Briefs | Running: Meb Keflezighi is first U.S. men's winner of NYC Marathon since 1982

Running

Keflezighi is first U.S. man to win NYC Marathon since 1982: American Meb Keflezighi was wiping away tears after Sunday's New York City Marathon — for his victory and for his recovery from a 2007 hip injury he feared might end his career.

And for Ryan Shay, a friend who collapsed and died at the U.S. Olympic trials in New York two years ago.

Keflezighi, 34, a resident of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., became the first U.S. man since Alberto Salazar in 1982 to win the NYC Marathon. Keflezighi covered 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds.

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya was second in 2:09:56.

Mike Sayenko, a former Washington Huskies and Sammamish High School runner, finished 14th in 2:16:38.

Brett Winegar of Shoreline was 24th in 2:23:11.

Among U.S. men, Sayenko was eighth and Winegar was 14th. The race served as this year's national championship.

Derartu Tulu, 37, of Ethiopia was the women's winner in 2:28:52; she is the oldest women's champion since 42-year-old Priscilla Welch in 1987. Two-time defending champion Paula Radcliffe of Britain was fourth, hobbled by tendinitis behind her left knee.

Asked about the significance of the victory, Tulu said she plans to compete at the London Olympics in 2012 when she is 40.

"I hope to be able to bring another victory for my country," she said, "So I hope you will be there to ask me the same question."

Russian Ludmila Petrova, 41, was the runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Eleven years ago, Keflezighi wrote a letter to Salazar, who was working with Nike. Keflezighi told him that for U.S. distance running to thrive, athletes needed the funding to allow them to train full time.

That same year, Keflezighi became an American citizen. He was born in the African nation of Eritrea, growing up in a hut with no electricity. Soldiers would surround his village, looking for males 12 and older to take to war.

When Meb was 10, his family moved to Italy; two years later, the family came to the United States. Keflezighi began running in junior high in San Diego and proceeded to be a standout at UCLA.

"Definitely today wearing that USA jersey got the crowd going," he said. "Definitely wore it with big honor and pride."

Tennis

Serena Williams wins Sony Ericsson singles final in Qatar: American Serena Williams said she didn't arrive at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, expecting to win.

Serena bested older sister Venus Williams, winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in the WTA Tour season-ending tournament for her third victory of the year. She also won the Wimbledon and Australian Open singles titles, and clinched the year-end No. 1 world ranking last week.

"It feels great," she said. "I totally didn't expect to come here and win."

Serena, 28, looked sharper than Venus, 29, in every facet of a match that included few long rallies.

Serena celebrated the victory with a simple fist pump before hugging her sister at the net.

"I don't think I returned as well as I wanted to," said defending champion Venus, who played four late-night matches that each lasted three sets last week. "Sometimes I made her service games a bit too easy."

It was Serena's fourth consecutive victory over her sister, improving her record against Venus to 13-10.

Serena earned $1.55 million for the victory, bringing her earnings for the year to a record $6.19 million. Justine Henin of Belgium set the previous record of $5.43 million in 2007.

Venus played with her left knee strapped while Serena had strapping on her left thigh.

"We definitely weren't physically 100 percent out there today," Serena said. "Right now, I'm just struggling in every aspect of my body."

WTA Tour reports player withdrawals are down: The WTA Tour's scheduling system, with fewer mandatory tournaments than in previous years, seemingly has caused withdrawals to drop this season.

Stacey Allaster, chief executive officer, noted the Tour lowered the number of non-Grand Slam tournaments top players must enter from 13 to 10 and extended its offseason by two weeks. As a result, Allaster said, player withdrawals from top events are down 34 percent compared with last year.

Attendance was up 11 percent for premier tournaments this year, and prize money increased by 34 percent despite the tough economic climate. The Tour's main sponsor, Sony Ericsson, has yet to decide whether to renew its $88 million contract that expires at the end of the year.

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