Sharapova wins tourney in Germany

MARIA SHARAPOVA won her third straight Porsche Grand Prix title yesterday in Stuttgart, Germany by coming from behind to defeat Ana Ivanovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Sharapova won her first tournament of the year and clinched the 30th title of her career. She is now undefeated in 13 consecutive matches on the indoor clay in Stuttgart.

Ivanovic wasted a 3-1 lead in the second set as Sharapova raised her game to stay in the high-quality match between two former top-ranked players and French Open champions. Ivanovic was seeking her third title of the year.

"I just tried to hang in there," Sharapova said. "For the first half of the match I thought it might not be my day today, but somehow I turned it around."

Stuttgart is the only tournament Sharapova has won three times.

In another tournament:

* At Bucharest, Romania, top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to win the Nastase Tiriac Trophy for his third ATP title.

* New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick ran the St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville on Saturday and finished with an official time of 2 hours, 36 minutes and 46 seconds. Belichick ran with his fiancee, Linda Holliday, and they finished the half marathon together, according to the Tennessean. Holliday graduated from Vanderbilt, in Nashville, and Belichick was born there.

* Ninth-ranked Notre Dame defeated No. 4 Syracuse, 15-14, in the Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse championship game at PPL Park. Matt Kavanagh paced the Irish with four goals and two assists. Jim Marlatt had three goals and an assist and Conor Doyle two goals and three assists.

* Ring Weekend is out of the Kentucky Derby because of a fever and infection. The decision on the Tampa Bay Derby winner and Calder Derby runner-up was announced by Churchill Downs. Ring Weekend was ranked 14th in Derby points standings. Now that he's out, Commanding Curve joins the field for Saturday's race and will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan.

* Three-time Olympic champion Kerri Walsh won her record 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour title, teaming with April Ross to beat Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva and Maria Antonelli, 21-11, 21-18, in the Fuzhou (China) Open final.

* Ryan Hunter-Reay coasted to his second straight victory at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., when the rain-shortened IndyCar race finished under caution.

* Barcelona defender Dani Alves responded to a racist taunt when a banana landed at his feet during a game at Villarreal, Spain by picking up the fruit, peeling and then eating it before proceeding to take a corner kick.