Williams Beats Hingis to Retain No. 1 Ranking

Venus Williams beat Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-5, Saturday to reach the final of the Betty Barclay Open at Hamburg, Germany, and remain the world’s No. 1 player for another week.

Williams dominated with her power tennis, despite the slow clay courts, and converted her fourth match point to win.

“I felt in control the whole time,” Williams said. “Sometimes it’s definitely my weakness keeping the ball in play, but today I just felt like I definitely put power on the ball and kept it in the court.”

The 21-year-old American, who was taped but showed no signs of an ankle injury, is seeking her third title at the $585,000 event after winning in 1999 and last year. She will face Kim Clijsters, who advanced past an injured Jelena Dokic, in today’s final. Dokic withdrew because of a strained thigh while ahead, 6-4, 4-4.

Williams, who regained the top ranking from Jennifer Capriati this week, is trying for her fifth title of the year. The first-place prize money of $93,000 would move her within $76,000 of $10 million in career earnings. Capriati could regain the top ranking next week at the German Open.

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Iva Majoli, the No. 4 seed from Croatia, beat Libuse Prusova, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the finals of the Croatian Bol Ladies Open at Bol, Croatia. Majoli, the only seeded player left in the $170,000 tournament, will play Aasa Svensson. Svensson cruised past Tathiana Garbin, 6-3, 6-2, in the other semifinal.

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Gaston Gaudio will face Jarkko Nieminen in the final of the Mallorca Open clay-court tournament after their semifinal victories at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The eighth-seeded Gaudio, who won last week in Barcelona, defeated fellow Argentine and fifth-seeded Agustin Calleri, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The fourth-seeded Nieminen, from Finland, eliminated Mariano Zabaleta, also of Argentina, 6-1, 6-3.

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Rainer Schuettler beat qualifier Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the final of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany. In the other semifinal, sixth-seeded Younes El Aynaoui defeated Mikhail Youzhni, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

College Football

Four Colorado football players had their scholarships revoked after attending an off-campus recruiting party that was the center of a rape investigation. A university spokesman confirmed Saturday that Coach Gary Barnett revoked the scholarships of Marques Harris and three other players. The university declined to identify the other players.

Barnett reportedly informed the players of his decision to revoke their scholarships in late January and February. On Friday, Harris, Allen Mackey, Ron Monteilh and Corey Alexander were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The four are accused of giving alcohol to high school recruits they were assigned to supervise. Monteilh was charged with distributing marijuana, said his attorney, Stephan Wall. Each player’s attorney denied their client was involved in wrongdoing.

Three Notre Dame football players and a former player accused of raping a female student are being expelled from the university, their attorneys told the South Bend Tribune. St. Joseph County Prosecutor Chris Toth told the newspaper Friday that he would decide by May 15 whether to file charges.

The men, whose names have not been released by the school, were notified of their expulsions Thursday. They were expelled for alleged sexual misconduct.

Hockey

Jaromir Jagr scored a second-period goal and Martin Prochazka had a goal and an assist for the Czech Republic, which edged the United States, 5-4, at the World Hockey championships in Jonkoping, Sweden. The game was played pressure-free as both teams had already qualified for the quarterfinals.

In other games, Finland defeated Russia, 1-0, to win Group E, and Sweden routed Ukraine, 7-0. Despite the loss, Russia remains in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth.

Pro Football

Return specialist Tamarick Vanover, who spent two months in jail for his role in a stolen car case, agreed to a one-year, $525,000 contract with the San Diego Chargers. If he makes the team, Vanover will be reunited with Marty Schottenheimer, who coached Vanover for four of his five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and is now the Chargers’ coach.

Auto Racing

Rain that delayed the start of the Pontiac Excitement 400 Winston Cup race for two hours Saturday returned shortly after the race began at Richmond, Va., forcing it to be suspended until today.

Polesitter Ward Burton led the first 62 laps in his Dodge and appeared to have a best car. The race is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m.

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Mike Bliss, back as a regular in the NASCAR truck series after a two-year absence, edged Dennis Setzer to win the pole for the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway at Madison, Ill. Bliss qualified his Chevrolet at 129.549 mph, and will start on the pole today.

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Kenny Bernstein made a 4.544 second pass at 327.35 mph at Atlanta Dragway to earn his 62nd career top-qualifying mark in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Commerce, Ga. Gary Densham, Greg Anderson and Angelle Savoie are the other top qualifiers with final eliminations set for today.