USA TODAY International Edition
USA’s Czisny glides to Skate Canada title
Venus Williams has withdrawn from this week’s Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pa., because of a knee injury. Williams was expected to be among the top eight seeds at the tournament until of ( cials were told last week that she was still recovering from a left knee injury, Advanta Championships spokeswoman Rosie Crews said.
uU. S. Open champion Kim Clijsters won before a home crowd for her ninth title this year, defeating Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6- 2, 6- 3 Sunday in the Gaz de France Stars ( nal in Hasselt, Belgium. The top- seeded Clijsters, who missed much of last season because of a wrist injury, did not lose a set all week. In beating her third- seeded opponent, she won her 30th career title.
uSweden’s Thomas Johansson captured his ( rst title of the season, winning the St. Petersburg ( Russia) Open on Sunday by defeating Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 6- 4, 6- 2. Johansson, seeded second and ranked 15th, earned his ninth career title. He also won this tournament in 1997.
uRussia’s Nadia Petrova won her ( rst WTA career title Sunday, defeating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 4-6, 6- 3, 6- 1 in the ( nal of the Generali Ladies tournament in Linz, Austria. Petrova, ranked 10th in the world, reached her ( rst ( nal on the tour at the same venue — the Intersport Arena Linz — in 2003 and was delighted to have gone one step further.
uFernando Gonzalez
of Chile defeated quali ( er Marcos Baghdatis 6- 7 ( 8- 10), 6- 3, 7- 5, 6- 4 to win the Swiss Indoors title Sunday in Basel and improve his chances of qualifying for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup.
Everybody knows who
Alissa Czisny is now. The new American ( gure skating sensation won her ( rst gold medal at the senior level by winning Skate Canada on Saturday in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Top- seeded
Carolina Kostner of Italy, the 2005 world bronze medalist, was the 4 op of the event in winding up seventh. Canada’s Emanuel Sandhu, sixth after the short program Thursday, blew away his rivals with a stellar free- skating routine to take the men’s event.
Czisny was seventh at the U.S. nationals last winter, which
brought her little attention. Canadian
fans ( rst got a look at her at the world
junior championships in Kitchener, but
she got little media play in ( nishing
sixth. The spotlight found her last week
when, as a substitute for the injured
Sasha Cohen, she won silver at Skate
America in Atlantic City, N. J. Nowth is.
“ I’m accomplishing what I set out to
do and I guess people might knowwho
I am now,” said the 18- year-old native
of Bowling Green, Ohio.
She cleanly landed six triple jumps
and her total score of 168.32 was a personal best, nine points better than her Skate America total when she ( nished behind Elena Sokolova of Russia. She also earned $18,000 with her victory.
Her results from the ( rst two meets of the six- meet Grand Prix circuit give her a lock on a berth in the six- skater GP Finals in Tokyo in December.
American champion Johnny Weir sprained his left ankle when he crashed trying to land a jump. He’d been second after the short program, but wound up seventh overall with 177.59 points.
Jose Cancela, Patrick Noonan and Khano Smithscored in the second half, leading New England to a 3- 1 victory against the MetroStars on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass., as the Revolution advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship. New England needed to win by at least two goals to advance on aggregate scoring after losing to the MetroStars 1-0 last week.
uJoe Cannon had 14 saves and made a diving stop of Roberto Mina’s shot in the ( fth round of the penalty- kick shootout to help short- handed Colorado beat FC Dallas and advance to the Western Conference ( nal.
uThe Los Angeles Galaxy reached the Western Conference ( nal, advancing on aggregate goals in the two- game series. Los Angeles, which won the opening game 3- 1 at home, outscored San Jose 4- 2 in the series.
Elsewhere
Wilfred Kigen led a Kenyan sweep of the men’s race at the Frankfurt Marathon, winning Sunday in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 29 seconds. Kigen edged
Jason Mbote by a second in a sprint to the ( nish. His cousin,
Wilson Kigen, was third in 2: 08: 34. Russia’s Alevtina Biktimirova broke the course record in the women’s race with 2: 25: 12.
. . . Jhonny Gonzalez led a parade of Mexican champions Saturday in Sahuarita, Ariz., taking the WBO bantamweight title from Thailand’s Ratanachai Sor Vorapin with a seventh- round knockout. In other WBO championship bouts at the event touted as the “ Boxing World Cup” because every ( ght was between a Thai and a Mexican, Hugo Cazares defended his junior 4 yweight title with a sixth- round knockout of Kaichon Sor Vorapin; Fernando Montiel kept his junior bantamweight crown by outpointing Pramuansak Phosawan; and Daniel Ponce De Leon stopped Sod Looknongyangtoy for the junior featherweight title. . . . China’s Yang Lian
set a weightlifting world record in the women’s 106- pound division Sunday in Macau, lifting 258 pounds in the clean- and- jerk. Almost 1,900 athletes from nine countries are competing at the East Asia Games.
. . . V. Williams pulls out of Advanta Championships Revolution advance in MLS playoffs Williams to return for UConn in December
Connecticut suspended guard
A. J. Price for the entire 200506 season as a result of his arrest on charges of trying to sell stolen laptops this summer, but has allowed co-defendant Marcus Williams to return to the team in December. University of ( cials announced the school- imposed sanctions last week. Under the penalties handed down by the university’s director of judicial affairs, the two point guards have been kicked out of campus housing and dining halls — Price for three years and Williams until next August. They also have been suspended for the 2005-06 academic year, but those suspensions were held in abeyance, meaning they can attend classes but could be expelled if they fail to meet several conditions. Price, a redshirt freshman, will return to classes in the spring semester, and Williams has been attending classes this semester.