Venus Williams coasted to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Daniela Hantuchova on Saturday to reach the Diamond Games final against Kim Clijsters at Antwerp, Belgium.
Williams will be going for her second straight title in Antwerp. Clijsters defeated fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-2, 7-6 earlier Saturday.
Earlier Saturday, Williams pulled out of the Dubai Open, citing a change of schedule. She told tournament organizers she has been forced to take a closer look at her tight schedule. Dubai begins Monday.
MORE TENNIS: Italy’s Davide Sanguinetti advanced to the final of the Siebel Open in San Jose, Calif., with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 victory over American Justin Gimelstob. The sixth-seeded Sanguinetti, ranked No. 69, will meet either top-seeded Andre Agassi or third-seeded James Blake, who played a later semifinal. . . . Marcelo Rios beat Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final of the BellSouth Open against David Sanchez, who defeated Albert Montanes 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1 at Vina Del Mar, Chile. . . . Second-seeded Anastasia Myskina beat Patricia Wartusch 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the final of the Qatar Open in Doha. Myskina will face fifth-seeded Elena Likhovtseva, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Lina Krasnoroutskaya. . . . Top-seeded Roger Federer beat Karol Kucera 7-6 (5), 6-3 to advance to the final of the Open 13 at Marseille, France. Federer will face Jonas Bjorkman, who advanced when Nicolas Escude withdrew before their semifinal because of a thigh injury.
TYSON DECIDES NOT TO POSTPONE FIGHT
Mike Tyson doesn’t feel well. Still, next Saturday’s comeback fight with Clifford Etienne remains on — at least for now. Tyson and his handlers decided not to pull out of his first fight since being badly beaten last June by Lennox Lewis.
Tyson’s trainer, though, said he has no ticket for Memphis and doubts the fight will come off as planned.
“It doesn’t sound like he’s fit to fight to me,” Freddie Roach said. “He’s missed a crucial week of training.”
Tyson’s manager, Shelly Finkel, said earlier that Tyson — whose record is littered with fight postponements — went to a doctor on Friday who diagnosed him with bronchitis.
MORE BOXING: Former boxing champion Pernell Whitaker was ordered held without bond in Richmond, Va., after being charged for driving under the influence.
RILEY AMONG COACHING CANDIDATES AT OREGON STATE
Former Oregon State coach Mike Riley was among the candidates being considered for the Beavers’ open head coaching job, school officials said. Reports that Riley, the defensive backfield coach for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, had already been hired were denied by Oregon State spokesman Hal Cowan. Hawaii Coach June Jones took himself out of the running.
DUTCH SKATERS SWEEP SPEEDSKATING
Jochem Uytdehaage led a Dutch sweep of the top three spots in the 5,000-meter race at a World Cup speedskating event at Baselga di Pine, Italy. Orlando’s Derek Parra finished 10th, 16 seconds off the pace.
GERMANY’S LANGE LEADS BOBSLEDDING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Andre Lange, two-hundreths of a second behind Pierre Lueders after the first heat, rallied on the second run in Germany-2 and opened a stunning .24-second lead over the Canadian World Cup champion midway through the two-man competition at the Bobsled World Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Lange finished with an aggregate time of 1 minute, 50.26 seconds. Todd Hays was fourth in USA-1 with a time of 1:50.59.
