Youzhny shocks Nadal in Chennai final

Chennai, India (Sports Network) - Russian Mikhail Youzhny stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Chennai Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Youzhny blitzed Nadal from the outset and was never threatened in an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.
It was the fourth career singles title for Youzhny, who is ranked 19th in the world. He won once last year at Rotterdam and was also a finalist twice in 2007.
Nadal, who had a banner 2007 campaign with six titles, was attempting to garner his 24th career crown. But, the Spaniard looked lost from the start and was clearly suffering the effects of his grueling four-hour semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Youzhny upended Nadal for the fourth time in 10-career matchups and snapped a three-match skid against Nadal.

Garrigues retires injured in Hobart

Hobart, Australia (Sports Network) - Australian wild card Casey Dellacqua advanced at the Moorilla Hobart International tennis event Sunday when eight- seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues retired with of a lower back injury.
Dellacqua was leading 5-4 in the first set when the 34th-ranked Spaniard begged off.
In other first-round matches, Russia's Elena Vesnina dumped Japan's Akiko Morigami in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, while Greece's Eleni Daniilidou upended Pauline Parmentier of France, 6-3, 6-4.
Anna Chakvetadze beat Vasilisa Bardina in last year's all-Russian Hobart finale.

Mauresmo withdraws from Sydney International

Sydney, Australia (Sports Network) - Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the Medibank International tennis event, a final Australian Open tune-up, with a left abductor strain.
Mauresmo is joined on the sidelines by China's Na Li, won triumphed at the Australian women's hardcourt Saturday in her first tournament back after a pesky rib injury. Li is out with a right knee injury.
Mauresmo won this tournament in 2000, and was a finalist in 2004.
Although injury news dominated the headlines here, first round play got underway with three matches. Austrian Sybille Bammer upended Russia's Nadia Petrova in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, while the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova edged Alicia Molik 7-6 (2), 7-6 (12-10) in a tight-knit affair.

Meanwhile, Virginie Razzano of France had an easy time of it with Austrian wild card Nicole Pratt, 6-2, 6-1.

The since-retired Kim Clijsters defeated Jelena Jankovic in last year's final here.

James, Cavs rally past Raptors

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 24 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter as Cleveland roared back to beat Toronto, 93-90, at Air Canada Centre.

James added 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight game. Larry Hughes donated 14 points and Drew Gooden chipped in with 10 points and 12 boards.

Chris Bosh had 23 points for the Raptors, who have dropped two straight and six of eight. Anthony Parker finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Jose Calderon contributed a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.

The Cavs trailed by 13 points entering the final frame and barely showed a pulse to that point. But, James took over in a 19-6 run to open the fourth. The dynamic swingman drained a pair of threes and finally evened things at 76 by sticking a jumper with 6:26 left.

James continued to explode from there. After Bosh scored on a layup, James dropped in two more threes to put Cleveland on top, 84-80, with 3:21 remaining....Full Story

Butler leads Wizards over Sonics

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Caron Butler exploded for 33 points as the Washington Wizards dominated the Seattle SuperSonics, earning a 108-86 victory.
Antawn Jamison notched a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who won their second consecutive game. DeShawn Stevenson added 13 points, while Brendan Haywood scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards. Antonio Daniels dished out 10 assists to go with 13 points, as Washington had all five of its starters score in double-figures.
Kevin Durant had 19 points for the Sonics, as the team dropped its third straight and fifth of its last six contests. Wally Szczerbiak contributed 18 points off the bench. Nick Collison pulled down 17 rebounds while scoring 13 points, and Seattle dropped to 4-13 as the visitor this season.
In the fourth, the Wizards wasted no time putting the game out of reach, opening the period with a 14-2 burst. Darius Songalia stroked a jump hook with 7:41 to go, pushing the Washington lead to 92-71...Full Story