Somdev gets past Sweeting

Norcross: James Blake rallied to win a second-set tiebreaker and overcame a 1-hour, 18-minute rain delay Monday night for a 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. Blake will face third-seeded John Isner, his friend and doubles partner, in the second round.

No. 8 seed Somdev Dev Varman of India held off Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to earn a second-round match against Japan's Tatsuma Ito, a 7-6 (6), 6-4 winner over Michael Berrer of Germany.

Gilles Muller of Luxembourg beat No. 7 Alex Bogomolov Jr., 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Tour de France

Gap: Norway’s Thor Hushovd won the 16th stage of the Tour de France, a 162.5-km ride from St Paul Trois Chateaux on Tuesday. His compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen was second and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal finished third. France’s Thomas Voeckler retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Trilok bags gold

Gangtok: Sikkim’s Trilok Subba has won the gold medal in the sixth CK Classic Malaysian Open International Championship in the first master taekwondo poomsae category. Subba was the lone gold medallist of the 11-member Indian contingent, a release said here on Monday.

Poonia training

New Delhi: Laid low by injuries for most of the first half of the season, discus thrower Krishna Poonia has begun training under Olympic champion Mac Wilkins in the US in a bid to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Kenya coach

Nairobi: Kenya have appointed New Zealander Michael Hesson as the new cricket national coach, officials said Tuesday.

Cook deal

London: England ODI captain Alastair Cook has extended his deal with Essex by two years. “I am delighted to sign a two-year contract with Essex that will run until the 2013 season,” said the 26-year-old who began his career with the county.

PCB keen

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board is keen to use the controversial Decision Review System in their upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.

Fine recovered

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board has recovered a fine of Rs 4.5 million from former national captain Shahid Afridi. A senior official of the board confirmed that the finance department had deducted the fine amount from the dues that were to be paid to Afridi for the World Cup and tour to West Indies.

Vettori roped in

Sydney: Former New Zealand Test captain Daniel Vettori became the second international to sign with Brisbane Heat for Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash next summer.

Agencies