In brief

Nadal moves to No. 2 as clay streak hits 33

By wire services
Published July 24, 2005

STUTTGART, Germany - Rafael Nadal moved up to No. 2 in the world rankings Saturday after beating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5 to run his winning streak on clay to 33 matches.

The win lifted the 19-year-old Spaniard into the final of the Mercedes Cup, where he will face 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio. The third-seeded Argentine advanced when Russia's Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of their semifinal with the flu while trailing 6-3, 2-1.

Win or lose, Nadal will pass Australia's Lleyton Hewitt in the rankings when they are updated Monday.

Gaudio is one of the few to have beaten the 19-year-old Nadal three times, including one of Nadal's two losses on the dirt this year.

RCA CHAMPIONSHIP: Unseeded Robby Ginepri followed the same plan that helped him upset two-time defending tournament champion Andy Roddick - stay calm, serve well and fight back to beat 10th-seeded Karol Beck 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Ginepri now must beat American Taylor Dent, the fourth seed, who defeated Great Britain's Greg Rusedski 6-4, 6-4. It's the first time Americans have met in an ATP final since February 2004 and the first time that's happened in Indianapolis since Pete Sampras defeated Dade City's Jim Courier in 1992.

China's Hu Jia overtook Cuba's Jose Antonio Guerra to win the men's 1-meter platform diving competition at the World Swimming Championships in Montreal. Guerra's medal was the first ever for Cuba in any discipline at the world championships. China leads the overall medals race with 10 and is tied with Russia for the lead with four golds. Four swimming finals will be held tonight - the men's and women's 400 free, along with the 400 free relays for both men and women.

Former Florida A&M football coach Billy Joe has filed a public-records lawsuit against the school, seeking access to documents that could explain why he was fired last month. Joe - who was 86-46 in 11 seasons - and two assistants were fired June 14 by the school, which cited NCAA rules violations in recruiting and eligibility. School officials could not be reached for comment.

Larry Brown was spending the weekend contemplating whether to become the head coach of the New York Knicks, and hinted to the Associated Press he was leaning toward taking the job. "How many opportunities like this present themselves? My family is here, my older kids have family here, I have an opportunity to work with someone in Isiah ( Thomas) who's a special friend and a super person," Brown said.

DAVIS HIRED: Minnesota hired former Orlando head coach Johnny Davis as an assistant.

WNBA: Lauren Jackson scored 21 points to lead host Seattle to a 74-71 win over Detroit. ... Tamika Whitmore scored 20 points to lead visiting Los Angeles over Houston 69-59. ... Ebony Hoffman and Jurgita Streimikyte scored 13 points apiece to lead Indiana to a 63-46 win over host Charlotte.

SOCCER: Freddy Adu scored during second-half injury time to give D.C. United a 1-0 victory over host Los Angeles.

VOLLEYBALL: Florida's Marcie Hampton tallied 16 points, but the USA Women's Junior National Volleyball Team fell to Serbia and Montenegro 3-1 at the 2005 FIVB Women's U-20 World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. The United States will play Brazil today.

[Last modified July 24, 2005, 00:51:05]