Nadal Beats Coria to Win Monte Carlo Masters Title

Rafael Nadal thrived on clay again, winning the Monte Carlo Masters at Monaco against defending champion Guillermo Coria in four sets Sunday and honing his game as he awaits his French Open debut.

The 18-year-old Spaniard won, 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5, for his first Masters Series title. He became the first teenager in more than a decade to win at Monte Carlo.

“I was happy to win the Davis Cup; now this is incredible,” Nadal said.

Nadal is expected to play in key clay-court tournaments in Barcelona, Spain; Rome; and Hamburg, Germany, before going to France at the end of May.

“If I play like this, I can have some good results, but I am not the favorite,” Nadal said. “My objective is to improve my serve, my volley and my slice.... If I improve these shots, I can win some more matches.”

In Monaco, Nadal defeated last year’s French Open finalists, and promising French teenager Richard Gasquet in consecutive days.

“I feel that I improved all the time,” Nadal said. “I was not missing a lot of shots and making very few unforced errors, which is very important on clay.”

Coria, the 2004 French Open runner-up, called Nadal “the best player on clay at the moment.”

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Former No. 1-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne showed she’s back in top form, beating second-seeded Elena Dementieva, 7-5, 6-4, to win the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C., in her second tournament since returning from illness and injury.

The Belgian, ranked No. 43 in the world, raised her racket high and pumped her fists after closing out Dementieva, ranked No. 5.

Henin-Hardenne spent most of last year ranked No. 1, winning the Australian Open and a gold medal in the Athens Olympics. But after the U.S. Open, she suffered a viral illness and then a knee injury.

Olympics

Sweetening its bid with financial and promotional incentives, New York promised to market every Olympic sport -- for free -- in the seven years leading up to the 2012 Summer Games.

With 80 days to go before the July 6 vote to select the host city of the Games, London also appealed directly to the sports federations, offering special hotel rates, price discounts, television exposure and other inducements. Paris, Madrid and Moscow made less direct pitches as the five cities vying for the 2012 Games presented their bids at Berlin to the 28 international federations involved in the Summer Olympics.

New York made the most concrete proposal, unveiling plans for a sports development partnership to promote Olympic sports in the United States -- where many get little, if any, exposure outside the Games. Many federations, especially the small ones, rely on Olympic revenue to survive.

A sports marketing council, chaired by NBA Commissioner David Stern, would offer free marketing, advertising and other assistance to help the sports raise their profile in the U.S. The council would arrange the staging of national and international championships in the country. Federations would get free office space, with computers, phones and staff.

Miscellany

Two South Carolina football players were arrested and charged with simple marijuana possession, raising the number of Gamecocks arrested since the end of last season to 11.

Sophomore linebacker Josh Johnson, sophomore defensive back Ty Erving and another 18-year-old man were cited not far from the university after an officer smelled marijuana coming from the parked car the players were sitting in, according to a police report.

Athletic Director Mike McGee will review a copy of the incident report before deciding whether the players should be disciplined, a university spokeswoman said.

Nine other Gamecock players have been arrested on charges ranging from domestic violence to grand larceny.

Oklahoma defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek had surgery to repair a torn left biceps he suffered during the Sooners’ spring game Saturday and will be sidelined from contact for four to five months.

Paula Radcliffe stopped running with about six miles to go in the London Marathon because she was sick and cramping -- but she also was intent on making sure there was no repeat of the Athens Olympics.

Unlike last summer at Athens, the British runner kept going despite stomach pains that struck her a little more than halfway through the race.

She ended up winning by more than five minutes, finishing in 2 hours 17 minutes 42 seconds for her third London Marathon title.

Martin Lel of Kenya had a far closer race in the men’s division despite a personal best of 2:07:26. World champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco was second, 23 seconds behind, and Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa was third in 2:08:32.

Brazilians won the marathon at Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Jose Teles overtaking Benjamin Kiptarus of Kenya late in the race and Marcia Narloch winning the women’s event for her third title in six years.

Teles finished in 2:19:50, the fourth consecutive victory by a Brazilian in this race.

Kiptarus led nearly the entire way but was unable to match Teles’ charge over the final miles and finished second in 2:20:08. Sidni Oliveira of Brazil was third.

Narloch’s time of 2:40:38 topped that of countrywomen Sirlene Pinho (2:43:33) and Rosa Jussara (2:45:09).

Danilo Di Luca out-sprinted former champion Michael Boogerd to win the Amstel Gold Race at Valkenburg, Netherlands, the fourth cycling race of the World Cup season.

Di Luca overtook Boogerd in the final sprint and finished the 156-mile race in 6:21:07.

It was the fourth time Boogerd finished runner-up since winning the race in 1999.

Tom Boonen, who didn’t race, remains the leader in the Pro Tour after winning the Paris-Roubaix race last week.

Chris Dufresne is on vacation.