Lindsay Davenport captured the Porsche Grand Prix tennis title in Filderstadt, Germany and moved closer to the top ranking when world number-one Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo retired from the final with a thigh injury. The number-two ranked Davenport won the first set 6-2 Sunday, before Mauresmo withdrew after her heavily taped left thigh hampered her movement.
The American is now just 15 points behind Mauresmo in the Women's Tennis Association rankings (4,395-4,380) and the top spot could switch hands next week at the Kremlin Cup.
Mauresmo had said her goal was to retain the number-1 ranking, while Davenport downplayed the importance of reaching the top spot for the fifth time. The match was just the fifth time in the last 21 years that the top two women in the world have faced each other in a tour event in Europe.
Czech tennis player Jiri Novak rallied to beat seventh seeded American Taylor Dent and win the Japan Open in Tokyo.
The fifth seeded Novak lost the first set in today's (Sunday's) final before overpowering Dent to take the three-set match, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. The victory earned the 29-year-old Czech his sixth professional title.
Novak eliminated former world number one and tournament top seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the semifinals.
Swedish tennis player Robin Soderling has captured the first ATP title of his career with a three-set win over Xavier Malisse of Belgium at the Lyon Open in France.
The 20-year-old Soderling clinched the title 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Sunday. The tall Swede jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before wrapping up the first set in 25 minutes. Malisse took a 4-0 lead and won the second set, before Soderling got a crucial break in the fifth game of the final set to lock up the win. It was a bitter blow for 24-year-old Malisse, who has lost in all six of his appearances in finals, including two this year.