Roger Federer ends seven-month title drought with victory in Cincinnati Masters

Roger Federer ended a seven-month title drought with a 6-7 7-6 6-4 win over American Mardy Fish in the Cincinnati Masters final in Mason, Ohio.

Federer captured his 63rd title in his 90th final and his victory was his fourth at Cincinnati since his first win in the tournament in 2005.

But having failed to win a title since his record 16th grand slam win at the Australian Open in January, a run which included defeat to Andy Murray in the final at Toronto last week, the Swiss needed this boost.

“I’ve been playing well the last couple weeks, and today was just another proof that I’m playing really well,” he said.

---

The Montreal Cup final was postponed until Monday as a relentless rain continued to prevent any play on Sunday. With showers wiping out all but 10 minutes of action on Saturday, tournament officials had hoped to stage both semifinals and final on Sunday.

The dreadful weather left Caroline Wozniacki stranded for the second day running with a 2-0 lead in the first set against Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus have been unable to start their match.

ETC.

The U.S. men’s basketball team beat Spain, 86-85, in an exhibition ahead of the world championships, the first meeting between the countries since the gold medal game at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Kevin Durant had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, including two on Spain’s final possession to preserve the victory in Madrid.

Durant blocked a three-point attempt by Rudy Fernandez at the buzzer. Derrick Rose added 13 points for the U.S., while the Lakers’ Lamar Odom scored 12.

Juan Carlos Navarro scored 20 points for Spain, while Marc Gasol added 17.

The U.S. plays Greece in Athens on Wednesday before the world championships get underway Saturday in Turkey.

---

American dominance at the Pan Pacific Championships carried over from Irvine to Long Beach on Sunday.

The United States went one-two in the men’s and women’s 10K open water race at Marine Stadium in Long Beach. Chip Peterson, who trains with the FAST team in Fullerton, fought off Fran Crippen, who is known as one of the best finishers in the sport.

And Christine Jennings, who graduated from the University of Minnesota last year, won gold and teammate Eva Fabian took silver.

Chloe Sutton of Mission Viejo, who won the 400-meter freestyle at Pan Pacs, was disqualified when she picked up her second yellow card a little more than an hour into the race, resulting in a red card. Officials said she pulled on a turn buoy both times.

--Lisa Dillman

The Sparks begin the WNBA playoffs Wednesday in Seattle against the Storm, which finished with the league’s best record at 28-6. The first game of the best-of-three series will start at 8 p.m. and be televised by ESPN2.

The Sparks, who at 13-17 have the worst record of the eight teams in the postseason, will play host to Game 2 Saturday at noon. A third game would be played in Seattle on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.