Harvick Wins Busch Race

Nextel Cup driver Kevin Harvick raced to his first NASCAR Busch Series victory of the year Saturday, taking the lead with 52 laps to go and holding off teammate Clint Bowyer after a late caution in the Pepsi 300 at Lebanon, Tenn.

Harvick finished 0.504 seconds ahead of Bowyer, his Richard Childress teammate, en route to his 18th career Busch Series victory. Harvick also took a 156-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the series standings and became the eighth Nextel Cup driver to win in the first eight races of the Busch Series this season.

TENNIS

Fish and Melzer to Meet in Final

Mardy Fish advanced to the final of the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Houston when fifth-seeded Tommy Haas retired after five games because of pain in his right wrist.

Fish will play Jurgen Melzer in today’s final. Melzer beat seventh-seeded Paul Goldstein, 6-3, 6-4. Both finalists are unseeded, a first since the tournament moved to Houston in 2001. The last time two unseeded players vied for the clay court title was in 1996 in Pinehurst, N.C., where Mats Wilander lost to Fernando Meligeni.

Justine Henin-Hardenne lost for the first time in the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C., falling to Patty Schnyder, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals.

Henin-Hardenne, who was the defending tournament champion, had won 14 consecutive matches at the event. Schnyder plays Nadia Petrova in the final. Petrova advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over doubles partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Gilles Simon of France defeated seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 6-2, 7-6 (5), to advance to the final of the Valencia Open in Spain. Simon will face Nicolas Almagro of Spain, who defeated Marat Safin of Russia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez announced her retirement. Martinez won 33 singles titles and 13 doubles titles in her career. Martinez said she might still play doubles.

MISCELLANY

Ohio State Player Suffers Neck Injury

Ohio State receiver Tyson Gentry was recovering from neck surgery after being injured during spring practice.

The university said Gentry, 20, had surgery Friday night at Ohio State University Medical Center after being injured when he was tackled during a pass play at Ohio Stadium.

Utah State quarterback Jerod Walker has been arrested and accused of raping a female student, police said. He was suspended from the team.

As expected, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Wisconsin forward Robbie Earl to a three-year contract.

Meb Keflezighi, a silver medalist at the Athens Olympics and a naturalized U.S. citizen, will try to become the first American to win the Boston Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983. The 110th edition of the race is being held Monday.

The third-ranked UCLA women’s water polo team defeated second-ranked Stanford, 9-8, at the Sunset Recreation Center.