Another 10th title for Nadal

BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to win his 10th Barcelona Open title, the second consecutive week Nadal won a tournament for the 10th time. He became the first men’s tennis player in the Open era to win the same title 10 times at the Monte Carlo Masters the previous Sunday. “It means a lot to me to win 10 titles here in Barcelona as well,” Nadal said. “To win in Barcelona and Monte Carlo gives me a dream start to the clay season.” It was Nadal’s second title of the season and 71st of his career. The fifth-ranked Spaniard had lost his previous three finals, including to Roger Federer in the Australian Open. Next he will try to win a 10th title at the French Open, which starts May 22. The most recent of the 30-yearold’s 14 Grand Slam titles was earned three years ago in Paris. Nadal broke the ninth-ranked Austrian late in the first set and early in the second Sunday, then cruised to close out the match for his 51st career title on clay. He saved the only break point he conceded to Thiem at the “Rafa Nadal” center court. He was only broken twice in 47 service games throughout the week.

FOOTBALL

› ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — First Rex Ryan, now Doug Whaley. Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula completed an offseason front-office purge by firing Whaley, his general manager, and the team’s entire scouting staff Sunday, a day after completing the NFL draft. Though pleased with the collaborative effort that took place in the draft room between Whaley and rookie coach Sean McDermott, Pegula went ahead with the change after what he called a lengthy review of his operation. Pegula said the timing coincided with the end of the draft, but he declined to detail the reasons why he felt the overhaul was necessary. “Doug’s a good guy. He’s a smart man, but we made the decision,” Pegula said during a 15-minute news conference at the team’s headquarters. “And the reasons remain private to us.” The shake-up further solidifies McDermott’s authority and influence, which has grown incrementally in the three months since he replaced Ryan, who was fired in the final week of last season. The 42-yearold, detail-oriented defensive specialist has become the voice of the franchise in discussing all team-related topics, including free agency and the draft. Besides Whaley, the Bills also dismissed player-personnel director Jim Monos and Kelvin Fisher, the team’s former amateur scouting director who had previously been demoted to an advisory role. Pegula said he will immediately begin a general manager search and that it was too early to speculate on candidates. He said McDermott would have some input.

SOCCER

› GENEVA — Under pressure from allegations in an American federal court that he bribed FIFA voters, Asian Olympic leader Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah of Kuwait resigned from his soccer roles Sunday. Sheikh Ahmad’s move ended his candidacy to retain a seat on FIFA’s ruling council before eight days of voting by Asian soccer officials in Bahrain. “I do not want these allegations to create divisions or distract attention from the upcoming AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and FIFA Congresses,” said the Kuwaiti royal, who denied any wrongdoing. “Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided it is in the best interests of FIFA and the AFC, for me to withdraw my candidacy for the FIFA Council and resign from my current football positions.”