anked Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both

MADRID, Spain -- Rafael Nadal finally won another clay-court title, although not in a manner that alleviated any concerns about his recent form on his favourite surface. The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open. "I was blocked. There were some moments where, I dont know, I couldnt find myself," said Nadal, whose victory guarantees he will stay No. 1 in the rankings heading into Roland Garros. "It wasnt that I didnt want to play or I was missing intensity, I was just mentally blocked." Earlier, Maria Sharapova bounced back from a poor start to defeat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to win the womens title. Nadal became the first repeat winner in Madrid but it was only his second clay-court title of the year, and third overall in 2014. Nishikoris aggressive start allowed him to jump out to a 5-1 lead as his powerful groundstrokes overwhelmed Nadal, who struggled to find an answer against his Japanese opponent. "We dont deserve the victory, (Nishikori) deserves it, he played better than us the whole time," Nadals uncle and coach Toni Nadal told Antenna 3 TV. "We had a lot of luck today. We didnt really come back, he was hurt." Nishikori broke Nadal again to start the second set to leave the Magic Box centre crowd, which included Queen Sofia, dumbfounded to find Nadal struggling so badly. Nishikori first experienced discomfort while leading 4-2 and Nadal took advantage to break back. Nishikori soon needed a medical timeout for treatment on his back and hip, and his energy then looked sapped as he hit a shot long to concede the set. Nishikori, who withdrew from next weeks tournament in Rome to recover in time for the French Open, visibly struggled in the third before eventually retiring. "It was very sad, especially (since) I was winning, playing almost best tennis in my life," said Nishikori, who will become the first Japanese player in the top-10 when the new rankings are released. "It was very tough mentally for me. But I get a lot of confidence from this tournament. "You never know what happens today if Im not hurt. I may have chance to win." Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last years final, crumbled in the opening set when she held her serve just once. But Haleps serve dipped in the second set, and Sharapova started hitting pinpoint ground strokes that kept the fifth-ranked Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both her break points in the set to even the match. Sharapova then pulled away in the deciding set with an early break to follow up her triumph in Stuttgart with a maiden title in Madrid. Since the 2011 French Open, Sharapova has a 47-3 record on clay -- with all three defeats coming to Williams. The top-ranked American was the two-time defending champion in Madrid but withdrew with a leg injury on Friday. "I dont know how I pulled it off," Sharapova said after winning her 32nd career title. "I came close last year, and I didnt have a great first set today, but I knew it wasnt over until the last point was played." Sharapova planned to continue her centre court celebration on the plane ride to the Rome Masters. "They better have some champagne for me," Sharapova said. "I need a drink." Custom Detroit Tigers Jerseys . Browns advice worked. Irving scored 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 88-82 Saturday night. Irving made his first shot of the night on a layup a little over three minutes into the game. Alex Wilson Jersey . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.tigersgearshop.com/Tigers-Lan...sh-Kids-Jersey/. - Their offence is underperforming. Joe Jimenez Jersey . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely. Jose Iglesias Jersey . -- Creighton apparently has Villanovas number.SPIELBERG, Austria -- Red Bulls hopes for a triumph on its home circuit were dampened Friday as Mercedes regained its dominance in Formula One, clearly setting the pace on the opening day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. With Daniel Ricciardos maiden victory in Canada two weeks ago, Red Bull ended a six-race winning streak by Mercedes but the Australian driver and his teammate Sebastian Vettel did not come close to matching their rivals speed on the Red Bull Ring. Lewis Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in the second practice. Hamilton completed his best lap on the 4.3-kilometre (2.7-mile) track in 1 minute, 9.542 seconds, topping Rosberg by 0.377. Ferraris Fernando Alonso was almost a second off the lead in third. Vettel came sixth, more than 1.4 seconds behind Hamilton, while Ricciardo posted the eighth fastest time. Mercedes also came 1-2 in the opening practice, with Rosberg beating Hamilton by 0.140. "Its so close between the two of us," Rosberg said about the fight with Hamilton for pole position. "Im hoping we will still have the edge on everybody else. That seems to be the case today." However, Hamilton said he wouldnt mind if Rosberg started in front of him on Sunday. "Hunting definitely brings out the better side," the 2008 F1 champion said. "When you are in front, you feel vulnerable and any mistake you make you are going to be caught." In the morning session, Ricciardo and Vettel came only 13th and 15th respectively. "We clearly did better in the afternoon," Vettel said. "We are not there where we want to be when it comes to speed ... but it will be warmer on Saturday and Sunday and I think that will bring us closer." In the first session, Vettel brought his car back to the garage undamaged following a spectacular incident in the final turn. He came off the track and spun twice on the grass before the car came to a standstill on the track again. "t;That wasnt planned of course," the four-time champion said.dddddddddddd "I went too wide and the wet grass was slippery." Ricciardo also spun on the same spot shortly afterward, prompting team boss Christian Horner to joke "they were just warming up the crowd." "We are trying to find out the limit, and both just came on the grass," said Horner, adding the track was still lacking grip during the first session. "There was also a little bit of rain in the air. Thankfully everything is fine." Rosberg quit his first practice after 19 laps with a minor problem to his hybrid engine, enabling his technicians to fix the problem in time for the afternoons session. The German, however, couldnt keep up with Hamilton this time and didnt hide his anger as he was unaware over engine tests his team was applying on his car toward the end of the second session. "I was suddenly losing power and asked over the radio what was happening," Rosberg said. "Only then they told me they had changed my engine settings." Rosberg leads Hamilton in the drivers standings by 140-118 points going into Sundays race, the first GP in Austria since 2003. Most of the 22 drivers knew the track only from computer simulation. Alonso is one of just four drivers who raced on the track before, alongside McLarens Jenson Button, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen and Williams Felipe Massa. The track is one of the shortest on the F1 calendar and features fast straights and only nine turns. Weather conditions could become an issue in the race as strong winds in the second practice Friday caused several drivers problems, especially on the third and eighth turns. The second session was considerably faster than the first as temperatures went up and teams were able to test their so-called supersoft tires, which helped cut lap times by approximately 0.6 seconds. The third practice is scheduled for Saturday, followed by the qualifying. ' ' '