Federer wins despite court intruder

Man tries to place a hat on Swiss star at French Open

? Paris — Stunned and shaken, Roger Federer stood on center court during the French Open final wondering if the intruder who had just run up to him posed a threat.

Luckily, he didn’t, and the Swiss star went on to win the French Open and match Pete Sampras’ career record of 14 major titles.

“All of a sudden I heard the crowd, and I looked over and he jumped over the fence or something,” said Federer, who beat Robin Soderling of Sweden, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4, Sunday to complete a career Grand Slam with his first championship at Roland Garros. “That gave me a fright, just, like, seeing him so close right away.”

The on-court intruder leaped into the area of play early in the second set, getting through a section of photographers sitting in the front row and hopping over the small wall separating them from the red clay.

Federer, however, said he wasn’t worried when he first saw the man run toward him.

“The good thing is, like, it happened before so that’s why I guess I didn’t panic,” Federer said. “It happened in Wimbledon before when two guys ran out on the court, and once I think it was in Montreal when I lost to (Andy) Roddick when I was playing for my No. 1 ranking in the third set.”

At Wimbledon in 2006, two men came on the court with rackets and balls, and one of them hit a shot, during Federer’s quarterfinal victory over Mario Ancic.

The worst incident involving an on-court intruder came in 1993 when a man reached over a courtside railing in Hamburg, Germany, and stabbed top-ranked Monica Seles between the shoulder blades. Seles recovered and returned to tennis in 1995 and won the 1996 Australian Open.

On Sunday, the intruder was waving a Barcelona soccer team flag and ran toward Federer and tried to place a red hat on his head.

“Normally they always kind of look at me and go, ‘I’m so sorry I have to do this,’ because they have some sort of a reason for it,” Federer said. “This guy, I don’t know, he looked at me, and I was not sure what he wanted. It seemed like he wanted to give me something. So I was actually OK, because I saw he wasn’t pulling for anything stupid.”

Federer pushed the intruder aside, and security guards ran onto the court to subdue the man.

Police later said the man was jailed for questioning and could be charged with illegally entering a sports stadium. Police said the man claimed to be a fan of Federer.

Auto racing

Stewart wins Pocono 500

Long Pond, Pa. — Tony Stewart won his first Cup points race as a team owner, coming from the rear of the field and taking a late gamble on fuel to win at Pocono Raceway.

The Sprint Cup points leader had to start at the back of Sunday’s race because a practice accident forced him into his backup car. Then Stewart figured he could drive the final 41 laps without a pit stop, and it paid off, helping snap a 19-race winless streak dating to last season.

Stewart won the All-Star race last month for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Button takes Turkish GP

Istanbul — Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday for his sixth victory in seven Formula One races.

Button overtook pole sitter Sebastian Vettel on the first lap following a mistake by the Red Bull driver and held on for a 6.7-second win over Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Football

Report: Favre had surgery

Brett Favre recently had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right shoulder, ESPN reported Sunday night, another indication the three-time NFL MVP is considering coming out of retirement.

ESPN, citing two anonymous sources, reported Favre had surgery last month to repair the torn biceps tendon that bothered him late last season with the Jets.

Baseball

Glavine may file grievance

Atlanta — Braves general manager Frank Wren said Sunday he had no comment on a report Tom Glavine may file a grievance against the team following his release Wednesday.

Glavine said Friday he believes he was released for financial reasons and to clear a roster spot for Tommy Hanson, who made his major-league debut Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Wren, team chairman Terry McGuirk and president John Schuerholz said Glavine was released because they did not believe the 43-year-old left-hander would make a successful return from surgery on his elbow and shoulder.

Braves shelve Kotchman

Atlanta — The Atlanta Braves placed first baseman Casey Kotchman on the 15-day disabled list to clear a roster spot for Tommy Hanson’s major-league debut.

Milton placed on DL

Los Angeles — Veteran left-hander Eric Milton was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday because of tightness in his back.

Pie OK after throat scare

Oakland, Calif. — Baltimore outfielder Felix Pie is OK after he was hit in the throat by a foul ball.

Pie underwent a CT scan on his throat, and it showed no serious damage.

Golf

Late charge sparks Woods

Dublin, Ohio — Two holes, two towering shots, two clutch birdies.

Just like that, Tiger Woods broke out of a four-way tie and won the Memorial on Sunday with a 7-under 65 to cap a high-charged comeback.

And just as suddenly, he silenced the skeptics who wondered if he was ready to defend his title in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Bethpage Black.

“I knew I could do this,” Woods said after birdies on the final two holes gave him a one-shot victory. “I was close to winning, but the game wasn’t quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that.”

First came a 9-iron at No. 17 that Woods launched in the air, allowing the ball to land on the top shelf of a rock-hard green for a nine-foot birdie putt. More brilliance followed on the 18th, when Woods hit a 7-iron from 183 yards that stopped a foot from the hole, wrapping up his fourth title at Muirfield Village.

Kim edges Pak

Springfield, Ill. — In-Kyung Kim finished with a flourish, sinking birdies on two of her final three holes to capture the State Farm Classic by a stroke over Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak.

Langer triumphs in Texas

Lakeway, Texas — Bernhard Langer became the first three-time winner on the Champions Tour this season, closing with a 5-under 67 on Sunday for a six-stroke victory over Mark O’Meara in the Triton Financial Classic.

Gronberg wins easily

Mitchellville, Md. — Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg won the rain-delayed Melwood Prince George’s County Open on Sunday for his first official U.S. victory, closing with two bogey-free rounds to beat Robert Damron and Justin Bolli by six strokes.

Huldahl prevails at Wales

Newport, Wales — Unheralded Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark shot a 4-under 67 to win the Wales Open by one stroke over Niclas Fasth of Sweden on Sunday.