In brief

Sloppy Serena upset in second

By wire services
Published September 22, 2005

BEIJING - Serena Williams was upset in the second round of the China Open on Wednesday, losing to unheralded Sun Tiantian 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).

Sun, ranked 127th in the world and fourth among Chinese players, took advantage of numerous errors by Williams, who said she was bothered by an ailing left knee.

"I just played terrible," Williams said. "Sun played very well and was ready for the match. I'm disappointed I couldn't perform better today."

Williams, No. 9 in the world rankings, won last year's event and is very popular in China. However, the crowd cheered as Sun pulled off a surprise victory - the first of her career against a player ranked in the top 40.

"Before the match I was just saying don't be nervous," said Sun, who made the quarterfinals in a tournament for the second time in her career. "I had an opportunity today and I grabbed it. I just hope I can keep improving. My goal for this year is to crack the top 100."

Sun broke Williams' serve and moved to a 2-0 lead before wrapping up the first set.

"I'm definitely disappointed," Williams said. "But there was nothing I could do out there today."

Ruben Omar Romano, the Argentine coach of Mexico's Cruz Azul soccer team kidnapped in Mexico City in July 19, was freed alive in what local media described as a police raid in the low-income district on the eastern outskirts of the city.

Several kidnappers were also reportedly detained.

Romano had been forced from luxury car by five armed assailants and abducted outside his team's practice facility in southern Mexico City on July 19.

MLS: New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman scored in second half stoppage time in a 1-1 tie with host Columbus.

Former Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Braulio Baeza was one of two New York Racing Association officials charged today with falsely reporting the weight of top riders.

Baeza, the NYRA's No. 2 official on weigh-ins, and his boss, Clerk of the Scales Mario Sclafani, were charged with 291 criminal counts including conspiracy to defraud, falsifying business records and tampering with a sports contest, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said in a news release. Sclafani and the 65-year-old Baeza, who won the 1963 Kentucky Derby aboard Chateaugay, face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson reached back into his past, hiring former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges as a special assistant coach. Hodges played on the Bulls' 1991 and '92 NBA championship teams coached by Jackson. ... Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade agreed to a seven-year deal to endorse Converse footwear and apparel. Wade was already under contract to Converse in a deal worth $400,000 annually; company officials declined to release financial terms of his new pact.

COACH RESIGNS: Serbia-Montenegro basketball coach Zeljko Obradovic stepped down, saying that to stay on as coach "would lead me straight to a madhouse. I'm already ready for an asylum. That's how I feel. I wish my successor lots and lots of luck!" Team captain Dejan Bodiroga, center Zeljko Rebraca of the Los Angeles Clippers and Dejan Tomasevic also announced they were quitting.

DOPING: Turkey was banned from the world weightlifting championships for a series of doping violations, including threats to kill a drug-testing official. The International Weightlifting Federation said Turkish weightlifters "repeatedly" broke international federation and World Anti-Doping Agency rules for out-of-competition testing. It did not identify the lifters, but said the team was provisionally suspended from all international competition pending a hearing Nov. 15.

WATER POLO: Guy Baker has replaced Heather Moody as coach of the U.S. women's team.

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:04:14]