Davenport Wins and Moves to Top of Rankings

Lindsay Davenport regained the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis for the first time since early 2002 by defeating Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-2, Thursday in the second round of the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

The second-seeded Davenport officially will overtake Amelie Mauresmo next week to move atop the WTA rankings for the fifth time. She trailed Mauresmo by 15 points, 4,395 to 4,380, after winning the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany, on Sunday.

Davenport was joined in the quarterfinals by seventh-seeded Venus Williams, who defeated Vera Douchevina, 6-0, 6-4; third-seeded Anastasia Myskina , who beat Elena Likhovtseva 2-6, 6-1, 6-0; and fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva, who beat Sanda Manic, 6-3, 6-3.

Baseball

Shortstop Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves, serving a 21-day jail sentence for being arrested while on probation, pleaded guilty to his second drunk-driving charge.

Furcal’s latest sentence will run concurrently with the remaining 19 days of his current jail term in Cobb County, Ga. He entered jail Tuesday, the day after the Braves lost their division series to the Houston Astros.

The Angels announced that outfielder Curtis Pride has decided to become a free agent rather than accept an assignment to triple-A Salt Lake, and that right-hander Derrick Turnbow was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Motor Racing

Ryan Newman broke the track record at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., while winning the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series UAW-GM Quality 500.

Newman turned a lap at 188.877 mph in his Dodge to win the top starting spot. It beat the record of 187.052 that Jimmie Johnson set in May.

Kasey Kahne ran a lap at 187.311 to qualify second, and Casey Mears was third to put Dodges in the first three spots. Mears also won the pole for tonight’s Busch Series SpongeBob 300 with a lap of 183.014. Robby Gordon was second in a Chevrolet with a lap at 181.910 mph.

Soccer

Talks between Manchester United’s two key Irish investors and U.S. businessman Malcolm Glazer on his plans to bid for the English Premier League club have been called off, a source familiar with the process said.

Glazer held exploratory talks with Irish racing magnates John Magnier and J.P. McManus to buy their 28.9% stake, but they told Glazer’s representatives they did not want to pursue the discussions further.

United said it had received a bid approach but declined to say from whom. Sources confirmed it was Glazer, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a 19.2% stake in United.

Miscellany

Danny Williams has earned a heavyweight title shot nearly three months after knocking out Mike Tyson. He will fight World Boxing Council champion Vitali Klitschko at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 11.

Matt Bryant will kick for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, his second team in two weeks. Last week, he replaced the Indianapolis Colts’ Mike Vanderjagt.

This week he fills in for Olindo Mare, who will sit out his second consecutive game because of a calf injury.

Under orders from a federal judge, the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape identified herself by name in a revised version of the civil lawsuit she filed against the Laker star two months ago.

The 20-year-old woman, who asked Eagle County, Colo., prosecutors to dismiss the criminal case against Bryant after deciding not to testify, had sought to remain anonymous in the civil case, though her name has been widely published on the Internet. The Times generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

Right wing Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers agreed to contract terms with Bern in Switzerland to play with the club during the NHL lockout.

Eight-time U.S. figure skating champion Michelle Kwan decided not to compete at Skate America next week in Pittsburgh, or the following week at Skate Canada, in order to minimize her competition schedule leading up to next year’s U.S. championships.