Clijsters Wins and Becomes New No. 2

Kim Clijsters defeated Jennifer Capriati, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4, Saturday in the semifinals of the German Open at Berlin, setting up an all-Belgian final with defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.

The victory enabled Clijsters to overtake Venus Williams for the world’s No. 2 ranking behind Serena Williams, the WTA announced.

Henin-Hardenne defeated Amelie Mauresmo of France, 7-6 (6), 6-4, in the other semifinal of the clay-court tuneup for the French Open.

Clijsters defeated Capriati for the first time in four matches. Capriati’s only win was in the final of the 2001 French Open.

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Roger Federer of Switzerland and Felix Mantilla of Spain won semifinal matches and will play for the Italian Open championship.

Federer advanced when second-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain retired in the second set because of an arm injury. Mantilla defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, on a drizzly day in Rome.

The fourth-seeded Federer was leading, 6-2, 4-2 (30-0), when Ferrero waved his hand to signal he was finished in the $2.75-million tuneup for the French Open.

Golf

A chip-in for eagle on the 10th hole enabled David Toms to pull away from the pack in the Wachovia Championship at Charlotte, N.C., and take a big step toward his first victory in 20 months.

Toms shot a six-under-par 66 to take a five-stroke lead. The former PGA champion was at 11-under 205 and leads Kirk Triplett (67), Robert Gamez (71) and J.P. Hayes (72), who are at six-under 210.

Nick Price, who led by one going into the round, shot a 74. He was in a group at five-under 211 that included Charles Howell III, who shot a 72.

Rosie Jones birdied three of the final eight holes to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Asahi Ryokuken International at North Augusta, S.C.

Jones, who has led at the end of each round, shot a three-under 69. She was at 13-under 203, followed by Laura Diaz at 11 under. Wendy Ward was three strokes behind. Diaz shot a 69. Ward had a 71.

Tom Kite moved into position for his first professional victory in his home state, shooting a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the Kinko’s Classic at Austin, Texas.

Kite, a longtime Austin resident and former University of Texas star, had a 10-under 134 total.

Hale Irwin (66) and Tom Watson (69) were a stroke back and Bruce Lietzke was at eight-under after a 67. Jack Nicklaus was six strokes back in a 12th-place tie after a 69.

Annika Sorenstam shot a one-under 71 to open a five-stroke lead in the Nichirei Cup at Tokyo, her final tournament before the PGA Tour’s Colonial in two weeks. She had four birdies and three bogeys to take a nine-under 207 total into the final round. Kaori Suzuki was second after shooting a 69.

Ernie Els has withdrawn from next week’s Deustche Bank-SAP Open in Alveshlone, Germany, after reinjuring his left wrist. He first injured the wrist on a punching bag in early March.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion. It will be his first tournament since he tied for 15th at the Masters.

Boxing

Unbeaten Juan Diaz rallied in the final two rounds to win a unanimous 10-round decision over Eleazar Contreras in their lightweight bout at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula. Diaz, 19, improved to 21-0. Contreras, also 19, is 19-3-2.

Contreras led on two of the three judges’ cards entering the ninth but was hurt by a combination and had trouble making it through the round.

Diaz also hurt Contreras during toe-to-toe exchanges several times in the 10th round.

Judges Chuck Hassett and Max DeLuca scored the bout, 95-94, in favor of Diaz, while Gale Van Hoy had it 97-92.

Miscellany

Tim Montgomery edged Australia’s Patrick Johnson to win the 100 meters in the IAAF Osaka Grand Prix at Osaka, Japan.

Montgomery was timed in 10.04, beating Johnson by 0.01 seconds. It was his second race since he set a world record of 9.78 in Paris last September.

Peter Bondra scored the winning goal in the second period and Pavol Demitra added another goal in the third as Slovakia beat the Czech Republic, 4-2, in the bronze-medal game in the World Hockey Championships at Helsinki, Finland.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said that he plans to protest Alabama’s decision to hire Mike Shula as football coach at the state Capitol next week. Shula was hired Thursday over Green Bay assistant Sylvester Croom, an All-American at Alabama, who is black.