Briefs | Top-ranked Henin wins her 8th title of the year

Tennis

Henin beats Golovin in Porsche Grand Prix final: Top-ranked Justine Henin of Belgium rallied to defeat Tatiana Golovin of France 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 Sunday and win the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, for her eighth title of the year.

Henin stretched her winning streak to 16 matches — including a run to the U.S. Open title. Henin has 37 career titles.

Golovin lost the Porsche Grand Prix final for the second consecutive year.

Henin had a choice of driving away in a Porsche 911 convertible or taking $92,410 in cash as the first prize.

"Give me a few minutes to think about it," Henin said.

Ferrer triumphs: David Ferrer of Spain overpowered Richard Gasquet of France 6-1, 6-2 in 52 minutes to win the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Ferrer became the tournament's top seed after defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland withdrew because he said he needed rest after the U.S. Open and Davis Cup.

NHL

Avalanche wins: Paul Stastny had a goal and four assists to help host Colorado beat San Jose 6-2.

Avery is injured: Rugged forward Sean Avery of the New York Rangers is expected to miss four weeks because of a separated left shoulder.

Avery was injured in a collision Saturday with Ottawa's Chris Neil, who was penalized for elbowing.

Rugby

South Africa, Argentina to meet in semifinal round: South Africa and Argentina advanced to the World Rugby Cup semifinals and will play Sunday in Saint-Denis, France.

South Africa beat Fiji 37-20 in Marseille, France, after scoring the last 17 points. Argentina defeated Scotland 19-13 in Saint-Denis.

France meets England on Saturday in the other semifinal.

Graham Henry, 61, will be replaced as New Zealand coach by the end of the year, officials said. New Zealand lost to France in the quarterfinals.

Soccer

Alves wears out nets with seven goals: Brazilian forward Afonso Alves scored seven goals, including four in a 10-minute span, to set a Dutch-league record and lead SC Heerenveen to a 9-0 rout of Heracles Almelo in the first division.

Arsenal takes lead: Arsenal returned to first place in the English Premier League, defeating Sunderland 3-2 on Robin van Persie's score in the 80th minute. It was his second goal of the match.

Arsenal leads the league with 22 points, two more than Manchester United.

Reading beat Derby 1-0 on Kevin Doyle's 64th-minute header.

Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, a former Seattle Pacific and Seattle Sounders standout, posted his third shutout of the Premier League season — a contrast to the previous weekend, when he let in seven goals in a 7-4 loss to Portsmouth.

Fulham started three Americans — goalkeeper Kasey Keller of Lacey, defender Carlos Bocanegra and striker Clint Dempsey — in a 2-0 loss to Portsmouth.

Galaxy edges Dynamo: Gavin Glinton's goal in the 77th minute gave the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo in a Major League Soccer match.

In another MLS match, Jovan Kirovski's penalty kick in the 44th minute gave the host Colorado Rapids a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC.

Maradona stopped by police: Diego Maradona, a retired superstar from Argentina, was stopped by airport police in Buenos Aires after arriving on a flight from Italy, taken before a judge and told he faced a civil case involving injuries in a Feb. 10, 2006, accident where a vehicle struck a telephone booth, reports said. It was unclear whether Maradona, 46, was driving.

Olympics

USOC mulls relocation: The U.S. Olympic Committee, a fixture in Colorado Springs, Colo., for nearly three decades, is considering various proposals to relocate because of its aging, cramped facilities.

Seattle Times news services