Clijsters Upsets Williams

Kim Clijsters rallied from a loss in the first set to defeat top-ranked and defending champion Venus Williams, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the final of the $585,000 Betty Barclay Cup Sunday at Hamburg, Germany.

“Venus played so well in the first set. She didn’t make any mistakes,” Clijsters said. “I just had to fight back and I got better.”

The 18-year-old Clijsters, ranked No. 3, used powerful groundstrokes on the slow clay court in the second and third sets to keep Williams on the defensive and win her seventh title.

Williams, who beat Martina Hingis to reach the title match and retain the No. 1 ranking for at least another week, capitalized on 12 unforced errors by Clijsters to easily win the first set.

The Belgian teenager ended the match when she drove Williams deep into the corner and forced a two-handed backhand that missed the line.

“I was having to hit second serves. I think that was a lot of what did me in today,” Williams said. “But I definitely think she played great tennis. She served well and moved well and was determined. I guess that’s what counts in the end.”

Clijsters lost in straight sets at the U.S. Open in her only other match against Williams. She advanced to the Hamburg final when Jelena Dokic withdrew in the semifinal round because of injury while leading, 6-4, 4-4.

“I think she definitely played better than last time,” Williams said. “She’s made a lot of great improvements, but she has a great base to build on. I think she’s a very good player. She’s only 18, when I was 18, I was having fun.”

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Gaston Gaudio of Argentina defeated Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, 6-2, 6-3, to win the $381,000 Mallorca Open at Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

“I am very happy with this new triumph in Spain,” said the eighth-seeded Gaudio. “The truth is, I feel at home. Everyone has treated me well, especially the public, to whom I am very grateful.”

Gaudio took a 3-1 lead in the first set and Nieminen looked ready to come back when he made it 3-2. But Gaudio won the final three games of the set. The second set was a repeat with Gaudio breaking serve to take a 3-1 lead.

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Aasa Svensson of Sweden defeated Croatia’s Iva Majoli, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, in her first appearance in the final of the Croatian Bol Ladies Open at Bol, Croatia. The server won only half of the 26 games in the 1-hour 49-minute match. Svensson played better at the net and served more accurately. She made fewer errors than Majoli.... Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the BMW Open at Munich.

Hockey

Derek Plante scored midway through the third period and rallied the United States to a 2-2 tie with Germany at the World Hockey championships. In the second game at Karlstad, Sweden, Jan Hrdina of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the winning goal to lead the three-time defending champion Czech Republic to a 5-1 victory over Canada.

In Goteborg, Thomas Rhodin scored the winner and had an assist to lift Sweden to a 4-2 victory over archrival Finland. All six teams had already wrapped up berths in the quarterfinals, which start Tuesday.

Soccer

Brazil’s Pretinha scored in the 14th minute and LaKeysia Beene made four saves for her WUSA-record ninth career shutout as the San Jose CyberRays beat the New York Power, 1-0, at New York.

The CyberRays (2-2) have beaten the Power, 1-0, in all four of their regular-season meetings in the two-year history of the league. New York is 1-3.

Monica Gerardo had a goal and an assist as the Washington Freedom beat the San Diego Spirit, 3-0, at San Diego. Jacqui Little and Abby Wambach added goals for the Freedom (3-0), playing without injured star Mia Hamm. The Spirit is 1-2-1.

Pro Basketball

Claudia Maria das Neves was traded for the second time in three days. The Miami Sol acquired the guard from the Phoenix Mercury for a third-round pick in next year’s WNBA draft. The Mercury traded a fourth-round pick to the Detroit Shock for the 5-foot-8 player on Friday.

The Orlando Miracle waived Naomi Mulitauaopele, a first-round pick in the 2000 WNBA draft. Mulitauaopele was selected 12th overall by the Utah Starzz.