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HALLE, Germany -- If there is one place for Roger Federer to end a title drought, then its Halle, a small town in western Germany that has a big tennis stadium and a Roger-Federer-Allee leading to it. Federer walked down that alley a winner again Sunday, ending a 10-month run of 11 tournaments without a title, an eternity by his standards. The 31-year-old Swiss overcame a sluggish start to beat unseeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 at the Gerry Weber Open for his first title since Cincinnati in August. Returning to grass in his favourite warm-up for Wimbledon, it took the top-seeded Federer until the middle of the second set to come out of his lethargy and start hitting shots with confidence against a player he had never lost to in 14 previous career matches. It was the first final on the tour this year involving players 30 or older. "Ive won a lot but not so much in the last 10 months, although I feel Id been playing well," Federer said. "But the others were playing better." Federer earned his sixth title in Halle in 11 appearances (eight finals) and his first since 2008. Four of Federers seven Wimbledon titles have come after triumphs in Halle -- including his first Halle and Wimbledon championships in 2003. The former top-ranked player, who is now No. 3, won his 77th career title, pulling him even with John McEnroe at third on the all-time list. Jimmy Connors won 109 and Ivan Lendl 94. Federer will be looking to add to his record 17 Grand Slam championships when he defends his title at Wimbledon. "I feel fit, I feel confident, Im excited about whats to come," Federer said. "Im very pleased with how I played this week." Federer had beaten Youzhny in both last years semifinal in Halle and the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, but it looked for a while Sunday that the Russian could have discovered a key to finally beating Federer, although he had to fend off four break points in the first game of his first career final on grass. "He was playing well enough to win," Federer said. Youzhny, 30, saved another break point in the 11th game, but he had the Swiss on the defensive and Federer saved a set point in the next game before holding to go into the tiebreaker. An error by Federer gave Youzhny a set point and the Russian put away a volley winner to go ahead. Federer finally started finding his range and went up when Youzhny double-faulted at break point in the eighth game, which proved to be the turning point of the match. The Swiss hit a perfect backhand passing shot to go up 4-3 in the third, held for 5-3 with a smash and fired a service winner to seal his victory after two hours and two minutes. Federer has a big following at the Halle tournament and the fans gave him a standing ovation, while his wife Mirka let out a sigh of relief while keeping an eye on their twin daughters. "The difference was that he was better today -- hes been better all his life," Youzhny said, referring to his lifetime losing streak against Federer. Federer, who finished with 12 aces, said his serve had kept him in the match. "The first set was very close, it could have gone either way. I had to fight very hard to stay in the second, my serve saved me today," Federer said. "At the end I was just a bit steadier."Cheap Air Max 97 Pink China .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Cheap Air Max 97 Red China . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-grey-china/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Cheap Air Max 97 Rose China . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Cheap Air Max 97 Green China . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami.DETROIT -- The Detroit Pistons helped convene a town hall meeting Thursday night that included area youth, representatives from law enforcement and several athletes from the citys pro teams.The event ended later than scheduled -- which was a sign that the discussion was constructive.I think what we all wanted to get out was, as an organization, as a community, as a city of Detroit was: What can we do to help? What can we do to be better? said Tobias Harris of the Pistons. There was a lot that was said, a lot of points that were taken. A lot of opinions, but all coming from the right area and the right space.There were representatives from all four of Detroits major pro teams involved with the event. The town hall portion was closed to the media and general public, but some participants spoke to reporters afterward.Ike McKinnon, former police chief and deputy mayor of Detroit, said events like these can be significant because young people look up to athletes. There are obvious benefits to this type of outreach from law enforcement to the community.I think the biggest thing is gettting a sense of trust, McKinnon said.dddddddddddd If we can get trust, thats most important.Harris echoed that sentiment, saying it was important to hear from law enforcement.We have to have a firm understanding of both sides, he said. They leave their house every morning not knowing if theyre going to come home alive. ... That was said, and I think everybody really took into that also.Jocelyn Benson, CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) also was in attendance. RISE is a nonprofit organization that tries to use sports to improve race relations. She said its important to move beyond symbolic protests and take concrete steps to create change.This event was one such effort, and it was no surprise that the Pistons were heavily involved. Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy has made it clear that he supports his players in their attempts to make a social impact.I think everybody has to be better and want better and try to do better, Harris said. ' ' '