Top seed Hingis cruises in India
By TIMES WIRES
Published September 19, 2006
CALCUTTA, India - Top-seeded Martina Hingis cruised past Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-2 on Monday at the Sunfeast Open.
Hingis, ranked No. 9 in the world, needed only 44 minutes to dispatch the 71st-ranked Czink.
Tamarine Tanasugarn rallied past Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (10-12), 7-5, 6-0. Kanepi led twice in the second set but had problems with her serve and committed five double faults. She then played through cramps in her left thigh in the final set.
Tzipora Obzlie beat Yulia Beygelzimer 6-2, 6-3. Tatiana Poutchek defeated Anne Keothavong 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, and Abigail Spears beat Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3, 6-4.
CHINA OPEN: Jelena Jankovic defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0, 6-1 in the first round in Beijing. Jankovic, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open, is ranked No. 17. Sun Tiantian upset Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Zvonareva, ranked No. 29, had 20 unforced errors and nine double faults. Peng Shuai defeated Catalina Castano 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, and Elena Vesnina outlasted Emma Laine 7-6, 5-7, 6-3.
SLOVENIA OPEN: Iveta Benesova upset third-seeded Sybille Bammer 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the second round in Portoroz, Slovenia. Tsvetana Pironkova defeated Sanja Ancic 6-1, 6-1, and Maret Ani topped Camille Pin 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Second-seeded Mara Santangelo pulled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury. Santangelo played in Italy's 3-2 win Sunday over Belgium in the Fed Cup final. Jarmila Gajdosova, ranked 65th, replaces Santangelo.
HORSE RACING
Champion euthanized
Champion sprinter Lost in the Fog was euthanized in Albany, Calif., after a monthlong battle with advanced cancer in his spleen and abdomen.
Greg Gilchrist, Lost in the Fog's trainer, noticed his 4-year-old horse was in pain after their morning walk Sunday at Golden Gate Fields, his home track.
Gilchrist consulted with doctors, and Lost in the Fog was put to death that evening. The horse won 11 of his 14 career starts. His owner, 85-year-old Harry Aleo, rejected several offers to buy the colt.
ET CETERA
BOXING: Shannon Briggs will challenge Sergei Liakhovich, the WBO heavyweight champion, in a title fight Nov. 4 at Chase Field in Phoenix. It will be Liakhovich's first defense since beating Lamon Brewster for the championship. Briggs (47-4-1, 41 KOs) is ranked No. 3 by the WBO. Liakhovich (23-1, 14 KOs) has won seven straight fights. ... Cristian Mijares of Mexico defeated Katsushige Kawashima of Japan in a split decision to capture the WBC super flyweight interim title in Yokohama, Japan. Mijares improved to 28-3. Kawashima slipped to 30-5 (20 KOs).
GYMNASTICS: Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin, who finished 1-2 at the 2005 world championships, will be joined by Alicia Sacramone, Jana Bieger, Natasha Kelley, Kayla Hoffman, Jacquelyn Johnson, Hilary Mauro, Ashley Priess, Britney Ranzy, Randi Stageberg and Amber Trani at the selection camp for this year's event. The six-woman U.S. team will be announced after the camp ends Oct. 5. The world championships are Oct. 14-21 in Aarhus, Denmark.
SOCCER: England midfielder Owen Hargreaves will miss at least six weeks after breaking his left leg in a German Bundesliga game, ruling him out of a pair of European Championship qualifiers next month. Hargreaves, 25, was injured Saturday. Hargreaves, who doesn't need surgery, may return in November if his rehabilitation proceeds according to plan.