Davenport’s Injury Gives Capriati Title

Jennifer Capriati won her first singles title in 18 months, winning the Pilot Pen tournament at New Haven, Conn., Saturday when Lindsay Davenport withdrew during the second set due to injury.

The top-seeded Davenport has been struggling with a nerve disorder in her left foot and was limping as the match wore on.

Capriati was leading, 6-2, 4-0, when Davenport walked to the net and ended the match. The players met at midcourt and hugged before walking off the court.

The third-seeded Capriati, who won for the first time since the Australian Open in 2002, advanced to the final when second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo retired because of an upset stomach during Friday night’s semifinal.

Capriati turned an ankle in the first set Saturday but shook it off and pounded away with an effective baseline game. Her powerful forehand proved to be too much for the hobbled Davenport.

Capriati played solidly all week, beating Elena Bovina and Anna Pistolesi in tightly contested, three-set matches to reach the semifinals. Her power game sharp, Capriati said the week was one of her best all year.

“I couldn’t have planned it any better than this, it’s exactly what I was hoping for to come in to this week and I got it,” Capriati said. “Lindsay was very gracious to me after and said that I still played great.”

Davenport said she hopes to be ready for the U.S. Open, which starts Monday in New York. She said she planned on seeing a doctor at the Open this weekend.

“There’s not much you can do for it, maybe get an injection before the Open starts,” said Davenport, seeded third at the Open. “Hopefully he can do something to at least get me through the next two weeks.”

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Unseeded James Blake upset seventh-seeded Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco, 6-3, 6-1, in 59 minutes to advance to the final of the TD Waterhouse Cup in Commack, N.Y.

Blake, a member of last year’s Davis Cup team, will oppose defending champion and top-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand today.

Srichaphan needed only 57 minutes to beat wild-card Nicolas Kiefer, 6-0, 6-2.

Blake, who has won 10 of his last 13 matches on hard courts and advanced to his first final of the year, is 3-0 against Srichaphan. In their last meeting, the final at Washington, D.C., in 2002, Blake won in three sets for his only title in six years on the ATP Tour.

Boxing

Laila Ali hammered Christy Martin for three rounds, then ended the mismatched battle between the two biggest names in women’s boxing with a knockout 48 seconds into the fourth round at Biloxi, Miss.

The daughter of Muhammad Ali had predicted her 10-round IBA super middleweight title defense would not go past the fifth round. The prediction appeared right on from the opening bell.

Martin, giving up six inches, came right after the 5-foot-10 Ali, charging out for the first round.

Ali (16-0, 13 KOs) landed a couple of straight rights to back up Martin, but Martin kept trying to duck inside.

Ali landed a flurry of punches in the final 20 seconds that had Martin wobbling against the ropes. She managed to hang on, but the tone was set. After only one round, Martin’s face was reddened and she was beginning to swell under her left eye.

“I usually box but I had to jump on her,” Ali said. “I’m definitely stronger than her. Christy is tough; she’s definitely tough. She cracked me, but she didn’t hurt me.”

Martin (45-3-2, 31 KOs) could barely reach Ali with her punches. When Martin did land, it was never more than one punch and Ali would quickly regroup.

“She was just too big,” Martin said. “She was in great shape and she kept on coming. She still fights like an amateur, but all around she was just too big.”

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Former two-time world heavyweight champion Michael Moorer needed only 64 seconds to knock out Brazil’s Rogerio Lobo at the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek, Fla.

Lobo came out as the aggressor, charging directly at Moorer and throwing wild, wide punches that Moorer had no trouble eluding.

But the last time Lobo rushed him, Moorer fired a straight right hand that landed squarely on Lobo’s chin. He fell to the canvas and was counted out by referee Bill Connors.

Moorer, of Hollywood, Fla., improved his record to 45-3-1 with 35 knockouts. Lobo’s record fell to 27-8.

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Heavyweight Anthony Thompson of Silver Spring, Md., won his 15th consecutive bout by stopping Gilbert Martinez of Sacramento in the sixth round of their main event scheduled for 10 rounds at the Reno Hilton.

Thompson, who improved to 19-1, ended the bout with a technical knockout at 2:52 of the sixth round. Martinez is 15-6-1.

Miscellany

Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella’s three most valuable player awards from the 1950s sold at auction for a total of $340,000.

Campanella, who helped lead the Brooklyn Dodgers win five National League pennants and the 1955 World Series, won the MVP awards in 1951, 1953 and 1955.

The 1951 award sold for $155,000, the 1953 award for $95,000 and the 1955 award for $90,000, according to Katie Leighton, a spokeswoman for Exton, Pa.-based Hunt Auctions Inc.

Campanella’s widow, Roxie, has said she decided to sell her the trophies because she no longer felt the need to keep them. A portion of the auction proceeds will go to the Roy and Roxie Campanella Foundation.

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Washington High has been forced to forfeit the 2003 City Section Invitational softball championship because it used an ineligible player and will be banned from next year’s playoffs, the City rules committee decided.

In another City Section ruling, Jordan’s football program has been put on probation for using an ineligible player last season and will be banned from this season’s playoffs unless an appeal is successful.