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Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
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AP
ROME - Rafael Nadal still has the edge against Roger Federer. The gap is closing, though.
In a showdown between the world’s top two players, Nadal beat Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker Sunday to successfully defend his Rome Masters title and tie Guillermo Vilas’ record 53-match winning streak on clay in the Open era.
Nadal, a 19-year-old Spaniard ranked No. 2, won 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5) in 5 hours, 5 minutes. He improved to 5-1 against the No. 1-ranked Swiss.
Federer dropped to 39-3 this year, with his only losses coming to Nadal. Nadal also won a matchup at Dubai in March.
In the Monte Carlo final last month, Nadal beat Federer in a fourth-set tiebreaker. Both tournaments are clay-court warmups for the French Open, which starts in two weeks. Another of Nadal’s wins over Federer came in the semifinals at Roland Garros last year.
“Obviously I would have liked to win, but I already knew after Monaco I was extremely close,” Federer said. “I think this is another step closer.”
Federer led 4-1 in the fifth set and the top-ranked Swiss wasted two match points at 6-5, both with errant forehands.
“I should have won,” Federer said. “He caught me right at the finish line.”
Nadal has won nine straight tournaments on clay. His 16th title also tied him with Bjorn Borg for most titles won as a teenager.
“It’s very difficult to win every tournament, 53 matches is a lot of matches,” Nadal said.
Vilas set his streak in 1977, beginning with a win in May at the French Open and ending with a loss to Ilie Nastase in October in Aix en Provence, France.
Nadal can break the record with a win against Tommy Haas in the first round of the Hamburg Masters next week.
Nadal also won a fifth-set tiebreaker in last year’s final, beating Guillermo Coria in 5:14 — the longest final of the Open era.
“I think Federer was maybe tougher to beat. He’s more aggressive and serves very well,” Nadal said, eating his traditional post-match plate of pasta at Foro Italico. “If he hits a good serve and he comes in with his forehand, there is nothing you can do.”
“In fact, I was lucky when he had match point he made a mistake with two forehands,” Nadal added.
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Federer employed more aggressive tactics than he did in the Monte Carlo final, where he lost serve seven times. He served-and-volleyed sparingly, but aimed for the corners and followed his baseline shots into the net at every opportunity. Nadal broke serve only three times.
“For me just to hit and move backwards again, that’s not the way I learned the game,” Federer said. “My way of thinking is come to the net and finish it at the net.”
Nadal played his usual baseline game, and his heavy left-handed top spin gave Federer problems. The Swiss star shanked several shots high into the stands.
Federer won 64 of 84 points at the net. Nadal came forward only 30 times, and won 18 points.
“He hardly passed me today, which was a good feeling,” Federer said. “So I have to keep that up.”
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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