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Reporting results

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John Isner rallies for Cincinnati tennis upset

MASON

John Isner’s absence from the ATP top 20 will be brief.

The 6-foot-10 American made sure of that Saturday, rallying to beat seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9), 6-3 in a grueling Western & Southern Open semifinal.

Isner, who fell from No. 20 to 22 this week, will return to the top 20 after a stimulating Cincinnati run that includes beating three straight top-10 players for the first time in his career while earning his second Masters 1000 series finals appearance.

Solheim Cup

PARKER, Colo.

Karine Icher put an emphatic end to a stunning shutout that put Europe on the verge of its first Solheim Cup win in America.

Icher rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt from just off the back of the 18th green Saturday afternoon as she and Beatriz Recari hung on for a 1-up win, giving Europe its first sweep of a Solheim Cup session in 11 years.

By winning all the fourballs matches in the afternoon, Europe led 101/2-51/2, matching the largest lead in Solheim Cup history. With only the 12 singles matches remaining today, Europe only needs to win three matches and halve another to capture the cup away from home for the first time since this event began in 1990.

Allmendinger hangs on, wins Nationwide

LEXINGTON, Ohio

AJ Allmendinger was so close to he could almost envision coasting through his final lap and capturing the checkered flag.

Then, elsewhere on the course, a car spun out and the subsequent yellow flag meant the pack would have to restart behind the pace car in a two-lap sprint to the finish.

But after leading 73 of the 94 laps, he survived that last, late challenge to win the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Emirates defeats Luna Rossa in opener

SAN FRANCISCO

Emirates Team New Zealand tore the tarp in the center of its catamaran and lost two men overboard before holding on to beat hobbled Italian Team Luna Rossa in a scary opener to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals Saturday.

The Italians scrambled to repair lines around the right dagger board of their 72-foot catamaran just before the start. They caught a break when officials delayed the race 20 minutes waiting for the wind to drop below the 22 mph limit.

Usain Bolt wins 3rd straight world 200 title

MOSCOW

When Usain Bolt means business, he is still all alone out there.

Bolt coasted to his third straight 200-meter world title Saturday, with the race basically wrapped as soon as he entered the finishing straight.

Jamaican teammate Warren Weir never got close to Bolt’s world-leading mark of 19.66 seconds, but crossing .13 seconds later for silver still left him enough time to join him in a reggae dance to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”

Rattlers beat Soul 48-39 in ArenaBowl

ORLANDO, Fla.

After winning their second straight ArenaBowl title in their third consecutive championship game, Arizona quarterback Nick Davilla and coach Kevin Guy shied away from dynasty talk.

“I don’t want to throw that word around now,” Davilla said after throwing six touchdown passes in the Rattlers’ 48-39 victory over the Philadelphia Soul on Saturday. “I just want to enjoy this one. We’ll focus on winning another next year.”

Guy looked back to the Rattlers’ last-play loss to Jacksonville in 2010.

“I’m going to think more about the one that got away than the two we’ve won,” Guy said.

Vindicator staff/wire reports