Jones Back on Winning Track

Marion Jones won for the first time in 11 months Saturday, leading an American sweep in the 100 meters in the IAAF Grand Prix at Forte-de-France, Martinique.

Jones led from the start and finished in 11.28 seconds, ahead of Wyllesheia Myricks and Melissa Barber, who each finished in 11.35.

The winning time was well off Jones’ personal best of 10.65, set in 1998.

Jones, who failed to win a medal at the Athens Olympics, won the 100 twice last year, at Kingston, Jamaica, on May 8 in 11.04, and at the Home Depot Invitational on May 22 in 10.99.

She got off to a slow start this season, finishing last in the 400 meters at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, 25 yards behind the winner in 55.03. At the Kansas Relays, Jones’ 800 relay team was disqualified after a poor handoff.

Jones boyfriend, Tim Montgomery, struggled in the 100, finishing fourth in a race won by former world record holder Maurice Greene in 10.03.

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In a duel of Olympic gold medalists, Darold Williamson outran Jeremy Wariner in the stretch to win the 400 meters at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Williamson won in 45.24 seconds; Wariner ran 45.42.

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Tennis

Kim Clijsters’ 17-match winning streak ended when she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals of the J&S; Cup at Warsaw.

Kuznetsova, seeded second, will play for the title today against Justine Henin-Hardenne, who defeated Ana Ivanovic, 6-4, 7-5.

Top-seeded Carlos Moya quit during the second set because of shoulder pain, allowing Tommy Robredo to advance to the final of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal. He will play second-seeded Gaston Gaudio.

Robredo, a wild card, was leading, 6-3, 3-0, when Moya stopped. Gaudio advanced by defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

In the women’s draw, fourth-seeded Na Li and Lucie Safarova reached the final. Safarova beat third-seeded Gisela Dulko, 7-6, 3-0, and Li upset second-seeded Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-1.

Fifth-seeded Andrei Pavel advanced to the final of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany, with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Tommy Haas. He will play top-seeded David Nalbandian, who defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3, 6-0.

Top-ranked Roger Federer withdrew from this week’s Italian Open in Rome because of inflammation in both feet, leaving Andy Roddick the top-seeded player for the clay-court tuneup leading to the French Open.

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Golf

Chris DiMarco was four under par through 10 holes in the third round and 12 under overall when play was suspended because of darkness at the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.

James Driscoll was 11 under through 11 holes, and second-round leader Arjun Atwal was 10 under through 10 holes.

The start of play was delayed for five hours because of thunderstorms.

Stacy Prammanasudh shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over defending champion Lorena Ochoa going into the final round of the LPGA’s Franklin American Mortgage Championship at Franklin, Tenn.

Prammanasudh made short birdie putts on her final two holes to finish three rounds at 11-under 205. Ochoa shot a 68.

Wayne Levi holed out from 182 yards for eagle on the par-four 17th and closed with a birdie for a five-under 67 and a share of the second-round lead with Jim Thorpe in the FedEx Kinkos Classic, a Champions Tour event at Austin, Texas. Levi used a six-iron to hole his second shot on No. 17 and tapped in for birdie on 18 after missing another eagle try from 18 feet.

Ernie Els took a five-stroke lead after three rounds of the BMW Asian Open at Shanghai after shooting a four-under 68. He is at 19-under 197. Simon Wakefield shot 66 to move into second place.

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Hockey

Defending champion Canada and Russia struggled in winning their opening games at the world championships in Austria.

Canada, trying to win a third consecutive world title for the first time since 1950 to ‘52, held off Latvia, 6-4, behind three goals by Rick Nash at Innsbruck .

Russia beat Austria, 4-2, after the host nation tied the score midway through the last period at Vienna.

The U.S., which won the bronze medal last year, plays Slovenia today at Innsbruck.

The 16-team tournament ends May 15 in Vienna.

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Pro Football

Defensive end Dwight Freeney recently had shoulder surgery and might not be ready to practice when the Indianapolis Colts open training camp in late July, Coach Tony Dungy said. Freeney led the NFL last season with a franchise-record 16 sacks.

Baltimore Raven receiver Mark Clayton strained his left hamstring and was held out of practice at Owings Mills, Md., although the injury was not considered serious. The first-round draft pick from Oklahoma was hurt running a pattern.

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Miscellany

California won its 21st title in the last 25 years with a 44-7 victory over Utah, and the Stanford women beat defending champion Penn State, 53-6, in the Division I USA Rugby Collegiate Championships at Stanford.

Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, 68, plans to seek the Republican nomination for governor instead of a fourth term in Congress.

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Passings

Alex Smart, the scout who recommended that the Kings sign Dave Taylor, Luc Robitaille and Mark Hardy, among others, died April 19 in Ottawa. He was 86. Smart spent nearly 20 years with the Kings’ organization.