Venus Williams falls to Bartoli in final

STANFORD, Calif. -- Marion Bartoli celebrated her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win over Venus Williams yesterday in the final of the Bank of the West tennis tournament.

TENNIS

Venus Williams falls to Bartoli

Venus Williams was upset by Marion Bartoli 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the championship match of the Bank of the West Classic yesterday.

Williams, making her first appearance at the event since 2005, reached her seventh final in eight appearances at Stanford. She's won two titles but none since 2002.

In other tennis news:

• Sam Querrey ended a string of finalround frustrations by beating Carsten Bell 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to claim the L.A. Tennis Open title. Querrey was playing in his third straight final and fourth of the season but he had yet to win a tournament.

• Qualifier Thomaz Bellucci won his first ATP Tour title, beating Andreas Beck 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) in the Swiss Open final in Gstaad.

• Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko routed former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-0 to win the Croatia Open in Umag. It was the Russian's 16th career title and comes a week after he won the German Open.

• Vera Dushevina defeated Lucie Hradecka 6-0, 6-1 in the Istanbul Cup final to win her first WTA title.

• Wayne Odesnik defeated Paul Capdeville 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington. Andy Roddick is the top-seeded player and three-time winner of the event.

SOFTBALL

Finch's one-hitter keys U.S. victory

SENDAI, Japan -- Jennie Finch threw a one-hitter and drove in two runs to lead the United States to a 2-0 victory over Japan in the final of the Japan Cup softball tournament. Finch doubled in two runs in the bottom of the first inning, struck out eight and walked one in a 97-pitch effort. She was named tournament MVP.

HORSE RACING

Perfect Shower takes Breeders' Stakes

TORONTO -- Perfect Shower captured the $500,000 Breeders' Stakes, giving trainer Roger Attfield a record-setting eighth victory in the third jewel of Canadian horse racing's Triple Crown.

Perfect Shower became the longest-priced winner in Breeders' Stakes history at 46-1 and paid $95.30, $34.80 and $13.60. The colt won the 1½-mile race in 2:29.39 on firm turf.

Guipago, a 29-1 long shot that was 1¾ lengths behind, returned $23 and $11.90. Reservoir finished third in the 13-horse field, paying $5.90.

In other horse racing news:

• Seventh Street battled back in the final sixteenth-mile after surrendering the lead to Spritely to take a 1½-length victory in the $300,000 Go For Wand Handicap at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The race for fillies and mares was run over a muddy track in a downpour. Rajiv Maragh, who maintained a wide course throughout 11/8 miles run in 1:51.01, rode the Godolphin Stable-owned Seventh Street to her third win from five starts this year for trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

WNBA

Fever beats Mystics

WASHINGTON -- Katie Douglas scored 11 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter to lead Indiana to an 87-79 victory over Washington for the Fever's third victory in 12 days against the Mystics. Alana Beard had 23 points and Lindsey Harding added 22 for the Mystics. -- From Wire Reports