Briefs | Tennis: Jelena Jankovic, Igor Kunitsyn earn Kremlin Cup singles titles

Tennis

No. 1 Jankovic has won three finals in three weeks: Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia won her third title in three weeks Sunday, beating Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4 in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Igor Kunitsyn won the men's event, upsetting fellow Russian Marat Safin for his first ATP Tour title. Kunitsyn, who survived seventh-seeded Safin's 21 aces to win 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, said he had prepared a speech to congratulate his opponent on the victory.

"I was hoping to win a couple of games and that's it," Kunitsyn said. "I still don't know how I was able to outplay Marat, but I guess it happens. I still don't understand how I won."

Safin made two unforced errors in the first-set tiebreaker and broke his racket in frustration.

"Had I won the first set, it could have gone a different way," he said.

Jankovic started her streak by winning the China Open and added the Porsche Grand Prix title in Germany.

Nalbandian triumphs: Top-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Swede Robin Soderling 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to take the Stockholm Open final in Sweden.

Petzschner wins BA Tennis Trophy: Philipp Petzschner of Germany upset Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4 in the BA Tennis Trophy final in Vienna, Austria, for his first ATP Tour title.

The 125th-ranked Petzschner, who had not been beyond the quarterfinals of an ATP event before, had to play two qualifying rounds to reach the main draw of the tournament.

Marathon

Cheruiyot improves to 2 for 2 at 26.2 miles: Evans Cheruiyot of Kenya won his second marathon in two attempts, pulling away late from countryman David Mandago before finishing in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 25 seconds in the Chicago Marathon.

A winner in Milan, Italy, in December, the 26-year-old Cheruiyot took the lead in the 24th mile. He earned $140,000 for the victory. The last six Chicago Marathons have been won by a man from Kenya.

Jesse Williams of Seattle was 29th in the men's race in 2:29:19.

Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva, the 2007 Boston Marathon winner, captured the women's event in 2:27:17 and called home to report the victory. She talked to her 6-year-old daughter, Viktoria.

"The first thing she said was congratulations," Grigoryeva recalled. "Then she asked, 'Have you bought me a new dress?' "

Soccer

Chicago earns MLS playoff berth: Brian McBride scored two goals against his former team to help the Chicago Fire earn a Major League Soccer playoff berth with a 2-2 draw against the visiting Columbus Crew.

In other MLS matches, D.C. United and host Houston played to a scoreless draw and the Los Angeles Galaxy beat visiting Colorado 3-2.

The Galaxy was without icon David Beckham, who has joined England's team for World Cup qualifying matches.

Ralston is injured: Midfielder Steve Ralston suffered a broken fibula in New England's 1-0 loss to Kansas City on Saturday, depriving the playoff-bound Revolution of its captain.

Olympics

USOC to adjust budgets: The economic crisis has forced the U.S. Olympic Committee to delay setting next year's budget while officers consider contingency plans that could include administrative cuts.

"We're not economists and we don't know how deep the economic recession might become and how it might affect our business and the businesses that support us," chief executive Jim Scherr said after the USOC's first board meeting since this year's Beijing Olympics. "What we do know is that we'll have to make some adjustments."

Scherr said the 2009 budget will be "very stringent" and "prudent on the expense side."

The USOC operates on four-year budget cycles, with a new one beginning next year. In the period ending this year, the federation's revenues increased $127 million, to $617 million. The USOC is to close 2008 with $103 million in reserve.

NHL

League suspends Peca: Columbus center Michael Peca was suspended indefinitely by the league for making contact with an on-ice official during Friday's 5-4 overtime victory over Dallas.

Peca, 34, has appealed the suspension. Unless he wins the appeal, the suspension will be for at least 10 games, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Seattle Times news services