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auto racing • Scott Dixon pulled off a weekend sweep through the streets of Toronto that has made him a sudden IndyCar championship contender. Dixon was barely challenged at Exhibition Place, needing to pull off two late restarts to preserve what was otherwise an easy Sunday drive.

It was his third consecutive win —in seven days — and it vaulted Dixon from seventh in the standings before last week's race at Pocono to second behind series leader Helio Castroneves.

"What a turnaround in a couple weeks," said Dixon, who broke through at Pocono last week for his first victory of the year.

With six races remaining, Dixon now trails leader Castroneves by 29 points. Castroneves finished second Sunday but had nothing in his Chevrolet to challenge the Honda driven by Dixon, who started from the pole. Sebastien Bourdais was third.

Mahut defeats Hewitt for title

tennis • Nicolas Mahut of France captured the title at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Sunday in Newport, R.I., beating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. Mahut, a 2007 Newport finalist and a wild-card entrant this week, won his second career ATP title. The other came in the Netherlands last month. Mahut advanced to the final by beating American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-2 in a morning semifinal that had been suspended Saturday because of rain.Earlier in the day, two-time defending champion John Isner's run on Newport's grass court came to an end when he was ousted by No. 4 seed Hewitt 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Japan beats U.S.in World Cup final

softball • Yuki Hayashi went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Japan beat the United States 6-3 in Oklahoma City to win the gold medal in the eighth World Cup of Softball, ending the long reign of the Americans in the international event. Yuka Ichiguchi tripled and drove in two runs for Japan, which beat the U.S. for the second time in as many days and extended its winning streak over the Americans to three games. Japan also beat the U.S. in the gold-medal game of last year's world championships.

Lauren Gibson homered for the U.S., which had won the last six World Cups since Japan took the inaugural event in 2005.

The Associated Press