Venus Williams Learns Lesson and Beats Henin

Experience has been Venus Williams’ best teacher.

A slow start Sunday in the final of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla., didn’t faze Williams. It only made her more determined to rally and defeat second-seeded Justine Henin for her fourth title this year.

“Back in the day, I lost a lot of matches like these,” the top-seeded Williams said after overcoming fatigue and 60 unforced errors to win the $585,000 clay court event, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).

“I guess about two years ago it came to a point where I was tired of losing. I was tired of heartbreak,” Williams added. “I was tired, not that I didn’t deserve it, of watching other people win when I was at the finish line.”

Williams was down a set and four games before working her way back into the match. Twice, she was within two points of losing, but found a way to keep going in the heat. It was her 16th title in the past three seasons--and 25th overall--boosting her career earnings past $9.8 million.

“I just wanted it to look presentable. I didn’t want to lose 6-2, 6-0,” said Williams. “I got a game, then I got another. I kept telling myself I wasn’t losing today.”

Henin, playing her third match in 24 hours, served twice for the championship. But she couldn’t hold a 5-4 lead in the second set, then faltered again when she had a chance to close after leading, 5-3, in the third. “I’m a little disappointed, but that’s tennis,” Henin said. “I’m only 19. I got nervous trying to finish the match. I have to work on that.”

David Nalbandian of Argentina and Magui Serna of Spain won their first titles, winning finals in the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.

Nalbandian defeated Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Serna, seeded fourth, beat German qualifier Anca Barna, 6-4, 6-2....Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco beat defending champion Guillermo Canas of Argentina, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Grand Prix Hassan II Open at Casablanca.

Soccer

Ronaldo scored twice in four minutes, helping move Inter Milan closer to the Italian title while also strengthening Brazil’s hopes for the World Cup.

Having spent much of two years on the sidelines because of knee injuries, Ronaldo scored in the 79th and 83rd minutes at San Siro to rally the league leader past Brescia, 2-1.

Those were his first goals since December. The FIFA player of the year in 1996 and ’97 has played in only seven of Inter’s 31 league games, but has five goals.

AS Roma and Juventus also won. With three games left, Inter has 65 points, Roma 63 and Juventus 62. Roma beat AC Parma, 3-1; Juventus defeated AC Milan, 1-0.

Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was named the Professional Footballers’ Assn. Player of the Year in a ceremony at London. A poll of the pro players put him ahead of Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, fellow Manchester United players David Beckham and Roy Keane and Chelsea’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

College Football

With spring football entering its final week, USC’s running game provided most of the highlights during a Sunday scrimmage. Quarterback Carson Palmer scored on a 56-yard bootleg and tailback Justin Fargas, returning from a minor knee injury, carried 15 times for 139 yards. Matt Cassel, vying for the No. 2 quarterback spot, threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to D. Hale. Lineman Mike Patterson led the defense with nine tackles and forced a fumble.

Miscellany

Austrian cross-country skier Alois Blassnig was banned from competition for two years after testing positive for the endurance-boosting drug EPO. He tested positive after a race in Sweden on March 3, Walter Mayer, director of Nordic and biathlon skiing for the Austrian Ski Federation said. Blassnig was not a member of the Olympic team.

Leader illbruck was one of six boats forced to return to the start line after a false start in the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Every sailboat, except Assa Abloy and the all-female Amer Sports Too, was forced to restart after being on the wrong side of the buoys before the opening siren at Miami.

Canada defeated Norway, the 2002 Olympic gold medalist, 10-5, in the final of the men’s World Curling Championships at Bismarck, N.D.

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Chris Dufresne had the day off.