Federer Tested but Takes Title

The men’s final at the Nasdaq-100 Open came down to a handful of points, and Roger Federer won them.

Federer came from behind in every tiebreaker to claim the title for the second year in a row Sunday, beating Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), at Key Biscayne, Fla.

“The bigger points, he played better,” Ljubicic said. “He played more relaxed and more confident than I was. When you play a tiebreaker against him, he rarely misses.”

The top-ranked Federer won three tiebreakers in a match for the first time to remain unbeaten since August 2004 in the United States, where he has won 48 consecutive matches and the last seven tournaments he has entered.

Federer improved to 28-1 this year, with the only loss to Rafael Nadal in Dubai.

“I was extremely happy with the way I played,” said Federer, who beat Ljubicic for the seventh straight time. “The first set gave me a little cushion, and Ivan was always running uphill.”

Ljubicic, seeded sixth, settled for runner-up despite losing only 12 points on his first serve. He hit 21 aces, and during one stretch won 13 service points in a row.

But Federer won the pivotal points, such as when he faced set point in the final tiebreaker at 5-6. He hit a pair of service winners, then spun a return off the net cord. It dribbled over the net onto Ljubicic’s side of the court for a winner and the championship, and Federer walked to the net with a sheepish grin.

Federer became the first man to win titles at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne back to back in consecutive years. He also extended his record winning streak in the ATP Masters Series to 24 matches and won his ninth Masters Series final in a row.

French teenager Tatiana Golovin withdrew from this week’s Bausch & Lomb Championships and next week’s Family Circle Cup because of an ankle injury.

Golovin tore two ligaments and bruised a bone when she twisted her left ankle Thursday against Maria Sharapova in the third set of the Nasdaq-100 Open. She hopes to return in about a month.

SPEEDSKATING

South Korea Reigns at World Championships

The South Koreans completed a strong showing at the world short-track championships at Minneapolis, winning the men’s overall gold and silver medals plus the women’s overall gold.

Ahn Hyun-soo, the 1,000- and 1,500-meter individual champion, finished first and defended his world championship with 68 points. Lee Ho-suk, with 60 points, took second overall -- a feat made easier by the absence of U.S. standout Apolo Anton Ohno, who chose not to compete in the event.

Jin Sun-yu, who won gold in the 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000 events, was the women’s overall champion with 68 points -- eight more than China’s Wang Meng, the 500 winner. Canada’s Kalyna Roberge grabbed the overall bronze.

Francois Louis Tremblay, who finished second in the 1,000 after winning the 500 Saturday, was the overall bronze winner on the men’s side.

Canada won the 5,000-meter relay with Tremblay, Charles Hamelin, Mathieu Turcotte and Jonathan Guilmette racing to a time of 6:49.282. China was second, in 6:50.332, and the U.S. team was third.

Jin, the defending women’s world champion, passed Wang on the last half-lap in the 1,000 with a nifty inside move and finished in 1:32.767. Wang’s time was 1:32.874. U.S. skater Allison Baver got the bronze.

In the women’s 3,000, Jin won gold in 5:33.694. Meng was second in 5:34.522, and Baver was third.

China won the 3,000 relay with Wang, Fu Tianyu, Cheng Xiaolei and Zhu Mile finishing in 4:17.194. Canada was second, in 4:17.335, and Italy was third.

Baver, disqualified in the 1,000 semifinals, finished fifth overall.

RUNNING

Bekele Pulls Off Impressive Double

Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele won the men’s long race at the world cross-country championships at Fukuoka, Japan, taking the title for the fifth straight time.

Bekele, the Olympic and world 10,000-meter champion, won Saturday’s short race and is the first athlete to win the four- and 12-kilometer races five years in a row at the world championships.

Bekele waited until the last kilometer of Sunday’s race to break away from the pack to win in 35 minutes 40 seconds. Sileshi Sihine, also of Ethiopia, was three seconds back, and Kenya’s Martin Irungu Mathathi was third in 35:44.

Bekele, 23, said this would be his last cross-country world championships. He said he would shift his focus to events at the Olympics and the World Championships.

Kenya’s Paul Tergat, who has never won the short race, won the long race five consecutive times from 1995. The short race was introduced in 1998.

In the women’s event, Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka Bati won the short race in 12:51. Kenya’s Priscah Jepleting Ngetich finished second, two seconds off the pace, and Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia was third in 12:54.

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, who won Saturday’s long race and is the defending champion in the short race, pulled out Sunday because of illness.

Paul Kosgei of Kenya ran the second-fastest half-marathon, winning the Berlin race in 59 minutes 7 seconds.

Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia set the world record of 58:55 in January in Tempe, Ariz.

Kosgei led a Kenyan sweep of the top six places. Evans Cheruiyot was second in 59:29 and Wilfred Paragon was third in 1:00:46.

Edith Masai of Kenya won the women’s race in 1:07:16 -- the fifth-fastest time. Deena Kastor of the U.S. finished second in 1:07:34.

BOWLING

Player-of-the-Year Allen Gets Another Crown

Patrick Allen, the 2005 PBA player of the year, won his second title of the season, defeating Patrick Healey Jr., 259-193, in the title match of the Great Lakes Classic at Wyoming, Mich.

Allen, who won four titles last season including the Denny’s World Championship, took the seventh title of his career.

Chris Barnes finished third and Pete Weber fourth.