By Julien Pretot PARIS | Sun Nov 4, 2012 12:46pm EST PARIS (Reuters) - Spain's David Ferrer clinched his maiden Masters title when he ended Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz's brilliant run in Paris with a 6-4 6-3 win on Sunday. Fourth seed Ferrer, the first Spaniard to prevail at Bercy, proved too consistent for world number 69 Janowicz, who had b...

By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE | Sun Nov 4, 2012 10:55am EST PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic reclaimed the Fed Cup after Lucie Safarova thumped Serbia's Jelena Jankovic to give the home team an unbeatable 3-1 lead. Left-hander Safarova, the word number 17, broke Jankovic's opening serve before winning 6-1 6-1 in front of a 14,000 capacity crowd at P...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Sun Nov 4, 2012 10:45am EST ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Kimi Raikkonen won an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix thriller for Lotus on Sunday while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel defended his Formula One championship lead by fighting sensationally through the field from last place to third. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, just ...

By Liana B. Baker NEW YORK | Sun Nov 4, 2012 9:49am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of runners in New York City are refusing to let a canceled marathon spoil their Sunday plans and are channeling months of preparation into informal runs intended to benefit victims of superstorm Sandy. Amid criticism from victims of Monday's storm that the race ...

PRAGUE | Sun Nov 4, 2012 8:11am EST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Ana Ivanovic beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-5 on Sunday to keep alive Serbia's hopes of winning their debut Fed Cup title. World number eight Kvitova had been expected to hand defending champions Czech Republic an unbeatable 3-0 lead on Sunday but former French Open winner Ivanovic produced an inspired dis...

Sun Nov 4, 2012 6:42am EST (Reuters) - Guan Tianlang is poised to become the youngest golfer to play at the U.S. Masters after the Chinese 14-year-old won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand on Sunday. Teenage hot-shot Guan earned an invitation to the 2013 Masters at Augusta after firing an even-par 71 to win by one stroke from Taiwan's Pan Chung-Ts...

Sun Nov 4, 2012 5:27am EST (Reuters) - James Kwambai stormed to victory in the Seoul Marathon for the second year running on Sunday, winning by almost five minutes to lead a Kenyan 1-2-3. The 29-year-old won his fourth marathon in a time of two hours, five minutes and 50 seconds and was wrapped up and getting warm by the time countryman Chebon Chebor crossed the ...

Sun Nov 4, 2012 3:23am EST SHENZHEN, China, Nov 4 - Ian Poulter carded a final round of 65 to seal a two-shot victory in the HSBC-WGC Champions Tournament at Missions Hills on Sunday, becoming the first Englishman to win two World Golf Championships events. Poulter started his final round four shots behind joint leaders Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood, but claw...

SHENZHEN, China | Sun Nov 4, 2012 12:35am EDT SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - The HSBC-WGC Champions tournament in China will be elevated to full World Golf Championships status from 2013, the U.S. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has said, while prize money will increase to $8.5 million. The event, held in China since 2005, had been given WGC status in 200...

By Liana B. Baker NEW YORK | Sun Nov 4, 2012 12:05am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of runners in New York City are refusing to let a canceled marathon spoil their Sunday plans and are channeling months of preparation into informal runs intended to benefit victims of superstorm Sandy. Amid criticism from victims of Monday's storm that the race...

Sat Nov 3, 2012 11:46pm EDT (Reuters) - The Brooklyn Nets baptized their new Barclays Center home with a 107-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday as the first major professional sports team in 55 years to call Brooklyn their home. The Nets led by 13 points in the third quarter, but had to hold off the Raptors, who closed within 97-95 with 75 seconds l...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes ARCADIA, California | Sat Nov 3, 2012 11:33pm EDT ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Wise Dan cemented his credentials as America's top-ranked race horse while Game On Dude spectacularly failed as the 2012 Breeders' Cup ended in glorious sunshine at Santa Anita Park on Saturday. Game on Dude, the overwhelming favorite for the ...

Sat Nov 3, 2012 8:37pm EDT (Reuters) - Baseball's all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera plans to return next year after missing most of the 2012 season with a knee injury, the New York Yankees said on Saturday. "He called me yesterday and told me that he'd like to play in 2013," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Major League Baseball's website. "Now (agen...

Sat Nov 3, 2012 7:11pm EDT (Reuters) - The National Hockey League (NHL) and players' union returned to the bargaining table for the first time in more than two weeks on Saturday in a bid to salvage a portion of the league's regular season. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHL Players' Association special counsel Steve Fehr met in an undisclosed location to s...

The Costa Rica Star has published extensively about the 2012 La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain bike race. TURRIALBA, Costa Rica — It was the Attack of the Ticos as soon as stage 2 rolled off the start line at La Ruta de los Conquistadores on Friday in Tres Rios. Costa Rica’s Dennis Porras soloed to victory in the 49-mile stage, which included ascending nearly 10,000 feet up a volcano, i...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes ARCADIA, California | Sat Nov 3, 2012 5:45pm EDT ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Top sprinter Groupie Doll stretched her unbeaten run to five races while heavily fancied Shackleford disappointed after a stumbling start at the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park on Saturday. Odds-on favorite Groupie Doll obliterated the field ...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Sat Nov 3, 2012 5:24pm EDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel was down but not out after his hopes of winning Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix disappeared as fast as a Formula One car roaring into the distance. The double world champion, 13 points ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with ...

By Josh Reich Sat Nov 3, 2012 4:19pm EDT (Reuters) - When Andy Murray steps out on court to face Tomas Berdych in his first match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday the expectation he usually shoulders will weigh a little less. The season-ending event will be the London-based Scot's first tournament on home soil after he finally made his major breakth...

By Julien Pretot PARIS | Sat Nov 3, 2012 4:08pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Jerzy Janowicz continued to be a thorn in the side of higher ranked opponents as he reached the Paris Masters final with a 6-4 7-5 win over local favourite Gilles Simon on Saturday. Polish qualifier Janowicz, who beat U.S. Open champion Andy Murray in the third round, used his ...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Sat Nov 3, 2012 4:02pm EDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand prix from the pit lane as punishment for a fuel irregularity that could blow the Formula One title battle wide open. Stewards stripped the 25-year-old of third place on the grid after pos...

By Patrick Lang BASEL, Switzerland | Sat Nov 3, 2012 3:28pm EDT BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - American Lindsey Vonn will not be allowed to enter the men's downhill competition at Lake Louise, the International Ski Federation (FIS) said on Saturday. Vonn, the second most successful woman skier in the history of the sport, made headlines before th...

By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE | Sat Nov 3, 2012 12:52pm EDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic cruised to a 2-0 lead after the opening singles of the Fed Cup final against Serbia on Saturday, putting them well on course to successfully defend their title. Petra Kvitova shrugged off a cold that forced her to retire from the WTA championships last week,...

LONDON | Sat Nov 3, 2012 10:27am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will continue their career-long rivalry at the ATP World Tour Finals after being drawn in the same group for the season-ender in London's Docklands next week. Saturday's draw paired Murray in Group A with the man he beat in a Flushing Meadows epic to claim his first gr...

In the recent past The Costa Rica Star has published about this tough and technical mountain bike race. UNIVERSIDAD PARA LA PAZ, Costa Rica — If it’s possible to be effusive and understated at the same time, American mountain biker Pua Mata was so after stage one of La Ruta de los Conquistadores on Thursday. “It was awesome. It was hard. It was good,” Mata said of the punishing race that ush...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes ARCADIA, California | Fri Nov 2, 2012 9:12pm EDT ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Hot favorite Royal Delta lived up to her billing as the top female horse in the United States by retaining her title in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic at Santa Anita Park on Friday...

By Ben Everill ARCADIA, California | Fri Nov 2, 2012 8:38pm EDT ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - French-bred mare Zagora has stormed home to win the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf in what will likely be the last start of her career at Santa Anita Park on Friday. Due to be sold at auction later this month, Martin Schwartz's five-year-old storme...

By Martha Graybow and Larry Fine NEW YORK | Fri Nov 2, 2012 8:37pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg abruptly reversed course and canceled Sunday's marathon, a beloved annual race that had become a lightning rod for people frustrated by the disastrous aftermath of megastorm Sandy. The decision on Friday came after a g...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes ARCADIA, California | Fri Nov 2, 2012 7:30pm EDT ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Kentucky-bred Beholder led from the front most of the way before holding off slight favorite Executiveprivilege to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park on Friday. Ridden by veteran jockey Garrett Gomez, Beholder surged acr...

NEW YORK | Fri Nov 2, 2012 7:28pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade joined the chorus of people criticizing why some sports events were taking place in New York following the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy. Speaking to reporters before Friday night's National Basketball Association clash against the New York Knicks at Madison ...

Fri Nov 2, 2012 6:47pm EDT (Reuters) - The struggling New Orleans Saints have lost key running back Darren Sproles for an indefinite period after he underwent surgery for a broken hand, the team said on Friday. Sproles, who set a National Football League record with 2,696 all-purpose yards last season, has been a vital cog for the Saints (2-5), catching passes in...

By Julien Pretot PARIS | Fri Nov 2, 2012 6:17pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz continued his brilliant run at the Paris Masters on Friday while fourth seed David Ferrer knocked out local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Spaniard Ferrer ruthlessly dismissed 2008 winner Tsonga 6-2 7-5 to set up a semi-final with unseeded Frenchma...

By Steve Keating TORONTO | Fri Nov 2, 2012 5:27pm EDT TORONTO (Reuters) - The Winter Classic became the latest casualty in a bitter labor dispute between National Hockey League (NHL) owners and players on Friday, when the league cancelled the showcase event with negotiations stalled. The New Year's day extravaganza featuring Original Six rivals t...

By Simon Evans Fri Nov 2, 2012 2:41pm EDT (Reuters) - The New York Giants are playing like defending Super Bowl champions, making a real bid for repeat success but on Sunday they come up against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that also knows about going all the way. The clash of two of the league's traditional teams at Metlife Stadium should be another fascin...

NEW YORK | Fri Nov 2, 2012 2:31pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced it will not appeal against the decision to ban American cyclist Lance Armstrong for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles. WADA had the option of challenging the ruling that was made by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) ...

PARIS | Fri Nov 2, 2012 11:16am EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Frenchman Gilles Simon booked his place in the Paris Masters semi-finals with a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 win over Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych on Friday. The unseeded Simon, who reached the quarter-finals after Japanese Kei Nishikori withdrew with an ankle injury, had too much pace for Berdych in front...

By Martyn Herman LONDON | Fri Nov 2, 2012 10:38am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Even by the hyperbolic standards of English soccer the opening skirmishes of the new season have provided a dizzying overdose of the good, the bad and the downright ugly sides of what was once referred to as the beautiful game. The past week alone has provided a tumultuous m...

CONCACAF champion Costa Rica surrendered a goal two minutes before halftime and lost 3-1 to host Thailand on Thursday in its opening match at the Futsal World Cup. Suphawut Thueanklang scored one goal and set up another to lead Thailand, which claimed the early Group A lead over Urkaine and Paraguay, which drew 3-3 in an earlier match. Thueanklang fed Keattiyot Chalaemkhet to put Thailand ah...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Fri Nov 2, 2012 10:15am EDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Formula One teams face a stiff hike in entry fees for next year's championship with the winning constructor having to pay $6,000 for every point scored this season as well as a basic charge of $500,000. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) spelled out...

By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE | Fri Nov 2, 2012 9:42am EDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - Petra Kvitova hopes her recent illness will not scupper her efforts to lead the Czech Republic's Fed Cup title defense on home soil in the final against Serbia this weekend. Kvitova pulled out of the WTA championships in Istanbul last week with a cold and had her first full tra...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Fri Nov 2, 2012 9:24am EDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Max Chilton will have to wait until the end of the season before finding out whether he can secure a Formula One race seat with Marussia and become Britain's fourth driver on the starting grid. The 21-year-old took part in his first practice session at the Abu Dhabi Gran...