KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — The two finalists met at the net to shake hands, Maria Sharapova standing a head taller, even with her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Sharapova loses
in Key Biscayne final to Radwanska
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — The two finalists met at the net to shake hands, Maria Sharapova standing a head taller, even with her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
She finished second again Saturday.
Sharapova lost serve in the final game of each set and fell short in the latest bid for her first Sony Ericsson Open title, losing to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4.
Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is winless in four Key Biscayne finals. She was also the runner-up in 2005, 2006 and last year.
The pattern extends beyond South Florida. Ranked No. 2, she was runner-up at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells to Victoria Azarenka, which makes her 0 for 3 this year in finals.
She hasn’t won a tournament since August.
Castroneves captures IndyCar pole in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tony Kanaan felt snubbed after the IndyCar drivers barely got on-track cameos during warmups. Will Power was steamed because IndyCar red-flagged his fast qualifying time, leaving the defending champion back in the pack to start the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
Helio Castroneves, meanwhile, had no complaints since he’ll start Sunday’s IndyCar race on the pole in pursuit of his second straight win to open the season after completing the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park in 1:10.4768 during qualifying. It’s his 37th career pole.
The build-up to Chevrolet vs. Honda Round 2 boasted plenty of drama, especially for a race that had only one leader — Power — from start to finish last year. Fellow Chevrolet driver James Hinchcliffe (1:10.5222) qualified a career-best second and also starts on the front row, followed by Honda’s Scott Dixon (1:10.5291) and Mike Conway (1:10.8791)
The biggest qualifying upset Saturday was that Power didn’t make it to the Fast Six for the first time in 21 races. That was because of bad timing, not slow times. His final second-session lap would have led the way but it didn’t count because a local yellow flag had come down after Ryan Hunter-Reay’s wreck and a red flag followed.
Kahne wins
pole at Martinsville Speedway
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kasey Kahne is the first two-time pole winner of the season in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series after he posted the fastest lap in qualifying Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
He’ll start the race 27th in points, and hopes it’s the start of a turnaround in fortune.
Kahne, who also started first at Las Vegas, toured the 0.526-mile oval at 97.126 mph, depriving Kevin Harvick of a sweep of weekend qualifying at the track. Harvick, who won the pole for Saturday’s truck series race earlier, had a run at 97.048.
The pole is the 24th of Kahne’s career, and first in 17 starts on the oldest, shortest track in the premier series. He said patience will be key at the start in Sunday’s 500-lap event.
That’s a lesson it took Harvick years to learn, and he won here a year ago.
By wire sources