Off the Wire

Off the Wire

TENNIS

Serena wins fourth in 2014

Serena Williams won her WTA-leading fourth title of the season Sunday, beating third-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-6(1), 6-3 in the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif. The top-ranked and top-seeded Williams won the hard-court event for the third time. Williams will be No. 1 for the 200th week in her career when the rankings are announced today. She is fifth on the career list, nine weeks behind fourth-place Martina Hingis. Williams beat the left-handed Kerber for the fourth consecutive time and fifth time in six overall meetings. All of their matches have been in straight sets. Kerber, 0-4 in finals this season, won five consecutive games to go up 5-1 and was serving for the first set at 5-2. Williams saved two set points and went on a five-game run of her own.

Milos Raonic easily won the first all-Canadian tournament final in ATP history, erasing the only break point he faced and beating Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-4 Sunday at the Citi Open in Washington for his sixth career title. The second-seeded Raonic produced serves at more than 140 mph (225 kph) and broke Pospisil four times at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open. The year's last Grand Slam tournament begins Aug. 25. Raonic, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month, earned $316,400 for the victory and his ranking will rise one spot today to No. 6, matching his career high. The ATP said it was the first time two men from Canada played each other in a tour final in the Open era, which began in 1968.

• Japan's Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from next week's hard-court tournament in Toronto because of what his agent said is a "severely infected right big toe." Nishikori's agent, Olivier Van Lindonk, said Sunday that Nishikori has been struggling for a week with the problem and most likely will need "a small procedure to remove the infection." Nishikori lost to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals in Washington on Friday. Gasquet said he could tell his opponent was injured, but Nishikori said after the match he was fine. Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the top 10 in the rankings, is No. 11 this week. Missing the Rogers Cup in Toronto deals a blow to Nishikori's preparation for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 25.

BASKETBALL

Cooper rejoins team

Coach Michael Cooper rejoined the Atlanta Dream in a limited role for Sunday's game against the New York Liberty, 10 days after he underwent surgery for tongue cancer. The team said Cooper wanted to show his support for Atlanta's "Dream Pink" game, which included recognition of breast cancer survivors. His duties are subject to a doctor's approval. It's not known if Cooper will accompany the team on a weeklong, four-game road trip that begins Tuesday at Phoenix. The 58-year-old Cooper issued a statement thanking all his friends and fans for their support and said, "I am excited to get back to coaching." His physician, Dr. J. Trad Wadsworth, said Cooper is doing well and should make a full recovery.

• The Toronto Raptors have signed center Lucas Nogueira and guard Will Cherry. Terms of the deals announced Sunday were not disclosed. Nogueira, whose draft rights were acquired by Toronto in June, played for the Raptors at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas, where he contributed 5.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in five games. A first-round pick of Boston in 2013, Nogueira played for Asefa Estudiantes in Spain's Liga ACB since 2009. He averaged 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 18 games last season. Cherry appeared in 18 games with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League last season, averaging 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Undrafted in 2013 after a four-year career at Montana, he was a three-time All-Big Sky selection and finished as the school's career leader with 265 steals.

BASEBALL

Angels make moves

The Los Angeles Angels have placed reliever Joe Thatcher on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle. Thatcher was hurt fielding a bunt in Saturday night's 10-3 loss at Tampa Bay. In a series of moves Sunday, Los Angeles also optioned left-hander Michael Roth to Double-A Arkansas and recalled right-hander Cam Bedrosian from the Texas League club. Right-hander Fernando Salas was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. Roth, recalled Friday night from Arkansas, pitched the final 4 2/3 innings Saturday night after Thatcher left in the fourth.

• The Minnesota Twins have claimed outfielder Jordan Schafer off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. The Twins announced the move Sunday. They are off Monday and must make a corresponding roster move to open a spot for Schafer before Tuesday's game against San Diego. The 27-year-old Schafer hit .163 with 2 RBI and 15 stolen bases for the Braves this season. He is a career .222 hitter with 145 runs and 88 steals. Schafer was designed for assignment by the Braves after they acquired utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and left-hander James Russell from the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

• Arizona Diamondbacks star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is going to miss the rest of the season because of a broken left hand. Manager Kirk Gibson announced the news Sunday, two days after Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh reliever Ernesto Frieri. Gibson put Goldschmidt's rehabilitation timetable at eight weeks, with the season ending in late September. No surgery is expected. Goldschmidt hit .300 with 19 home runs and 69 RBI this season. A two-time All-Star, he led the NL with 125 RBI last year and tied for the league lead with 36 homers while batting .302. Goldschmidt turns 27 next month. The Diamondbacks used Mark Trumbo at first base on Sunday and will rotate players at the position over the rest of the season. "A little bit of a trial and error to see how it works," Gibson said. "It's going to be hard to replace Goldy over there with what he brought us with his consistency."

MOTOR SPORTS

Dixon goes last to first

Scott Dixon went from last in qualifying to capture his fourth victory at Mid-Ohio in Lexington in the last six years, coasting in on low fuel to end Target Chip Ganassi Racing's victory drought in 2014. The 34-year-old Aussie, who started last in the 22-car field, also won on the twisty road course between Cleveland and Columbus in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Target Chip Ganassi has won the last six races at the track, including all four of Dixon's triumphs. It finally broke through in a familiar place. Dixon took advantage of a gaffe by Josef Newgarden and his pit crew to pull away. Pole-sitter Sebastien Bourdais was a distant second, with James Hinchcliffe third, rookie Carlos Munoz fourth and favorite son Graham Rahal fifth.

John Force raced to his third Funny Car victory of the season and record 141st overall victory Sunday in the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. The 65-year-old Force beat former teammate Gary Densham in the final with a run of 4.173 seconds at 302.48 mph in a Ford Mustang. Densham's Chevrolet Impala lost traction early and finished in 5.808 at 120.44. Force has raced in four consecutive finals, winning twice. "I want to win," Force said. "That is what it is all about. But we were having so much fun down there in the staging lanes. I know you are supposed to be serious because it is race day but you are racing a friend. He comes up here on a budget. Look how good he does. Steps up and races with these guys after only being out a few times all year and gets in the finals. I always say, 'If I lose to my teammates I didn't lose.' If I had lost to Gary Densham I would not have lost." Doug Kalitta won in Top Fuel, and Jason Line topped the Pro Stock division. Kalitta raced to his second victory of the season, beating Antron Brown with a 3.844 at 318.84. Kalitta has 35 career victories to tie Don Garlits for fifth place on the Top Fuel list. Line edged teammate Greg Anderson in the final with a 6.611 at 210.67 in a Chevy Camaro.

Sports on 08/04/2014

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