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WASHINGTON -- When Juan Martin del Potro is healthy, and his shots are on target, hes as dangerous as they come on the sort of hard courts used at the U.S. Open. Getting his game in shape ahead of the years last Grand Slam tournament, the top-seeded del Potro solved John Isners big serve and pulled away for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in the Citi Open final Sunday, winning his third championship and 14th consecutive match in Washington. "His forehand is widely regarded as maybe the best in the world," Isner said. "I couldnt do anything about it. I actually wasnt really surprised. Ive seen him do that a lot of times. Thats what he does. Hes got a lot of talent, and a lot of talent on that forehand side." Back in 2009, del Potro followed up a title in the nations capital with a trophy at the U.S. Open, which starts in three weeks. "Fantastic memories," the seventh-ranked del Potro told the crowd. When the Argentine arrived in Washington this time, he came with some questions about his body and his game. He hadnt played a hard-court match since the spring. He hadnt competed at all in nearly a month -- a five-set loss July 5 to No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history, more than 4 1/2 hours. And he hadnt fully tested the left knee he hyperextended in a tumble during a match at the All England Club. "Im surprised to win this tournament," del Potro said. He came through without any problems, other than that first-set hiccup, which might have been due to a short turnaround: His semifinal was delayed by rain Saturday night and ended after midnight. He didnt get to sleep until about 3 a.m., 12 hours before the final started, which he said was "a little frustrating." In the womens final, seventh-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia beat unseeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (2) to win the Citi Open for the second consecutive year. The 43rd-ranked Rybarikova is 10-0 in Washington, where shes won half of her four career titles. With wind whipping around at 15 mph and temperatures at 80 degrees, Isner got off to a terrific start Sunday -- thanks in part to his powerful and always effective serve, not surprisingly, but also with other aspects of his still-evolving game. It took Isner less than 10 minutes to create a cushion, breaking at love for a 3-1 edge and soon was up 5-2. Given that Isner never had won a set against del Potro in three previous meetings, it made sense that nothing would come easily this time, either. So Isner required five set points before eventually cashing in with a 137 mph service winner. And then, everything changed. Perhaps Isner was bound to falter after such impeccable serving all week. Perhaps the fatigue of playing his ninth match in 11 days -- the American won a hard-court title at Atlanta last week -- caught up to him. After all, Isner thanked his chiropractor during the trophy ceremony, drawing chuckles from fans. Del Potros take: "It was strange to hear that." While Isner acknowledged he was tired, del Potro had a lot to do with the way the match shifted. Starting off way behind the baseline to receive serves and using every bit of his considerable wingspan, Del Potro broke Isner four times in all, including three in a row while winning seven consecutive games to take control. Isner -- best known for winning the longest match in tennis history, 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon in 2010 -- had not even faced a break point over any of his previous three matches. Del Potro also limited Isner to six aces after the eighth-seeded and 20th-ranked American pounded 29 in the semifinals. "Im sure that was his game plan, just to get my serve back and go from there," Isner observed. "He was standing so far back that the guy calling the sideline had to move out of the way." Del Potro added to his Washington titles from 2008 and 2009. He skipped the tournament for various reasons from 2010-12. He earned his first break point Sunday -- and the first Isner faced since his opening match -- 35 minutes into the final, in the second sets second game. But a 14-stroke point ended with del Potro sailing an easy forehand long for an unforced error. He hung his head, leaned over with hands on knees, then crouched down and stared at the net. Isner also took the next two points to hold for 1-1. But Isner wouldnt win another game for a substantial stretch. A bad drop shot into the net, a poor overhead smash right at del Potro that resulted in a cross-court forehand winner, a long forehand and a long backhand all added up to a break at love. That ended a run of 50 consecutive service games won by Isner across four matches and put del Potro up 3-1 in the second set. Clearly, he was in charge. After only 1 1/2 hours, the final was finished. Next for del Potro are hard-court tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. Those lead up to the U.S. Open, where Isner said del Potro will be "certainly one of the top favourites."Black Friday Shoes China . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Black Friday Shoes Sale . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. https://www.shoesblackfriday.com/ . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Black Friday Shoes China . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Black Friday Shoes Free Shipping . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium.In October, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on heroes.Heroes and Olympians are not necessarily the same things. Olympians are appointed to us every four years, products of performance and point tallies and pundits presenting score cards. Heroes, on the other hand, hatch from hardships that are often unannounced and unexpected. If done correctly, every day can be hero training. Olympians Abbey DAgostino and Nikki Hamblin have shown us how.Halfway through the 5,000 meter qualifying race in Rio, the pack of Olympic runners jostled their position. U.S. athlete DAgostino abruptly adjusted her stride and, like dominoes in a chain, the runner behind her, New Zealands Nikki Hamblin, stumbled and fell. Hamblin lay sprawled on the track for seconds, a definitive delay amidst a race won by thousandths of a moment.?Immediately, DAgostino, who had also fallen, was kneeling beside her, whispering, Get up. We have to finish this.Tears streaming, Hamblin staggered forward, determined to finish. For a few meters the women hobbled side by side, until DAgostino crumpled to the ground once more, clearly suffering a serious injury.This time, Hamblin turned back and offered her hand to DAgostino. Grimacing with pain, DAgostino finished the race, half a minute after Hamblin. Though their Olympic expectations dissipated, DAgostino and Hamblin became heroes, not for running faster than their competitors, but for being more courageously human.Heroes, these runners teach us, must fall. Heroes must lose their balance, give up their grip, jump, only to slip upon landing.The necessity of falling is two-fold. One must have been willing to face the fear (of falling, or even the burden of triumph), a force strong enough to keep many of us from even starting. No journey can happen without begiinning.ddddddddddddTherefore the very premise of falling -- of starting -- is fundamental.There is also something more that falling demands: to fall we must go to the edge of what we want, what we think, what weve planned for and take one step beyond.We must teeter.We had gone through scenarios of the worst things that could happen, and falling over was not the worst, Hamblin said after her race. Like, we had never even really talked about it.DAgostino fell not once, but twice, in her 17 minutes of running. While runners finished the race, neither made it to the final heat of the event. Falling is what made them potential heroes: both stepped beyond what she thought could, would, or should happen. Both risked failing by trying.How they got up after their fall is what made these runners heroes. These women understood the second essential of heroism: to help and be helped. Heroes, to paraphrase mythologist Joseph Campbell, feel the pull of 1,000 invisible hands hoisting them on their journey.For Hamblin and DAgostino on that hot August day in Rio, the hands were far from invisible -- they came from one another. DAgostino reached out to Hamblin, urging her to finish. Hamblin, in turn, comforted DAgostino, standing next to her as she fell for a second time. Their heroism wasnt their finishing time or place at the Olympics -- it was their courage to risk failing, to fall, to receive the hands that pulled them back up, and then to offer their hand to another. The training for this kind of heroism requires neither judge nor official committees -- merely the fearlessness of stumbling, and the strength to reach out to another.Training starts now. ' ' '