Off the wire

TENNIS Nadal dominates

After losing in the semifinals of three consecutive clay-court tournaments, Rafael Nadal dominated for stretches against his longtime rival, Novak Djokovic, in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win Sunday in Rome for a record-extending ninth Italian Open title. It marked the first time in an Open Era-record 54 meetings, and in their 142nd set against each other, that Nadal won a set against Djokovic without conceding a game — otherwise known as a bagel. The timing for Nadal’s return to form could not have been more opportune, as he will seek a record-extending 12th title at the French Open starting next weekend. Top-ranked Djokovic, meanwhile, appeared exhausted after spending more than 5 ½ hours on court against Juan Martin del Potro and Diego Schwartzman the previous two days. Djokovic was also coming off the Madrid Open title last week. In the women’s final earlier, Karolina Pliskova captured the biggest clay-court trophy of her career by beating Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-4.

GOLF Shelton wins by 1

Robby Shelton got up-anddown from a bunker to save par on the 18th hole Sunday for an even-par 71, giving him a one-shot victory in the Knoxville Open at Knoxville, Tenn., and his second Web.com Tour victory of the year. Shelton started the final round at Fox Den Country Club with a two-shot lead and fell behind early with consecutive bogeys as Zhang Xinjun made two early birdies. Shelton started the back nine with back-to-back birdies to regain control. Mark Anderson began the back nine with an eagle and finished with a birdie and a 68, making Shelton finish with par for the win. Shelton finished at 15-under 269. He won two weeks ago in the Nashville Golf Open, and this victory enabled him to take over the lead from Zhang on the Web.com Tour points list. The top 25 earn PGA Tour cards at the end of the regular season. Zhang (70), Tim Wilkinson (70) and Mark Hubbard (71) tied for third.

Alfredsson victorious

Helen Alfredsson of Sweden closed with 13 consecutive pars for a 1-over 72, giving her a two-shot victory in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Southern Pines, N.C. Tied for the lead with Trish Johnson of England going into the final round, Alfredsson made double bogey on the par-3 fifth hole to fall two shots behind. That was her last mistake, and Johnson dropped too many shots to keep up. Alfredsson finished at 1-over 285. Juli Inkster,a runner-up last year when the U.S. Senior Women’s Open made its debut at Chicago Golf Club, began the back nine with a bogey on the par-5 10th and finished with eight consecutive pars for a 70. She was runner-up for the second consecutive year, joining Johnson at 287. Alfredsson’s lone major on the LPGA Tour was the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 1993. She was twice a runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Open.

HOCKEY

U.S. defeats Germany

Dylan Larkin scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the United States went on to beat Germany 3-1 Sunday at the world championships in Kosice, Slovakia. Jack Eichel put the Americans ahead by two goals late in the third and Cory Schneider was strong in net, helping them win a fifth consecutive game in Group A since opening the tournament with a 4-1 loss to the host Slovaks. Frederik Tiffels put the Germans ahead 1-0 midway through the first period and James van Riemsdyk pulled the Americans into a tie less than two minutes later. The U.S. closes the preliminary round Tuesday against rival Canada.

BASKETBALL Lillard separates ribs

Portland’s Damian Lillard said he separated his ribs in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. Lillard confirmed the injury on Sunday, a day after the Trail Blazers lost 110-99 in Game 3. Lillard was 5-of-18 from the floor and finished with 19 points as Golden State took a 3-0 series lead. The injury was originally reported by The Athletic. Lillard said the separation is on the left side, and he wore protective padding in Game 3. “I don’t think it’s something that’s affecting my game. It’s there but it’s not something that’s affecting anything that I’m doing. Obviously you feel it, but that’s it,” he said. Lillard was hurt in the third quarter of Thursday’s Game 2 when Golden State’s Kevon Looney landed on top of him in a scramble for the ball. The Warriors would close out the series with a victory today.

BASEBALL Cubs drop protest

The Chicago Cubs have dropped their protest over the pitching delivery of Washington reliever Sean Doolittle. Cubs Manager Joe Maddon made the announcement before Sunday night’s game against the Nationals. Maddon came out twice in the ninth inning of a 5-2 loss Saturday night to complain to plate umpire Sam Holbrook about Doolittle. Maddon said he believed the left-handed Doolittle was tapping his right toe on the ground before coming to the plate. After being told Doolittle’s delivery was legal, Maddon announced the Cubs were playing the game under protest. Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. was informed at the end of spring training that his delivery, which featured a similar toe-tap, was illegal. That ruling miffed Maddon and the Cubs. On Sunday, Maddon said the protest was made to protect Edwards.

Springer injures back

Houston Astros outfielder George Springer left Houston’s game against the Boston Red Sox in the fifth inning Sunday with lower back stiffness. Springer, who entered Sunday leading the majors with 17 home runs, took three big swings in the first and struck out against Chris Sale. On the second and third swings, Springer appeared to reach briefly for the lower right side of his back. Springer also struck out swinging in his next two at-bats — in the second and fourth — before he was removed when Houston took the field on defense in the fifth. He was replaced in the batting order by Tony Kemp. On a tear at the plate lately, Springer began the day batting .318 with 42 RBI.

FOOTBALL Eagles’ Long retires

Eagles defensive lineman Chris Long has announced his retirement from football, ending an 11-year NFL playing career that included winning two Super Bowl titles and the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Long posted his decision Saturday night on Twitter, saying it has “been a hell of a journey” and added that “I can honestly say I put my soul into every minute of it.” Long, 33, the son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, had 70 career sacks and 15 forced fumbles in stints with the Rams, Patriots and Eagles. He won back-to-back championships with the Patriots (2017) and Eagles (2018). Long was selected last February as the league’s Walter Payton Award recipient for his outstanding community service. In 2017, Long donated his entire salary to support education in cities where he has played: St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia. Last year, Long climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with other NFL players and some U.S. military veterans to raise money to build clean water wells for East Africa. He was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Rams out of Virginia. Long spent his first eight seasons in St. Louis before signing with New England as a free agent in 2016. He played his final two seasons with Philadelphia after joining the Eagles as a free agent.

Nadal