Mauresmo Rallies in Advanta

Amelie Mauresmo rallied to win her third consecutive Advanta Championships, defeating Elena Dementieva, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, on Sunday at Villanova, Pa.

Mauresmo, ranked No. 4 in the world, won her third title this year and 18th overall. She came off consecutive opening-round losses at Moscow and Zurich, Switzerland.

“It’s a great effort to win this three times in a row,” Mauresmo said. “It doesn’t happen a lot. I’m proud of what I’ve done, especially after two bad losses.”

Two points from losing the match, Mauresmo took control when Dementieva’s serve broke down.

Dementieva double-faulted twice in the 10th game, including the decisive point that allowed Mauresmo to even the third set at 5-5.

Mauresmo used a strong forehand to hold serve in the next game and finished off the match by forcing errant shots from Dementieva.

Steffi Graf is the only other three-time Advanta winner. She did it in 1992, ’95 and ’98.

Dementieva, looking for her first title this year, dropped to 4-10 in career finals. She double-faulted 14 times, yet nearly came out the winner.

The Advanta tournament ended its 21-year run at Villanova.

Maria Sharapova’s WTA Tour Championships title defense will begin Tuesday night against Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, in round-robin play at Staples Center in the season-ending tournament.

The 18-year-old Russian will be testing her injured right thumb, which forced her to withdraw from the Advanta Championships. Sharapova has not played a tournament since losing in the quarterfinals in Moscow.

Sharapova and Schnyder, who is appearing in the Championships for the first time since 2002, were placed on Sunday in the Green Group, along with Lindsay Davenport and Nadia Petrova of Russia. Petrova is making her first appearance in the singles field of the Championships.

Davenport is coming back from a case of flu, which forced her to pull out of Philadelphia.

In the Black Group are U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium, who won this title in 2003; Mauresmo, a finalist in 2003; Mary Pierce of France; and Dementieva of Russia. Pierce is returning to the Championships for the first time since 1999, and Dementieva was the final singles qualifier, making it on Friday, overtaking an idle Venus Williams.

Play begins Tuesday at 6 p.m.: Clijsters vs. Pierce; Sharapova vs. Schnyder; and Davenport vs. Petrova.

Only four players from last year’s singles field are returning: Sharapova, Dementieva, Davenport and Mauresmo. Serena Williams, who lost to Sharapova in last year’s final, did not qualify.

This will be the tournament’s fourth and final year at Staples Center. In 2006, it will be held in Madrid.

Unseeded Tomas Berdych upset sixth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in five sets to win the Paris Masters.

Ljubicic saved three match points, but Berdych held on for a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Berdych’s forehand winner clinched the second title of his career.

The 20-year-old Czech is the second-youngest winner of the Paris Masters. In 1986, Boris Becker won the inaugural tournament at 18.

Benjamin Kohlloeffel became UCLA’s first singles title winner at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio, with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Ludovic Walter of Duke.

Kohlloeffel was also the Bruins’ first finalist in the tournament’s 28-year history.

In the women’s singles championship, Diana Srebrovic of Florida defeated Theresa Logar of Stanford, 7-5, 6-4.

Stanford’s Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey defeated Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen of North Carolina, 8-5, for the women’s doubles title.

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HORSE RACING

McCann’s Mojave Takes California Cup Classic

Mike Willman, the Santa Anita publicity director, routinely writes a recap of the day’s races for media distribution. But late Sunday, Willman gave the assignment to someone on his staff, because otherwise he would have been left to write about himself.

McCann’s Mojave, a 5-year-old that Willman co-bred and co-owns with Nikki Hunt, led all the way, then withstood favored Desert Boom for a one-length win in the $250,000 California Cup Classic, richest race on the annual Oak Tree card just for state-breds.

“It’s unreal -- I’m numb,” said Willman, who by turns was teary-eyed and then almost hoarse after McCann’s Mojave’s win. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do his weekend racing show on 710 until next Saturday.

Trained by Paddy Gallagher and ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., a replacement for injured Alex Solis, McCann’s Mojave gave Willman his richest win since he broke into horse ownership more than 20 years ago.

McCann’s Mojave, earning $150,000, notched his seventh win in 15 starts, increasing his purse total to $555,380. Paying $8.60 as the second choice, McCann’s Mojave ran 1 1/8 miles, the longest race of his career, in 1:48 1/5 .

Asked what he would ask if he had himself as a guest on the radio show, Willman said: “That would be, ‘What took you so long to run him long?’ It was all Paddy’s idea. After [a poor sprint effort at Del Mar], that’s what he wanted to do.”

-- Bill Christine

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RUNNING

Kenyan Tergat Wins New York Marathon

Paul Tergat surged one last time, breaking the tape a heartbeat before defending champion Hendrick Ramaala fell across the finish line.

After more than two hours of running, the New York City Marathon came down to a final sprint and a third of a second, the closest finish in race history.

Tergat and Ramaala were side by side all morning, trading the lead for 26.2 miles through New York’s five boroughs and across fog-shrouded bridges and leaf-strewn roads.

Tergat, a Kenyan who holds the world marathon record, and South Africa’s Ramaala jockeyed for the lead in Central Park. Tergat surged, then Ramaala, then Tergat again.

Tergat’s official time was 2 hours 9 minutes 30 seconds, but the exact clocking was 2:09:29.90. Ramaala’s time was 2:09:30.22.

It was reminiscent of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Tergat and Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie sprinted to the finish in the 10,000 meters. Gebrselassie managed one last dash in the final 30 meters, leaning to edge Tergat by nine-hundredths of a second.

Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes finished third, the best finish by an American. But the U.S. victory drought at the New York race grew to 23 years.

Women’s winner Jelena Prokopcuka, who dropped back by 18 seconds with about five miles left, rallied to catch the leaders and then passed Susan Chepkemei on their first trip through the park.

Chepkemei, who was stumbling and spitting up, managed to hold on for second place for the third time in New York.

The top American woman was Marie Davenport, a native of Ireland who attended Providence and now lives in Guilford, Conn. She finished 16th in 2:33:59. Jen Rhines was 18th in 2:37:07.

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Tennis at Staples

The WTA Championships begin Tuesday with three matches starting at 6 p.m. and the second not before 7:30 p.m. The top eight singles and four doubles teams qualified:

* TUESDAY: Kim Clijsters vs. Mary Pierce; Maria Sharapova vs. Patty Schnyder; Lindsay Davenport vs.

Nadia Petrova.

* WEDNESDAY: Mary Pierce vs. Elena Dementieva; Lindsay Davenport vs. Patty Schnyder; Amelie Mauresmo vs. Kim Clijsters.

* THURSDAY: Three singles matches.

* FRIDAY: Three singles matches.

* SATURDAY: Two singles semifinals, 12:30 p.m., followed by doubles semifinals.

* SUNDAY: Singles final, 3 p.m., followed by doubles final.