Nadal drops out of event in Cincinnati

Rafael Nadal dropped out of the Western & Southern Open, scuttling a reunion of the “Big Four.” Nadal withdrew a few hours after he won his fifth title of the year in Toronto. He’ll take a week to get some rest and get ready for the U.S. Open. “No other reason than personally taking care of my body,” Nadal said in a statement — so the “Big Four” reunion will have to wait for at least a few more weeks. Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray haven’t played in the same tournament in more than a year. With Nadal’s withdrawal, Federer becomes the top player in the bracket this week. He has a record seven titles here. He and No. 1ranked Nadal have been in a season-long, back-andforth atop the rankings, exchanging the top spot six times in six months. Nadal is guaranteed to take the top ranking into the U.S. Open.

ODDS AND ENDS

WNBA: Minnesota Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen, 36, will retire after the season, ending her 15-year career. The six-time All-Star has led the Lynx to four WNBA titles. She has been balancing a new job that begins this fall as the head coach at her alma mater, Minnesota. Whalen was the first WNBA player with 5,000 points, 2,000 assists and 1,500 rebounds. With 322 victories and counting, no player in league history has won more games. She ranks third on the WNBA’s all-time assists list.

IndyCar: Series leader Scott Dixon signed a contract extension with Chip Ganassi that will likely take the fourtime champion through the end of his career. The extension puts Dixon behind the wheel of the PNC Bank-sponsored entry and ends speculation he’d leave Ganassi after 17 seasons to join Fernando Alonso on a new McLaren team. Dixon’s career began in 2000 with PacWest Racing, but the team ran out of money three races into the 2002 season and Dixon was picked up by Ganassi. His tenure is the longest of any Ganassi driver. The New Zealand native, 38, has won the Indianapolis 500 and his 44 career victories trail only A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. Dixon has three wins this season and leads Alexander Rossi by 46 points in the standings with four races remaining.

Obituary: Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, who joined with Bret Hart to form one of the top 1980s tag teams with the WWE, died Monday at age 63 in Wesley Chapel, Fla. The Pasco Sheriff ’s Office said Neidhart fell at home, hit his head and “succumbed to his injury.” No foul play was suspected.