Tsonga wins title at Paris Masters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated defending champion David Nalbandian on Sunday to win the Paris Masters.

Tsonga produced a stunning display of serving and shot-making in the 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory that made him the first Frenchman since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 to win the indoor tournament.

“I think tomorrow I’ll be in some pain, especially after the party I’m going to have,” Tsonga said.

The 23-year-old Tsonga’s second career title gave him the eighth and final spot in the ATP race and a spot in the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai next week.

Tsonga lost the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, but beat him in Paris, and in the final in Bangkok for his first career title last month.

The 13th-seeded Tsonga clinched the victory when Nalbandian hit the ball into the net after having missed three break points to pull back to 5-5.

Tsonga broke Nalbandian’s serve for a 2-1 lead in the deciding set, and saved a break point in the sixth game with an ace.

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RUNNING

Radcliffe rules New York race

Paula Radcliffe successfully defended her title at the New York City Marathon to become the second woman to win the race three times. Norway’s Grete Waitz won the race nine times between 1978 and 1988.

Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won the men’s race for the second time in three years, passing Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco with about a mile to go.

Unlike Radcliffe’s tight victories in 2004 and 2007, the world-record holder from Great Britain pulled away from Ludmila Petrova of Russia in the 22nd mile to win comfortably in 2 hours 23 minutes 56 seconds. Kara Goucher, in her marathon debut, finished third in 2:25:53, becoming the first American to make the podium since Anne Marie Letko was third in 1994.

Gomes dos Santos won in 2:08:43. Goumri finished in 2:09:07 and settled for the runner-up spot for the second consecutive year, and Daniel Rono of Kenya was third in 2:11:22.

New York was again the site of a comeback for Radcliffe. As in 2004, she rebounded from a disappointing Olympics performance with a victory in New York. Last year, she won her first marathon since the birth of her daughter less than 10 months earlier.

Petrova set a Masters world record with her time of 2:25:43.

Gomes dos Santos keeps finding magic in New York, where he has won his only two major marathon titles. He finished eighth last year.

Goumri finished in the top three in a major marathon for the fourth time in 19 months but is still seeking his first title.

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MOTOR RACING

Pedregon tops Las Vegas event

Cruz Pedregon beat Robert Hight with a time of 4.100 seconds at 304.67 mph to win the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and moved into first place in the funny-car series standings.

Pedregon leads Tim Wilkerson by 12 points.

In pro stock, Jeg Coughlin remained on top of the series standings by winning the final round with a 6.708 at 205.07 mph over Greg Anderson. Coughlin has a 123-point advantage on the second-place Anderson, who is the only driver still in the title hunt.

In pro stock motorcycle, Chris Rivas beat Eddie Krawiec in the final with a 7.052 at 185.79 mph and moved into third place, 39 points behind leader Matt Smith. Krawiec is 19 points behind the leader.

In top fuel, Tony Schumacher added to his points title by winning with a 3.806 at 314.53 mph over Rod Fuller.

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SKIING

Mammoth is set to open today

Mammoth Mountain ski area announced it will open for skiing and snowboarding today. That is 10 days earlier than the planned opening date, made possible by a weekend storm that delivered up to 18 inches of powder at the Eastern Sierra resort.