-1 in clay court finals, including 4-0 at Barcelona. The second-ranked Spaniard, who has won 103 of his last 104 matches on clay, improved to 25-8 in finals overall.
Nadal moved to 6-3 against the fifth-ranked Ferrer, whom he beat on his way to a fourth straight trophy at Monte Carlo last week. The three-time French Open champion will go for a fourth straight Masters Series title in Rome, starting Monday. French Open Tickets and US Open Tickets available on Go Tickets.
Nadal took the lead from the first game with a break of Ferrer?s serve thanks to a backhand passing shot.
Ferrer fired a crosscourt forehand out to give Nadal a second break point and a 3-0 advantage. Ferrer finally held in the fifth to trail 4-1.
Peter Lawrie made par on the second playoff hole to win the Spanish Open on Sunday after Ignacio Garrido?s approach shot rolled into the water.
Garrido (72) forced the playoff with a birdie on the 18th hole to finish at 15-under 273. Lawrie shot a 5-under 67.
?I?m not a party person, but I will enjoy this,? the 34-year-old Irishman said after his first European Tour win in 175 attempts.
Both players birdied the first playoff hole.
?It just feels unbelievable; I?m lost for words,? Lawrie said. ?I thought I?d had it won and was telling my caddie Dermott to pack up because we have to catch a plane, when he (Garrido) holed that last putt.?
Garrido set a course record with a 63 on Friday.
After getting swept at home by Detroit last week, the New York Yankees dusted themselves off and answered immediately: Three easy wins over Seattle.
Derek Jeter had four hits and New York got consecutive homers from best pals Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano during a six-run outburst, beating the slumping Mariners 8-2 Sunday to finish a lopsided three-game sweep.
Just called up from the minors, Darrell Rasner pitched six comfortable innings and the sweet-swinging Yankees roughed up an ineffective Carlos Silva. New York outscored the Mariners 19-4 in the series, right after losing three in a row to the Tigers.
?It?s been kind of streaky,? Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ?I?d like to shorten one streak and lengthen another.?
The Yankees (17-16) responded following Friday?s comments from co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner, who said he was ?disappointed? with the season so far.
Seattle manager John McLaren didn?t get the reaction he was looking for, however, after tearing into his team during a postgame tirade Saturday. Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer in the first inning, but the Mariners mustered little after that. You can buy RedSox tickets at Ticket Solution.
For the first time in his pro career, LeBron James will go one on one in the postseason with basketball?s most storied franchise?the Boston Celtics?who haven?t won an NBA title since 1986, when he was a 2-year-old toddler dribbling only his food.
But Cleveland?s 23-year-old megastar is well aware of the Celtics? championship cache and Boston?s Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
?We all know the history of the Boston Celtics,? James said before practice on Sunday. ?They?ve been unbelievable to the history of the NBA and this year it was good to see them back at the top or close to the top. I haven?t played there in the postseason yet, so it?s going to be fun.
A classical medley of NFL Films music blared through the on-field speakers Friday at the San Francisco 49ers? first minicamp practice. The soundtrack was another brainstorm from coach Mike Nolan, who figures his players must learn how to persevere through nonstop noise every Sunday.
The calming tones didn?t soothe tight end Vernon Davis, who ripped linebacker Parys Haralson?s helmet off during a fight. Yet a little music seems to be an appropriate backdrop for the start of 49ers? quarterback competition between Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, who are in perfect harmony so far.
Nolan says the former No. 1 overall draft pick and the career third-stringer are on equal footing in their competition to run new coordinator Mike Martz?s offense. Smith took the first snap in the morning practice session, and Hill took charge in the afternoon for a competition that?s unlikely to end for at least three months.
?A lot has been made of this, but this is a natural part of this game,? Smith said. ?It?s a competitive sport. Shaun and I have had to compete all our lives to get to this point. I would say the abnormal thing is (when) you?re given something. ? We?re both pretty sure. We?re self-confident that we?re going to go out there and get it done.?