Mar.Sent off at 14-1 in the race for California-bred 3-y

WASHINGTON -- A couple of plastic sandwich bags filled with ice were resting on his left thigh, and some others were chilling his right knee, as an admittedly exhausted John Isner assessed how hes holding up after eight victories in 10 days. "My body doesnt feel great," Isner said, then paused and smiled. "At the same time, nothing is wrong with me, besides just being a little tired and a little worn out. But thats what happens when you play well." The highest-ranked American man certainly has been doing that lately. Isner, who is ranked 20th and seeded eighth, set up his sternest test of late, earning a matchup against top-seeded and two-time champion Juan Martin del Potro in Sundays Citi Open final. Taking control by breaking serve immediately after a rain delay, Isner hit 29 aces and beat unseeded Dmitry Tursunov 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4. Later, del Potro came out much stronger after his semifinal was interrupted for more than three hours by showers and he turned things around to beat third-seeded Tommy Haas 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a match that ended past midnight. "The rain, for sure, helped me to come back in this match," said the seventh-ranked del Potro, who hasnt dropped a set in three previous victories against Isner. Del Potro stretched his winning streak at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open to 13 matches. He won Washingtons tournament in 2008 and 2009, then skipped it the past three years. Trailing Haas 4-1 when a downpour came, 2009 U.S. Open champion del Potro won four games in a row. "The rain delays annoying. It bothers me a lot, actually," said Haas, who showed frustration at various moments by spiking, tossing or kicking his racket. "Come back out there, and the momentum was really on my side, at least for the first set, I think. (If) it would have been mine, it would have been maybe a different match. But these are all the ifs and buts and not worth talking about." Still, Haas actually held two set points late in the first, one of which del Potro erased with a 117 mph second-serve ace, and the other with a volley winner. "He went for it," said Haas, a finalist last year. "He deserved it." Defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-0 in the first womens semifinal, which was stopped by rain at 5-2 in the first set. Because of all the delays, the other womens match, between Alize Cornet and Andrea Petkovic, started after 12:30 a.m. Much, much earlier, Isner finished with a flourish -- his last six serves were aces -- and continued the strong form he showed last week while winning the title at Atlanta on a hard court. "When youre winning, youre playing a lot of matches, and from that, naturally, youre just going to wear down," said Isner, who was visited by a trainer in the third set but said the left leg injury that forced him to stop playing at Wimbledon in June was not bothering him. "I just wanted to get it massaged a little bit," said Isner, who for years has been officially listed as being 6-foot-9 by the ATP, but the tours website recently changed that to 6-10. "It wasnt anything I was seriously worried about." Isner, the 2007 runner-up in Washington, acknowledged his body feels "like its a little beat up" after a second consecutive three-setter and a busy 1 1/2 weeks, "but Ill be ready to go tomorrow, for sure." After dropping the first set against Tursunov, Isner was ahead on serve 2-1 in the second when, with the match 70 minutes old and a drizzle falling, play was suspended. When they resumed at 30-40, Isner converted the break point with a forehand passing winner on a 12-stroke exchange. "Its definitely not a comfortable feeling" to return from a delay facing break point, Tursunov said. "Really, you understand that if you dont win this point, youre down a break, and then the set is over." Indeed, that was the first break in the match, and all Isner would need to even things at a set apiece 15 minutes later. "Gave me all sorts of momentum," Isner said. He broke again to lead 3-2 in the third, this time at love, helped by three unforced errors by the 61st-ranked Tursunov. That was pretty much that, because Isners powerful serve was clicking -- just as it usually does during the summer hard-court season in North America. "Its my absolute favourite time of the year," said Isner, whose best Grand Slam showing was a run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2011. "Its not a coincidence that I play and do well here in the summer, every single year." Isner won 69 of 86 points he served Saturday, including runs of 16 and 14 in a row, and did not face a break point. "You really cant see the serve too well. ... Its really just a lot of guessing," Tursunov said. Said del Potro, looking ahead to facing Isner: "Nobody can break his serve in this tournament. ... Of course, sometimes you get frustrated when you cant return his serve." If Isner wins Sunday, he would earn his third title of 2013 and pull even with No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the third-highest total on tour. Only Rafael Nadal (seven) and Andy Murray (four) have won more. As for whether a ninth match in 11 days might force him to reconsider his schedule over the coming weeks -- the years last major tournament starts in New York on Aug. 26 -- Isner said he hasnt thought about that yet. "I want to be as fresh as I can for the U.S. Open," the 245-pound Isner said. "I have played a lot of matches (and) Im not necessarily built to play week after week after week." 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President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. DEL MAR, Calif. -- Long-shot Gold Rush Dancer rallied on the far outside entering the stretch and held off Tough It Out by a half-length Wednesday in the $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar.Sent off at 14-1 in the race for California-bred 3-year-olds, Gold Rush Dancer ran seven furlongs in 1:21.90 for his third straight victory and fifth in 12 starts. Flavien Prat rode the colt for trainer Vann Belvoir and owner John E. Parker.He just might be better on dirt than he is on grass, Prat said. The seven-eighths felt just about right. Hes fast and you can put him anywhere you want. That makes for good trips. Then again, youve got to give credit to the trainer.dddddddddddd. When you ride the best horse, it make the job much easier.Gold Rush Dancer paid $30.20, $11 and $6.20. He earned $85,500 to increase his earnings to $379,923.Flavien is on a roll right now. Hes a beautiful rider, Belvoir said. Were going to go back to the grass next in the Del Mar Derby.Tough It Out returned $9 and $4.80, and favored Mrazek paid $2.40 to show.Good trip. No excuses, Mrazek jockey Mario Gutierrez said. ' ' '