Times wires
Thursday, April 21, 2011
tennis
spain's appeal of U.s. davis cup surface nixed
LONDON — Davis Cup organizers unanimously rejected an appeal by Spain on Thursday over the choice of playing surface by the United States for their quarterfinal in July, saying the surface complies with competition regulations.
The Spanish Tennis Federation disputed the use of the surface, known as Indoor Hard Premiere. It said the surface is not on the list of 91 manufacturers approved by the International Tennis Federation and "fraudulently infringes" Davis Cup rules.
But the international federation's three-member Davis Cup Committee gave the Americans the go-ahead, saying the surface is used in more than 30 tour events and two Grand Slam tournaments.
The July 8-10 quarterfinal is in Austin, Texas.
Barcelona Open: Rafael Nadal cruised past Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal against Gael Monfils in Spain. Monfils, the seventh seed, beat Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).
Grand Prix: Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki reeled off 10 straight games to rally for a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Andrea Petkovic and a place in the semifinals in Stuttgart, Germany. Tampa resident Sam Stosur defeated second seed Vera Zvonareva 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
horseS
Rachel Alexandra, Curlin owner dies
Jess Jackson, founder of the Kendall-Jackson winery and a prominent thoroughbred owner whose horses included horses of the year Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, died of cancer. He was 81. Caroline Shaw, a spokeswoman for Jackson Family Wines, said he died at his home in Geyserville, Calif.
As a vintner, he built a multimillion-dollar empire on chardonnay with his popular Kendall-Jackson brand. After ruling a wine empire for 20 years, Mr. Jackson turned his attention to racing, spending $200 million to build a thoroughbred breeding operation in Kentucky and Florida.
In recent years, he was one of racing's leading owners with his Stonestreet Stable. He campaigned two-time horse of the year Curlin after becoming majority stakeholder in 2007, then purchased Rachel Alexandra, the filly who was horse of the year in 2009.
He bought Rachel Alexandra days after her record-setting win in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks, then entered her in the Preakness, where she became the first filly in 85 years to capture the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Rachel Alexandra went on to beat the boys in the Haskell Invitational and the Woodward Stakes on her way to horse of the year honors. She was retired last summer and was bred to Curlin in February.
et cetera
soccer: MLS Los Angeles will decide whether to attempt to re-sign David Beckham based on his ability and not his celebrity and other promotional qualities, league president Mark Abbott said. Beckham, 35, is in the final season of a $32.5 million, five-year contract.
running: Marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie has no strong opinions about whether Geoffrey Mutai's faster time from Monday's Boston Marathon should be recognized as the record, his agent says. Jos Hermens said Gebrselassie, who ran 2 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds, in 2008 in Berlin, respects Mutai's 2:03:02 and is inspired to run faster. The international governing body disqualifies the Boston course from records because it is too straight and too downhill.
Times wires