Soderling cruises at Stolkholm

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The Associated Press

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STOCKHOLM — Top-seeded Robin Soderling breezed past Giovanni Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 6-0 Wednesday in the first round at the Stockholm Open.

The Swede broke Lapentti's serve to lead 3-1 in the opening set before a capacity crowd at the Royal Tennis Hall.

Soderling broke Lapentti again at the start of the second set and was never challenged the rest of the way.

"The first match is always the most difficult in a tournament," Soderling said. "But I think I played better and better the longer the match lasted." ...

Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland were upset in the first round of the Kremlin Cup. Davydenko lost to former top-ranked Marat Safin 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Radwanska was ousted by Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3. ... Kirsten Flipkens defeated third-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Luxembourg Open. ...

David Nalbandian is expected to return to the ATP tennis circuit in January at the Heineken Open, ending a nine-month layoff following hip surgery.

Boxing

Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik called off a title defense against Paul Williams set for Dec. 5 because of an infected left hand. ... A European boxing promoter is suing Showtime, contending the cable network conspired to help WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler break his promotional contract and take part in its round-robin tournament.

Horse Racing

Belle Allure, the 2-5 favorite, nipped Kristi With a K by a head to win the $106,500 Athenia Stakes for fillies and mares on the turf at Belmont Park. ...

A downturn in wagering as a result of the sluggish economy is forcing Santa Anita to slash its overnight purses by 10 percent at the Oak Tree meeting. The reductions take effect Saturday.

College

University of Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, who helped launch a pair of multimillion-dollar renovations to campus facilities and brought in new coaches for the football and men's basketball programs, will retire next year. ...

Washington has proposed resuming its cross-state men's basketball rivalry with Gonzaga for three years at Seattle's KeyArena beginning next season.