Briefly

Davenport wins Porsche GP after injured Mauresmo quits

Lindsay Davenport won the Porsche Grand Prix on Sunday when top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo quit after losing the first set because of an injured left thigh.

Davenport captured this No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Filderstadt, Germany, for her tour-high seventh title of the year and 45th of her career.

“It’s just a bad feeling – there’s not a whole lot of joy in winning like this,” Davenport said. “We played maybe one tough game, the first game, then her leg started bothering her.”

Mauresmo will undergo tests to see if she can play in next week’s Kremlin Cup. If the Frenchwoman withdraws, Davenport needs to win just one match to gain the top spot. Davenport trails Mauresmo in the WTA rankings by just 15 points.

Davenport won the first set 6-2 before Mauresmo withdrew because her heavily taped thigh hampered her movement. Mauresmo was hurt in the third game when Davenport broke serve to lead 2-1. After the next game, she left the court to have her thigh taped and was unable to chase down the American’s shots the rest of the set.

“I am a little disappointed because I think we would have played a great match,” said Mauresmo, who was going for her fourth title of the season.

This was just the fifth time in the last 21 years the No. 1 and No. 2 players faced each other in a European tour event.

•Sweden’s Robin Soderling won his first ATP singles title by defeating Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the Lyon (France) Open final.

•Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic settled his game after a rocky start and beat Taylor Dent 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 to win the Japan Open in Tokyo for his sixth career title.

Soccer

U.S. shuts out New Zealand

Cindy Parlow scored twice, and Mia Hamm added a goal and an assist to lead the U.S. women’s national team over New Zealand 6-0 in Cincinnati.

The exhibition game was part of the team’s “Fan Appreciation Tour” after winning Olympic gold this summer in Athens.

Aly Wagner also had a goal and an assist for the Americans, who have outscored New Zealand 11-0 in two consecutive games. The United States hasn’t allowed a goal in its last three matches.

•David Beckham could be sidelined up to six weeks after cracking a rib during England’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Wales in Manchester, England, in which he scored a goal and drew a suspension for the next game.

The England captain today will return to Real Madrid, his Spanish league club, rather than accompany his national team to Wednesday’s qualifier in Azerbaijan.

Running

Rutto wins Chicago Marathon

The marathon obviously agrees with Evans Rutto.

Rutto is 3 for 3 at the grueling 26.2-mile distance, winning his second straight Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 16 seconds. It was the second-fastest marathon time in the world this year.

As he approached the finish line, Rutto raised his arms and pumped his fists, a broad smile crossing his face.

“I was feeling happy,” the Kenyan said. “I was happy with the victory, so it’s good for me. I was feeling very happy for me.”

Constantina Tomescu-Dita was equally thrilled. The Romanian blistered the rest of the women’s field, winning her first major marathon in 2:23:45 despite spending the last few days in bed with the flu.

Rutto and Tomescu-Dita won $125,000 each.

•Kenya’s Luke Metto beat countryman Wilson Kigan in a photo finish to win the Boston Athletic Association Half-Marathon.

Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands was never seriously challenged in capturing the women’s race in her tuneup for the New York City Marathon.

Metto and Kigan broke away with about a half-mile left in the 13.1-mile race and were neck-and-neck until Metto made a move 70 yards from the finish. Kegan tried to catch his workout partner and friend, but Metto finished first with a course-record time of 1:02:57.

Kiplagat was timed in 1:12:06, 1:49 better than runner-up Galina Alexandrova.

Horse Racing

Azeri wins Overbrook Spinster

Heavily favored Azeri drew clear in the stretch to beat Tamweel by three lengths in the Grade 1 $500,000 Overbrook Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, Ky.

Azeri started her move just before the quarter pole, passed Tamweel at the top of the stretch and slowly pulled away, winning in the 1 1/8 mile in 1:49.74 and earning $310,000.

Crocker sets record

Ian Crocker set a world record in the 50-meter butterfly in the Short Course World Championships in Indianapolis.

Crocker touched first in 22.71 seconds, breaking the mark of 22.74 set by Geoff Huegill of Australia in the 2002 championships in Berlin.