Federer, Nadal to Play for Third Time This Year

Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal will meet for the third time this year in the Rome Masters final today.

Federer advanced to his 13th straight final with Saturday’s error-filled 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) win over No. 3 David Nalbandian. Nadal defeated 19-year-old Gael Monfils, 6-2, 6-2, in the other semifinal.

Nadal registered his 52nd straight win on clay and can match Guillermo Vilas’ open-era record of 53 wins on the surface if he successfully defends his title.

“Playing the final in Rome is more important than the record,” Nadal said. “Winning the tournament is the goal. If I get the record, fine.”

Nadal is the only player to beat Federer this year, in finals at Dubai in March and the Monte Carlo Masters last month. He holds a 4-1 edge in his career meetings with Federer, including a semifinal win at last year’s French Open.

“I’m ready,” Federer said. “I think it’s always special to have No. 1 versus No. 2. It’s good for the game and I think both of us look forward to it. Especially on clay, it’s a good challenge for me.”

Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the German Open final at Berlin, where she will meet Nadia Petrova.

Henin-Hardenne needed only 57 minutes to win the most one-sided of her nine meetings with Mauresmo.

Mauresmo had already played earlier Saturday, beating Martina Hingis in a quarterfinal carried over a day because of darkness, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Henin-Hardenne will face Petrova today after the fourth-ranked player routed Li Na, 6-1, 6-0, to pick up her 14th straight win on clay.

BOXING

Hatton Handles Collazo, Wins Welterweight Title

Ricky Hatton beat Luis Collazo in a unanimous decision at Boston, winning the World Boxing Assn. welterweight title after 12 rounds of toe-to-toe brawling that left both sides badly bruised -- and claiming victory.

Hatton sent Collazo to the canvas in the first 15 seconds of the fight, but by the third round it seemed to be going the other way. Collazo staggered the 2005 fighter of the year several times in the final round, and many in the crowd expected the decision to go the other way.

But the judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113 for the fighter from England.

Arthur Abraham of Armenia retained the International Boxing Federation middleweight title with a unanimous decision in a rousing 12-round brawl with Kofi Jantuah at Zwickau, Germany.

COLLEGES

USC, UCLA to Meet in NCAA Water Polo Final

Senior Moriah Van Norman had a hat trick and freshman goalie Whitney Morgan made nine saves to lead the top-ranked USC women’s water polo team to a 9-7 victory over Hawaii and into the NCAA title game at Davis.

USC (27-2) will play rival UCLA for the championship today at 5 p.m. The third-seeded and defending champion Bruins (28-4) knocked off second-seeded Stanford, 8-5, led by junior Kelly Rulon’s three goals and goalie Emily Feher’s nine saves.

Carine Vermeulen and Dianne Matias were dominant in singles to lead the No. 2-ranked USC women’s tennis team to a 4-0 win over Long Beach State in the second round of the NCAA championships.

The Trojans (19-3) advance to the round of 16 Thursday against Virginia Commonwealth at Stanford.

Elsewhere, UCLA’s women also advanced after a 4-0 upset over 13th-seeded Pepperdine. The Bruins (15-6) will play Florida on Thursday at Stanford.

The UCLA men’s tennis team routed Stony Brook, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA championships, clinching the match when freshman Haythem Abid defeated Michael Crooks, 6-0, 6-2. UCLA (18-5) will play host to Colorado in a second-round match today.

Pepperdine’s men, seeded second, made quick work of Montana State, 4-0.

The Waves (31-2) advanced to take on Texas Christian today in Malibu.

UCLA freshmen Boldizsar Kocsor and Rhonda Watkins won events on the first day of the Pacific 10 Conference track and field championships at Eugene, Ore.

Kocsor won the hammer throw with a lifetime-best of 219 feet 1 inch. Watkins was victorious in the high jump, edging Arizona State’s Jackie Johnson in a jump-off with a season-best mark of 5 feet 11 1/4 inches.

Junior left-hander Dave Huff threw his third complete game of the season to lead UCLA past USC, 8-3, in the second game of the three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The win improved UCLA to 26-21 overall and 9-8 in the Pac-10. USC fell to 25-24, 11-9.

MISCELLANY

Jones Puts Together Impressive Run in 100

Former Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones ran the year’s second-fastest 100 meters in her seasonal debut, clocking 11.06 seconds to defeat former world champion Torri Edwards at Veracruz, Mexico.

The race was the 30-year-old American’s first appearance in 11 months and produced her fastest time since 2004.

Hours after landing in Europe, Patrick O’Sullivan scored the go-ahead goal and the United States held off Latvia, 4-2, to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the world ice hockey championships at Riga, Latvia.

PASSINGS

Former Kansas State Player Robinson Dies

Harold Robinson, the first black scholarship athlete in what would become the Big 12 Conference, died at 76. Robinson, a center who joined the Kansas State football team in 1949, died Tuesday at his home in Wharton, N.J., the school said.